We did several hikes over the week-long trip. The first was a 'warm-up' hike near Canmore called the highline trail (from Quarry Lake). The second hike was Grassi Lakes trail. This hike was a bit more challenging, but so worth it! The hike takes you up to the Grassi lakes which are very clear alpine feeling lakes, which many can attest are quite cold! It was a beautiful day for a hike and the cousins had fun hiking together along the trail. Sophie was wonderful with Colin (always has been) and wanted to walk by him the entire time.
The longest hike we attempted was in Banff to the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House. It was a really nice hike, which begins around Lake Louise and is flat for roughly a mile. The hike then begins to and even saw (more heard) a small avalanche from across the valley! The view from the tea house was amazing and a great place to sit and enjoy some pie :) There was also a nice stream near the tea house that was a lot of fun for the kids to play in. Of course, Colin slipped and dunked his whole foot, but he didn't seem to mind very much.
On our way down (somehow Papa talked Colin into walking the whole way down), we stopped at the glacier moraine. The silt was very nice to walk on for our hot feet, but boy was the water cold! Colin enjoyed walking around and playing in the 'mud', but Piper was not as impressed. She kept asking to be picked up whenever her little toes touched the water.
Another site we visited was Sulpher Moutain via the Banff gondola. We had a great day to see the Canadian rockies and the Bow valley; at the top they have lots of walkways and vistas perfect for viewing the sites. Colin was a little tired after several days of hiking and playing with cousins, but it was a fun trip and he was pretty amazed by the gondola ride.
A final trip was to Emerald lake in Yoho National Park. We hiked a short hike up to the base of the Hamilton falls and back, then let the kids play in the shallow portions of the lake before lunch.
On the way back to Canmore from Emerald lake, we stopped to see the natural bridge. There is an amazing amount of water flowing through the bridge and some nice walking areas around the bridge to get a sense of the power of the water.
At the end of the trip, the adults opted to hike to the summit of one of the nearby mountains (Ha Ling Peak) while Nana played with the grandkids. The hike was pretty steep and had a scramble at the top, but the views were pretty amazing. We did have a little cloud cover on the hike (which we were grateful for!); however, the clouds started moving in while we were at the top and on the way down, we did get a little wet!
Overall, it was a great trip! Happy Birthday Nana!
No comments:
Post a Comment