Back on the Road to Lake Louise (Day 13)

The snow has been cleared off and we're back on the road to Banff! There's still a lot of snow around though- crazy. The day was overcast, so we couldn't see that much of the mountain tops, but it was still fun to be amoung the mountains.

After picking up a park pass for the day at the gate to Banff National Park, we somehow managed to completely bypass the town of Banff. Oops. Guess I'll have to see that one on the way back. So, we continued on to Lake Louise instead.

After stopping at the park office, we learned that the late snow pack had most of the hiking areas still closed for the winter. We opted to drive over to Lake Louise and take the walk around the lake.

Despite the masses of other tourists and although the lake was snow-covered, it was still really pretty. We walked most of the way around the path, then got a little bored and headed back. On the way back though, I did get a shot of Ski Lake Louise with the Chateau Lake Louise in the foreground (neither was quite as impressive as I had imagined from seeing them televised on World Cup downhill races).

We got back in the car and headed to the only open camping area, Mosquito Creek (of all names) and on the way out of the town, we (along with a couple other people) spotted this juvenile black bear hanging out on the side of the road.

When we arrived at Mosquito Creek, there was a lot of wet, slushy snow on the ground. We considered setting up our tent on the concrete slab in the warm-up shelter, but figured that may not be a solid decision. There were a few left-over quincies/snow caves that we could of used...

but they too didn't quite grab me. So, we hopped back in the car to try our luck that one of the hostels en route would be open. We made a quick stop at the Icefield Centre which houses the Columbia Icefields in its backyard.

Very cool (although the Argentine glaciers still have a leg up in my opinion!). At the first hostel, there were no more vacancies (this being Saturday evening) so we ended up at the Athabasca Falls Wilderness Hostel.

Apparently a "wilderness hostel" is a primative, but very comfy hostel. There is a main lodge with a lounge and kitchen, then log bunkhouses for sleeping and a swanky outhouse. Electricity-yes, running water-no. And it was really quiet...right up until the busload of 19 travellers arrived. Then it got pretty hairy. Luckily, it was a beautifully warm evening, so Dan and I retreated to our Senate seats in the yard and read. We're both pretty tired, so hopefully it will be quiet in the bunkhouses!