Day
36, September 17
Locations: Lake Louise; Kananaskis Country
Miles driven: 369
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The alarm sounded at
5:45 once again, and when I first opened the door to get out, I heard
a noise off in the woods lumbering around, which was comforting to hear
(yes, that is sarcasm!), then it jogged off (it heard me make a noise).
I'm sure it was just a deer, though it could've been Bigfoot. You never
know! I always did want to meet the guy! I was parked only five spaces
in from the end of the lot, around the perimeter of which are trees. The
animal was only 80-100 feet away, so it definitely got my heart pumping!
I made the drive back down to Lake Louise for sunrise and this time had set up directly in front of Chateau Lake Louise from the main lake shore viewpoint at the steps. I thought the skies were totally clear until a cloud turned pink above Mt. Victoria. It was another cool, crisp morning and I continued to wear shorts, sandals, and a jacket. I looked back through the windows of the chateau from time to time seeing people enjoy their hot breakfast in the confines of the warm dinner hall. I could only think how I must be ruining their morning view of the lake being directly out front! Throughout the morning, I remained stationary at the same spot and just waited for the shadows to clear out on the lake while a few people came by and asked about the camera. I left here sometime around 10:00.
Being that today was a clear day, I figured I’d use this time to revisit Kananaskis Country since my first time through I wasn’t able to see anything due to low clouds. I drove into Canmore and started the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Trail from there. It was a wonderful and leisurely drive which I really enjoyed due to the great views. I was really loving the mountains south of Buller Picnic area in the Chester Lake vicinity. They weren’t impressively tall, but their faces and craggy profiles are awesome. Even though this was a Saturday, there was very little traffic, though the Chester Lake trailhead and one other trailhead were packed with vehicles. I drove back into the Kananaskis Lakes then over Highwood Pass and as far as 5.5 miles in on Forestry Trunk Road 940 just to see any further views I may have missed the first time through. I turned back around from there, and went back over Highwood Pass. On the way north on Highway 40, I got my first look at Mt. Kidd, which is a huge chunk of rock that heads the valley to the north at the end of the Kananaskis Range. A very impressive mountain. I wanted to get at least one sunrise shot of it, but it wasn’t meant to be on this trip as I only came away with a couple of snapshots. It will have to go on the list for the next visit, without a doubt.
I arrived back in Canmore where I fueled up, then stopped in at Vermilion Lakes, but the sky was uninteresting with only huge, ugly contrails that blew up into cirrus-type clouds, so I didn't stay. I continued up the Bow Valley Parkway at 6:18 and got to Moose Meadows where I wanted to shoot the same mountains I did last night looking back to the south near Banff. I stopped here and fixed up some tortellini. No clouds ever showed over the peaks, so I didn't shoot anything.
I went into Castle Mountain Village and tried calling the folks, but got no answer. I continued onto Lake Louise and tried calling them again, but still no answer. I called my sister and brother in-law and let them know that I'd be home in a week. After the phone call, I drove up to the Helen Lake trailhead parking lot for the sixth consecutive night and pulled in at 9:35. Another bright, full moon was out with clear skies and a few thin, wispy clouds.
~7:09 AM —
Lake Louise
7:11 AM —
Lake Louise
7:11 AM —
Lake Louise. This is as difficult of a shot as there is as far as getting
detail on the slopes. The best option is to blend two exposures in Photoshop,
one exposed for the shadows and one for the highlights. However, my brief
efforts proved terrible, so you get this conventional scene shot on Velvia!
Perhaps I'll get better at my Photoshop skills at some point and post
a better version. Still, not a bad shot as-is.
~10:00 AM —
Lake Louise
~10:32 AM —
Herbert Lake
11:58 AM —
En route to Canmore along Mt. Rundle
12:28 PM —
Oops! Rookie mistake (left part of the door in the picture)!
Spray Lakes Reservoir, Kananaskis Country
12:46 PM —
Spray Lakes Reservoir
12:53 PM —
Spray Lakes Reservoir
12:55 PM —
Spray Lakes Reservoir
12:56 PM —
Spray Lakes Reservoir
12:53 PM —
Buller Pond from the Buller picnic area. The incredibly majestic, and
perhaps the finest peak in all the Canadian Rockies, Mt. Assiniboine,
rises in the distance in the right-center, about 20 KM (or ~12 miles)
away.
1:11 PM —
From the Buller picnic area
1:16 PM —
An awesome set of peaks in the Burstall Pass area
1:19 PM —
An awesome set of peaks in the Burstall Pass area
2:01 PM —
Lower Kananaskis Lake from the Interlakes Campground
2:01 PM —
Panned to the right from the previous frame
2:46 PM —
Southbound at Highwood Pass, the highest paved road in Canada
2:56 PM — A little ways south of Highwood Pass
3:20 PM —
From Forestry Trunk Road 940 looking back to the north.
Highway 40 lies in the far valley 5.5 miles away.
3:40 PM —
Heading back to the north towards Highwood Pass
3:54 PM —
Descending the north side of Highwood Pass
4:03 PM — Approaching the turnoff for Kananaskis Lakes
4:05 PM — Along the Kananaskis Range
4:11 PM —
Coming up on Mt. Kidd
4:17
PM — Mt. Kidd
4:20 PM —
Mt. Kidd from the east
4:26 PM —
Further up the road
4:33 PM —
The largest aspen stand I came across in the entire region (on the hillside,
not the foreground cluster). This ain't no Kebler Pass! This is taken
at Barrier Lake.