Lakes and more lakes

We finished our drive of the Icefields Parkway and joined highway 1 and headed to Banff, just 40mins to go and we would be able to get to our campsite and set up after a very long day driving and sightseeing. However a Sinkhole in the middle of the highway had other ideas and we sat in traffic for 4 hours and arrived at our campsite at 22:00 in the dark and the rain! It was straight to bed as we had to be up at 04:00 as we were booked on an exciting tour the next day with a very early start time.

We had the same departure as arrival at our campsite, dark and very wet. The rain was not ideal as we were on an organised sunrise tour of Lakes Moraine and Louise.

We were cold and wet and before we even got on the minibus, but we were with a good group and an excellent tour guide and after an hour’s nap we reached Lake Moraine at 06:30, half an hour before sunrise and thankfully the rain had stopped. It is now only possible to reach Lake Moraine by either the shuttle buses the provincial park run or by going on a private organised tour, no public traffic is allowed on the Lake Moraine road due to overcrowding on the road and at the lake the year before.

We took the short climb to the viewing point and held our breath as we weren’t sure if the clouds would lift, but they did. We didn’t get the reds and pinks of a clear sky sunrise but what we did get was a slow lighting of the sky and erie clouds passing along the mountain faces creating a quiet closed in feeling…..I say quiet, as quiet as it could be with all of the other people there. Sunrise tours of Lake Moraine are very popular, it was definitely an “Instagram versus Reality” moment. But it was spectacular and very special and we are so happy to have been able to experience it, especially with a warm hot chocolate. We then spent some time wandering lakeside before heading back onto the minibus to go to the village for a much needed breakfast and an even more needed coffee!

After food and coffee we were back on the minibus and off to visit Lake Louise. We had been warned it can get very busy there but we were pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t overcrowded; visiting on a weekday at the end of the tourist season is definitely the best time to go. Lake Louise is bigger than Lake Moraine and a different colour which surprised us as they are not too far apart. We learnt that the two glacial lakes have different ground ‘rock flour’ contents; as glaciers melt they release fine particles known as rock flour into the surrounding lakes and rivers. The rock flour consists of finely ground rock sediments, primarily composed of minerals like silt, clay, and glacial till. These minuscule particles remain suspended in the water, scattering sunlight and giving it a unique turquoise or milky blue appearance. There is also a phenomenon, known as selective light absorption (where blue light is reflected back to our eyes), which contributes to the mesmerizing blue tones found in these iconic lakes.

We decided, as we had some time here, to take a short but very steep hike to a small viewing spot that we were told was usually very quiet. It was a tough uphill hike but we were very glad we stuck it out, the views from the viewing point were fantastic and even better was that there was no one else there!

We left Lake Louise and were taken back to Banff and as it was still only midday and our next campsite was only a short drive away we decided to explore Banff village. Banff, like Whistler, is a resort town and we both loved it. There is a lot to see and do in and around Banff town and we wished we had had more time there (we spent more time than we should have in the year round Christmas shop!), again it’s somewhere we know we want to visit again.