Plain of Six Glaciers

Weekends we hike.

O.K. We have only been here two weekends, but we have hiked both. So I feel very comfortable making that statement.

I could live here a long time if all we had to do was hike.

Our second hike in Canada may have been even more spectacular than the first, and the first one was pretty amazing.

For our second weekend WE chose Plain of Six Glaciers in Lake Louise. I have to say, the old me (the me from the years before I met C and had kids) would have been more interested in the the 4-star Chateau Lake Louise than a silly old hike.

The new me didn't even go in the Chateau. The new me just walked around the outside of the Chateau. The new me didn't even think about going in. I was too busy looking up. At this:

See the glacier in the middle of the photo. That is Lower Victoria Glacier and our destination. Plain of Six Glaciers, Hike 118 in DWYT was a 11.2 km (6.9 mi) roundtrip trail with 339 m (1112 ft) of elevation gain. With a bonus. Because once you drag yourself through the gray morning and wait for the sun to burn the chill out of the air, you can have lunch here:

We are planners right, so we brought lunch. But we wasted our food and threw it away when we got home. Instead we had homemade soup and bread at the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse. Big think slices of homemade bread. And apple pie. The best apple pie in the world. I think elevation and fresh air make everything taste better. And we decided to go back. This year.

And on the way down, you can see the Chateau. But you aren't really looking at it. It pales in comparison to the world around it.

Lessons learned:

Go early. We passed three times as many people on the way down.

Dress in layers.

Carry bear spray. We didn't need it, but it felt nice to have.