Ro Wells Travel

I spent most of my time in Lake Louise in a state of perpetual awe. I’d just about finish picking my jaw up off the floor having seen the most incredible scenery, only to turn a corner and once again be blown away by the view in front of me.

Lake Louise is a real contrast to Banff. Where Banff is a relatively big, bustling tourist town, Lake Louise is tiny and very quiet. It seems to be split into three distinct parts – the Lake itself, the ski resort and what is known as Lake Louise village between the two. The village consists of a couple of hotels, a hostel, 2 cafes, a rental place and a supermarket. It really is very quiet.

The lake and the village were incredibly peaceful. I spent a few hours sat in one of the coffee shops in the village when I first arrived in Lake Louise (as check-in wasn’t till 4pm and it was barely lunchtime), just watching the world go by and doing some journaling. It was lovely to take the time to just sit and be for a while. In modern life we so rarely get the chance to do that so I am taking every opportunity I get. (I still have to occasionally remind myself that it’s ok to not be going at 110mph all the time like I was for the years leading up to this trip.)

I got the bus to the lake from the village and as I was sat staring out the window, I was bracing myself to be underwhelmed by the lake. Lake Louise is one of the most photographed places in Canada. I thought there was no way it would live up to my expectations. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Even though I was there on a cloudy day, Lake Louise was still majestic and awe-inspiring. It was frozen over in places, but not quite all the way over yet. The water at the shoreline was crystal clear and, in places in the middle of the lake, I could see hints of the famous blue-y turquoise.

My intention was to go for a hike when I got there but I was on my own, and aware that the bears had not yet gone all begun hibernating. I had my bear spray with me (yes really, Mum and Dad) but as I got about 100 yards up the trail and looked around, there was no-one else in sight. I was already feeling quite isolated and vulnerable, and reluctant to continue my hike even though it was something I really wanted to do. Then, slowly, a few people started appearing behind me. I let 2 of them go past me as they were walking at a much faster pace than me but there was a family of 5 also on the trail. I decided that as long as I kept either the two walkers in front of me, or the family of five behind me, in sight at all times, that I was probably OK to continue my hike. I would stop and turn back when they did.

So off I went up the Lake Agnes Trail. And when I say up, I mean UP. The whole way is uphill. I am not a natural hiker and have been sat behind a desk for the best part of the last 7 years so was definitely not the fittest person on the mountain. But the trail was itself was gorgeous. Amazing woodland above and below me, snow everywhere I looked and, as the trail starting creeping up the mountainside, I was treated to the most stunning glimpses of Lake Louise in all her glory. The higher up the mountain I got, the more vibrant the turquoise lake became. I tried my best to capture the colour on my phone camera (as I had really cleverly left my actual camera back at the hostel) but, as is always the way with nature, the photos don’t quite do the view justice. It’s difficult to explain just how the water was tinged with an emerald green which the photo below doesn’t quite show.

I hiked up to Mirror Lake to find that it was completely frozen over, and covered in a layer of snow. Whilst slightly disappointed to not see another stunningly blue lake, I was instead gifted the sight of a stunningly blue bird – which I think is called a Steller’s Jay. A very cheeky relative of the Steller Jay was also present – a Whiskey Jack – who delighted in trying to steal sandwiches out of the hands of my fellow hikers. Mirror Lake lies in the shadow of the Big Beehive Mountain (very creatively named because it looks like, yep, you guessed it, a beehive).

The party of two ploughed on ahead, up the trail to Lake Agnes. I was a little unsure as to whether to continue or not as, although there were no warnings up that day, I knew there had been avalanche warnings for the area in the week prior. I waited for a couple of hikers to come down the trail and asked them what the conditions were like. They all said that conditions were good and that Lake Agnes was only another 20 minutes up the trail so I decided to continue. The family of 5 had caught up with me by then and I let them lead the way up the trail. At one point, it became fairly obvious that I was intentionally keeping pace with them so I introduced myself and walked amongst the group. I chatted briefly with the mother who told me that they were from the United States but were originally from Uzbekistan. We passed an unbelievably beautiful, half-frozen waterfall then suddenly we were at Lake Agnes. Again, Lake Agnes was almost entirely frozen over and covered in snow but still breath-taking. The family of 5 told me they were planning on continuing up to Big Beehive but by my estimate, it would be dark by the time they were starting their descent back to the lake. I didn’t want to push my luck any further knowing that the risk of avalanche increased the higher we got, so I turned around and headed back down the mountain. I passed a couple of people of the trail back down to Mirror Lake then, as I reached Mirror Lake, I spotted the party of 2 I had been half following up from Lake Louise.

They were taking a few photos by the lake and as I passed, I noticed the guy had an English accent. So I again introduced myself and we hiked back down the trail together. Liam is a lovely guy from Somerset, U.K. who is out in Canada helping his uncle build a house. He was hiking with his cousin Tate who is from Edmonton, Canada and is also lovely (guess it runs in the family). They had been touring round the Rockies as Liam wanted to explore a bit more of Canada and Tate had some annual leave to use up. I really enjoyed chatting to them as we headed back towards Lake Louise – finally someone who understood my sarcasm! – and Liam and I had a very in-depth conversation about what a proper cup of tea is, and how different (bad) the cider is in Canada compared to the U.K.

By the time we reached Lake Louise again, we were all in need of a hot drink so headed to the Fairmont Hotel which sits at the foot of the lake. We continued our conversation and Liam and Tate gave me some superb recommendations for British Columbia when I get there. When we were ready to leave, they very kindly offered to give me a lift back to the hostel to save me waiting for a bus in the cold, which I gladly accepted. Thank you both so much if you’re reading this, you made my hike infinitely more enjoyable with your company.

The day after, I had arranged to meet up with Harriet, who is a friend I made when I was in Calgary, to go skiing. She is doing a ski season at Lake Louise and it was incredibly good to see her. Even though we had only met once for a few days, we immediately fell into an easy conversation and chatted like we had known each other for years. Weirdly, she and I had lived 20 minutes away from each other for the last few years but had never crossed paths – it’s such a small world sometimes!

It is still very early season and there were only a few runs open but oh my days was it good to be back on skis. I had decided to ski rather than snowboard as I think I’ve smashed my coccyx snowboarding one too many times and didn’t want to injure myself so early into my trip. Because I’ve spent my last few ski holidays, and the end of my last season snowboarding, I had forgotten how much I LOVE skiing, even though that’s what I learnt first. I spent the entire day with a massive grin on my face, unable to contain my excitement. Skiing in Canada is unbelievable. The snow was in amazingly good condition considering the time of year, the runs were wide and tree-lined (my absolute favourite kind of run) and each time you turned a corner, the entire valley opened out in front of you. I could see for miles but my favourite view was stood about halfway down one run, looking across the valley and being able to see Lake Louise itself. Incredible. (Harriet – I am definitely going to come visit you later in the season so we can ski some more together.)

If you ever need to switch off from technology, to escape the busy-ness of modern life, to reconnect with nature, to be blown away by the scenery and to feel grounded in your environment then go to Lake Louise. I cannot overstate how magical a place it is. (If you don’t believe me, check these out.)

P.S. Mum, I know you’ll want pictures of the birds – here you go: