A Marmot enjoying a summers day in the Canadian Rocky mountains. This picture was taken by Consolation Lake, a 6.5 kilometer or 4 mile in and out hike from Moraine Lake in the Lake Louise area of Banff National Park. Before you comment and say it is beautiful here, we know that, so do a few million tourists who visit these parts per year.
To get to the trailhead by Moraine Lake Parking lot, one needs to reserve a spot on a bus through Parks Canada. The bus doesn't run this time of year as everything in the photo would be under a few feet of snow and it would be very cold. These pictures are from July, when the temperature is in the mid-teens.
Watch for bears! They recommend hiking in groups of four or more. These trails are often closed because of bear activity. We ignored the sign because it is a popular hike and there are people every few hundred meters at the height of the season. Bears don't like people and so long as we aren't the slowest or dumbest hiker in the area, I like to think that everything is going to be A Okay.
The hike skirts the Alpine zone and is about 1900 to 2000 meters above sea level. This is why the season is so short along with the trees. We are looking up an avalanche chute, another reason why the area doesn't open up for hikes until the late Spring.
Walking through the forest is the easy part of the hike. So long as you are watching where you walk as there are roots and rocks to trip over. The path is very easy to follow and at this point one does not need to pay much attention, or a map or GPS.
Here's the river running from the Consolation lakes down eventually to the ocean. For the most part it is a raging stream of melting glacial water.
The river must be relatively new as it hasn't found much of a course and just sort of flows down the mountain into the Bow Valley below. Hearing the sounds of rushing water being surrounded by greenery always leaves us with a good feeling.
Where the forest floor is wet, they create raised trails. Snow melts from the mountains all around and is always trying to find its way into the river. The path is muddy in places but that is all part of the fun.
The forest opens up into some sort of alpine swamp. We are getting close to the halfway point of this hike.
Glaciers around Mount Babel and Fay are retreating leaving a boulder field in the valley below. Marmots love this sort of territory as they can easily hide between the rocks from various predators like foxes and wolves.
Marmots are found mostly high up in the Rocky Mountains. This one was used to people and allowed us to get fairly close.
The last bit of the trail to get to the lake was a struggle. You have to jump and climb boulders making it more of a scramble than a hike.
This was far enough for us that day. It is always nice to see snow at ground level in the middle of July. The glaciers hang onto the mountains in the background and slowly melt giving rise to the Consolation lakes.
In case you are wondering, this is a mountain. I could make up any name for it and you can take my word for it. Rocky mountains are a very unoriginal name, all mountains are rocky.
Here is a classic photo for you to enjoy of a snow covered mountain at the height of the summer in the height of the Rockies. On this side, water flows into the Hudson bay, in Eastern Canada. On the other side of the mountain, water flows into the Pacific Ocean in Western Canada.
They call this a snow forest. This sign is at Lake Louise, a few hundred meters down from the Consolation lakes and a far more popular lake. Lake Louise has been inundated with tourists and we much prefer going to places where there aren't tens of thousands of people taking a selfie and enjoying nature.
Thank you for reading and have a great weekend.
All photos were taken with an s24 and are unfiltered.
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