A ramble in the Rockies
He’s familiar with mountains coming from the Boland, but Stephano Haarhoff was blown away by the Canadian Rockies in Banff National Park. The snow-capped peaks and ice-blue lakes are on another level.
When you have turquoise water at your feet, you’re usually somewhere tropical like Zanzibar or the Maldives. But the water at my feet was fresh, not salty, and there were snow-capped mountains in the distance. And even though it was mid-summer, the paddlers out on the lake were wearing jackets and scarves.
I was in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies and I was looking at Moraine Lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks. This lake draws thousands of visitors every year – search #morainelake on Instagram and you’ll see why. From the parking area, a footpath had delivered me here, to a pile of big rocks on the shoreline. Such a rock pile, called a moraine, is an accumulation of debris from a glacier, the Wenkchemna Glacier in this case, which feeds the lake.
The beauty of the whole picture was simply overwhelming. An explorer called Walter Wilcox named the lake in 1899, and I agree with what he wrote: “No scene had ever given me an equal impression of inspiring solitude and rugged grandeur.”
I love mountains and hiking. My goal in life is to try to visit a different mountain range each year – so far, I’ve been to Mont Blanc in the French Alps and the Jura Mountains in Switzerland. So, when I got the opportunity to attend a conference in the city of Saskatoon in Canada during the final year of my studies, I extended my itinerary to include a visit with friends in Calgary, and a three-day tour of nearby Banff National Park.
There’s a resort town within the park – also called Banff – and my friends offered to drop me off there. It’s about 100 km west of Calgary. As we approached the Canadian Rockies, my excitement built. It was July, the height of summer, and wild flowers bloomed on the grassy plains.
We arrived in Banff at around 3 pm in a light drizzle. Banff is approximately 6 640 km² in size, full of snow-capped peaks, glaciers, rivers and lakes. It was proclaimed in 1885 – Canada’s oldest national park and one of the oldest in the world. The mountain slopes and riverbanks are blanketed in pine, spruce and sub-alpine fir trees, and poplar trees rise from the valleys. In the summer months, from June to September, the hiking trails attract visitors from all over the world; in winter, from November to March, the park is one of the most popular ski destinations in Canada.
I spent the first day and a half exploring the town of Banff, where the annual Banff Mountain Film Festival has been held since 1976, showcasing the best short films and documentaries about mountain culture, sports and the environment. The festival goes on a world-wide tour thereafter, including to South Africa ( banff.co.za).
The whole town was in bloom: Potted flowers decorated windowsills, baskets of flowers hung from lamp posts, every hotel and guesthouse had a manicured garden, and the middelmannetjie in the main road had crates full of pink, red and yellow flowers. I even
stubbed my toe on a pot of African marigolds! The Bow River flows past town; I did a short 20-minute walk to Bow Falls, which is about 9 m wide and 30 m high. As I made my way back, the heavens opened and I was drenched in seconds. But then the sun came out again and a rainbow appeared above the river.
Early the next morning, I shouldered my backpack and set out on the Tunnel Mountain Trail (4,3 km) near town. I soon met a hiker from Ireland and we swapped travel stories as we hiked up to the summit of Tunnel Mountain (1 692 m). At the top, the view of Banff and the Rockies quickly quelled all conversation.
Three hours later, I was back in town. I headed over to the Banff Gondola, a kind of cable car that takes you to the top of Sulphur
Mountain (2 451 m). The ride only took eight minutes, and the views were again sublime, overlooking the Bow Valley, the surrounding mountains and Lake Minnewanka.
Lake Louise was next on my list – a hamlet about 57 km north of Banff. There is no public transport in the park; visitors can use their own vehicle or a private bus service. These buses stop at several spots in the park and you can hop on and off as you please. The buses don’t follow the busy Icefields Parkway either, they take a quieter route. Grizzly bears, black bears, elk, moose and mountain goats occur in the park. It’s hard to spot the animals in the dense forests, and the tour leaders pull over as soon as they see movement. I caught a glimpse of a black bear. My first stop was Moraine Lake. I stared
out over the turquoise water for a while, then walked down the path to the lakeshore to see it up close and to get away from the Instagram crowd and their phones. The path took me closer to the mountains and a shallow waterfall. You can hire a kayak here, but it’s expensive: R1 500 per hour for two people.
I took the afternoon bus to Lake Louise and hiked the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail (14 km) along the side of the lake and through several forests. Colourful wild flowers complemented the blue sky.
As I walked deeper into the valley, the forests petered out into grey slopes littered with rocks and glacial debris. There was still snow in lowlying areas and small waterfalls formed as the snow melted in the sun.
After a day of scenic vistas, I returned to the backpackers’ lodge in Lake Louise where I shared a room with three older Japanese men. They were friendly, quiet and considerate.
On my last morning in the park, the mountains were shrouded in cloud and rain fell sporadically. I pulled on my waterproof jacket and boots and hoped for the best: I wanted to hike the Lake Agnes Trail and climb the
Big Beehive.
After half an hour on the trail, the rain intensified. The route went relentlessly upward, through an alpine forest where mushrooms clung to rotting tree trunks.
I arrived at Mirror Lake about 45 minutes later – where the water did indeed reflect the mountain splendour – and I reached the Lake Agnes Tea House 20 minutes thereafter. People were queuing for a hot drinks and waffles in the chilly drizzle. You can only reach this popular tea house, built in 1901, on foot – even the staff have to walk about 7 km. Sugar, flour and other supplies are flown in by helicopter. I sat under a tree and waited for the rain to clear. After a while I joined a group of Chinese tourists on their way to Big Beehive peak, roughly 1,6 km further. We walked around Lake Agnes and climbed a muddy trail that zigzagged upwards, but clouds obscured the famous view of Lake Louise at the top. Oh well, I would have to buy a postcard of the view, or come back and try again one day!
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Transport? You can travel in your own vehicle, but expect to get stuck in traffic. Even if you arrive at the turn-off to Moraine Lake super early, say 4.30 am, you’ll still wait up to three hours to get access. Private bus services skip the queues. I bought a day pass at HopOnBanff ( hoponbanff.com) for R750.
Cost: Canada is expensive (1 Canadian dollar = R12,50) so you’ll have to budget carefully. A return ticket from South Africa to Calgary costs R17 000 to R24 000 and it’s a seriously long flight. I was in the air for 27 hours, with an eight-hour layover. South Africans need a visa to visit Canada. The park fee is C$10 (about R120) per person per day.
Accommodation? I stayed at the HI Banff Alpine Centre and HI Lake Louise Alpine Centre. Accommodation is expensive and has to be booked three to six months in advance. Dorm room about R850 per person; double room about R1 600 per night ( hihostels.ca). The hotels and guesthouses are even pricier. No properties in the park may be rented out so Airbnb or couch surfing is not an option.
Weather: The weather is unpredictable; thunderstorms and rain showers are common. It rains almost every day in summer so pack accordingly. But the rain also clears just as quickly – wait about 20 minutes and you’ll be good to go. More info: banffnationalpark.com; banffjaspercollection.com; pc.gc.ca
Sources: nationalgeographic.com; morainelake.com; lakeagnesteahouse.com