Wow wow wow… yesterday afternoon we checked into our lovely room here in Lake Louise. I know that a lot of people speak quite highly about this part of Canada and I have to say they are completely correct. Yes it’s expensive, no you can’t get a little carton of milk for your cup of tea but that all fades into the background when you start walking or as I can now officially say “hiking” around this sensational place. Why the “” that’s because the minor celebrity travelling with me insists we weren’t hiking we were just walking up huge mountains and back down them again. But more on that later, I’ve missed a bit – the drive to get here.

We are back in avalanche territory and you know this because there are lots of signs along Highway 1 that ensure that you are well aware of the potential for avalanches. We have now discovered that the trip from Revelstoke to Lake Louise is the most dangerous piece of road in Canada, it is mighty beautiful though. I am just pleased that we are travelling now and not in a couple of weeks when you have to use snow chains. We both agree that would be an unwanted complexity to driving in another country.

We decided to stop at the Hemlock Grove National Park and Boardwalk which is the only inland hemlock and cedar rainforest in the world. The great thing about this Boardwalk is that it is easily accessible for anyone with a mobility issues or who is driving a prams as it has ramps all the way. In the last few days I have had the opportunity to learn more about these old growth forests than I have expected (and that’s a good thing).

Quick drop off at the hotel and then a drive to Moraine Lake. Bear in mind that this lake is described as grand and gloomy. Adventurer Samuel Allen First came here in 1894 and apparently was suitably impressed yet he said.

“I saw at the base of No.1 Mt. Heejee a grand and gloomy lake, reflecting in its dark surface the walls and hanging glaciers of Mount Heejee.”

His buddy Walter Wilcox later named it Moraine. The pair obviously did an awesome job of advertising both Moraine Lake and Lake Louise because soon thousands came to visit.

That of course continues today and there are a lot of people here even on a weekday. We picked our time right though and we drove out here just after 5.00 pm and easily found a park and had plenty of Lake one on one time.

Back to the hotel for some rest …and phew the red chairs are back!

Great dinner and sleep getting us ready for the day ahead. We tried our luck on driving up to Lake Louise but unfortunately all of the car parks are full and so it was back down to the Village to get a shuttle bus. It’s actually an old school bus, I saw a few of these late yesterday and was surprised by the number of students who lived in the mountains and yes I said it out loud – duh!

And so based on a discussion with a great girl at the Information Centre last night we decided nah we won’t just walk around this Lake we need to see it from on high. We walked and at some periods rested up the 3.5km walk up to the Lake Agnes Tea House and Lake. It was tough, noting that we could have made it more difficult for ourselves by going up on horseback ….boy the can poop!

I should mention at this time that this morning when I was working out how many layers of clothes I needed to take with me, Steve had made the choice to visit Lake Louise in shorts and his crocs. About half way into our hike a guy who we walked past was so taken aback that he had to have a chat with Steve about the crocs and there was no mistaking the admiration in his voice.

During our trip up the mountain walk every gorgeous soul who was coming the other way said it is so worth the walk and they were so right.

Lake Agnes was named after Lady Agnes MacDonald the original First Lady of Canada. In 1886 Lady MacDonald visited Lake Agnes (oh my in those dresses not sure how she did it ) and loved the beauty of the lake.

The Tea House first began serving hikers in 1905. It is an absolutely amazing family owned business they have no electricity or running water and once a season a helicopter delivers flour and sugar. The rest of the supplies needed to serve the hundreds of travellers a day is brought up using the same trails as we did today.

And importantly the tea is fabulous.

While I was very happy to have a pot of tea Steve decided to head up to the Little Beehive, yes another 1.1 kms up ! His photos are awesome, see below.

Upon Steve’s return a group of twenty somethings continued the theme started earlier in the day about Steve’s ability to wear crocs on the climb. They were in awe – no kidding and then proceeded a discussion about crocs. And so on that note my post finishes with a photo of Steve wearing his crocs at the little waterfall 100 metres below Lady Agnes Lake.