When a couple of Suz's friends from England passed through our neck of the woods, Suz offered to take them out on a hike in Banff.
Mt Bourgeau is just a few kilometers west of Banff so off we went to check it out. If we hadn't been visiting, we probably would have become impatient with the longish trudge through the trees.This chore done with though, the trail opens up to the sub alpine where waterfalls are switchbacked and cliffs soar above. Bourgeau Lake is typically pristine as most mountain lakes tend to be.
Upon gaining the upper bowl, you are treated to grassy ledges, trickling creeks and rocky, rolling decorations. These alpine meadows always make me feel like a dog suddenly off leash trying to run in three directions at the same time.With a little more effort, we wandered up further to reach Harvey pass. The picture below is looking north from the pass. Somehow the rest of our pictures got erased while we were in Newfoundland (I blame the time change.)
Harvey pass is the start of the climb up Mt Bourgeau. At this point we turned around as we had a very leisurely coffee in Banff to start the day. Next Year I guess. On descent, our blue skies quickly turned afoul and a cold rain pounded us for hours as we retreated. I had played raincoat roulette that day and left my raincoat in the car. Not thinking it was a big deal since we were on an easy trail, I paid the price and got well deserved ribbing from Suz.
2 comments:
Is your method of using feet for vertical and km for linear standard among climbers? Even if it is, keep in mind that if you use inches and cm the numbers look even bigger!
That day ended with all of us in the parking lot contemplating how the word 'wet' didn't quite describe our state. Dave was fortunate enough to not have unpacked from work so he had extra clothes in the trunk. I, on the other hand, didn't anticipate being soaked and ended up driving back to Calgary wrapped in an old Mexican poncho, the only dry thing in the car.
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