Helen Lake

I recently went on a hike to Helen Lake, accompanied by friends, Cidnee and Henk Wind and Carol and Rick Davison. Situated northwest of Lake Louise, along the Icefields Parkway, this small lake sits among some of the most breathtaking scenery I’ve seen. It is a 6 kilometer hike to the lake at an elevation of 7,890 ft. (2,405 m). From there we hiked another kilometer to a ridge above the lake at 8,202 ft. (2500 m). The view from the ridge is spectacular. You can see for miles in every direction. Today’s blog will share some of the scenes I witnessed, although I do admit the pictures do not do justice to the majesty and beauty of this area.

The first 3.5 km was through a wooded area. There was lots to see, including very colourful wildflowers. The odd gap in the trees offered some great views across the valley, including what you see in this first photo of the Crowfoot Glacier, descending Crowfoot Mountain. That’s Bow Lake in the foreground.

Once we left the forested part of the trail, we entered a vast alpine meadow and continued our climb to a bowl where we found our destination, Helen Lake. This picture of the lake was taken from the ridge above the lake, facing west toward the Columbia Icefields.

While atop the ridge I was able to enjoy a 360 degree view. Looking northward I took the next picture,  a shot of Cirque Peak.

It’s another 1,700 ft ascent to the summit of Cirque Peak from the ridge summit. Perhaps another day; for now I’m happy with the photograph. Panning to the east I took this next picture in the direction of the Dolomite Pass. That’s Katherine Lake in the foreground, the north end of Dolomite Peak to the right and Watermelon Peak in the centre of the scene.

After descending back to Helen Lake, we began the downward hike to the trailhead. We re-traced our path and it was enjoyable to see many of the same views from the opposite direction. My next picture features Mount Hector to the south of our location and completes the 360 degree view available from the meadows above the tree line.

One of the day’s highlights was the abundance of wildflowers. Summer was late this year and it was unusual to see the profusion of flowers so late in the season. Here’s one of the many pictures I took of the flowers.

Many thanks to Henk, Cidnee , Rick and Carol for a great day in the mountains.