Larch Valley

This past week I participated in a hike to Larch Valley, located due south of Lake Louise. Our group departed from the Moraine Lake Lodge, trekking 2-1/2 kilometres westward up the valley. This hike is one of the great favourites of hikers and we were fortunate to be able to go during mid-week. Larch Valley is particularly popular at this time of the year when its namesake tree, the Larch displays its autumn colours. The valley is resplendent with the colour of these unique conifers which turn a brilliant yellow/gold before shedding their needles for the winter. (The Larch is also know as the Tamarack tree in other parts of the country.) The mountain scenery is also magnificent with the crests of the  Valley of Ten Peaks visible to the south, Mount Temple to the north and Pinnacle Mountain and Eiffel Peak to the west.

Our hike began at 10:30 am with overcast skies and low clouds obscuring much of the mountain peaks. The first 2 km of the trail pass through an area heavily wooded with pine and fir. By the time we emerged, the sun was poking through and soon burned off the mantle of clouds, revealing a beautiful, blue-sky day.

Today’s first picture features a view south toward the Valley of Ten Peaks where Moraine Lake is situated. The two mountains shown on the right of the picture are Mount Babel and Mount Fay with the Fay Glacier in front of it. In the foreground you can see the brilliant colours of the Larch trees.

Looking northwest we could see the Sentinel Pass, another 3.4 km further and several hundred feet higher. It is bounded by the two sentinels, Pinnacle Mountain on the west and Mount Temple on the east. We didn’t proceed to the pass on this day, perhaps on a future hike. I hear the view is quite spectacular from there.

The next series of pictures is presented as a slideshow and includes a medley of scenes I took during the trip. As always, click on the right side of the image to advance, to the left to back up.

My last scene is a close-up of an old Larch tree that I found appealing. I like the variety of colour in the shot, the detail of the needles and the texture in the  barren limbs, all backgrounded by the encompassing mountains.

I was very pleased to be able to enjoy this marvellous hike in the company of good friends and in the absence of the huge crowds which preceded us the previous weekend. I read in this week’s paper that 8,500 vehicles crowded the narrow mountain road leading to Moraine Lake on both Saturday and Sunday before the road was closed to further traffic. Gee, glad I missed that.

We wrapped up the day at the Moraine Lake Cafe. Perhaps a little tired, but pleased with our day’s experience. The Stella wasn’t bad either.