Day 5 - Monday 9/18/2017 - Hike Bow Glacier Falls
The weather forecast called for rain starting at noon or so, so no alarms were set since we figured it would make for a lighter day / rest day. We woke up at about 7:30 however and grabbed breakfast at The Trailhead, which was a coffee shop / deli of sorts in Lake Louise. It was pretty good! Emily fell in love with London Fogs there (Earl Grey Tea made with steamed milk basically). I had a creation called a Beef Sausage roll that was very tasty!
We then ventured up Ice Field Parkway to do the Bow Glacier Falls hike that started at the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge. We kicked off the hike at about 9:15 AM. Bow Lake was beautiful this morning. The day started overcast with a touch of sun. The hike went around Bow Lake and then followed the Bow River up to Bow Falls. We had great views of Bow Glacier as we hike toward the falls but the Glacier was hidden by the cliffs once we got closer. We kept running into splits on the trail for when the lake and river were higher in the spring, but luckily, we were able to take the short cuts through the flood plain on this day. It started lightly snowing on us as we got near the falls. We rested at the falls a bit and enjoyed the valley it was in. It lightly snowed on us all the way until we got back to the lake. We made it back to the lodge at about 12:15mPM. We then took a tour of the Num-Ti-Jah’s gift shop that was about to close for the season. Em’s shoe got a little wet so we headed back to the hotel in Lake Louise to change.
We then ventured up Ice Field Parkway to do the Bow Glacier Falls hike that started at the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge. We kicked off the hike at about 9:15 AM. Bow Lake was beautiful this morning. The day started overcast with a touch of sun. The hike went around Bow Lake and then followed the Bow River up to Bow Falls. We had great views of Bow Glacier as we hike toward the falls but the Glacier was hidden by the cliffs once we got closer. We kept running into splits on the trail for when the lake and river were higher in the spring, but luckily, we were able to take the short cuts through the flood plain on this day. It started lightly snowing on us as we got near the falls. We rested at the falls a bit and enjoyed the valley it was in. It lightly snowed on us all the way until we got back to the lake. We made it back to the lodge at about 12:15mPM. We then took a tour of the Num-Ti-Jah’s gift shop that was about to close for the season. Em’s shoe got a little wet so we headed back to the hotel in Lake Louise to change.
We then grabbed lunch at The Trailhead and since the weather was actually fine in Lake Louise, we drove down Bow Valley Rd (the scenic way) to Banff. We hit a few stores around Banff and dodged rain while doing it. We ended up at the Park Distillery for a drink. We were in awe of the clouds as they stuck to the mountains on our drive back to Lake Louise. The top third of the mountains were also white with a light dusting of snow.
We headed to the Fairmont Lake Louise with hopes to eat at their bar, as the guy Emily and I talked to the night of Saturday the 16th at the B&B told us they allowed. They were full though and were only allowing guests. The view from the big windows in the bar was breath taking though so we had to go out to the end of the lake and take it in for our selves. It provided, probably, one of the best views and images from the trip!
We ended up back at our hotel, at the bar in the basement, watching Sunday night football and hockey, ending a great day!
Bow Glacier Falls Hike - 5.8 Miles round trip; 508 ft elevation gain
Safe Travels,
B&E
We ended up back at our hotel, at the bar in the basement, watching Sunday night football and hockey, ending a great day!
Bow Glacier Falls Hike - 5.8 Miles round trip; 508 ft elevation gain
Safe Travels,
B&E