On Taido’s birthday we did what was maybe the most beautiful hike I’ve ever seen.

We hiked through Larch Valley up to Sentinel Pass which leaves from Moraine Lake.

Moraine Lake is very near Lake Louise and is similar in that a trail runs along one side of it while the other side is steep rocks rising from the lake.  Lots of more strenuous hikes leave the meandering trails that run along both lakes, but one could probably be happy walking along the lake for a long time as both lakes are exceptionally beautiful.

However, there are lots of other people with whom you must share those flatter trails, so the best way to get alone in a hurry is to take one of the trails that lead steeply up from the lake.

The hike up to Larch Valley starts with a series of hefty switchbacks from which you get peekaboo views of Moraine Lake as you get higher and higher.

The incline seems to go on forever, but once you follow the path into the snow dusted woods and start to see these magical trees, you forget how your legs are hurting and reach for your camera.

I probably have 300 pictures just of these trees.

Yellow Christmas trees.

Furry yellow pipe cleaner trees.

I have never seen a pine tree that does not stay green.

Larch trees are native to the mountains in Canada and I don’t know if I’ve ever before seen one since I haven’t been to the mountains in the fall.

But now that I’ve seen them, and the yellow Aspens too,

I can’t recommend autumn in the mountains highly enough.

The weather is perfect for hiking.

The snow has not yet taken over.

And the colors!

We said over and over that this was the most perfect day for a big birthday.

Above tree line, Sentinel Pass dips between these two peaks. 

Most of us made it to a lake just at the base of this pass.

You can see where the trail zigzags up the pass on the other side of the lake.

It was so cold and windy right here that I turned around and went back down, but Ben stayed with Taido and his sister to climb to the top. The rest of the photos are Taido’s from the pass.

We took our time getting down and they managed to catch us after getting up to the pass.

Back down at the lake, we got coffee and hot tea at the lodge to top off our perfect day.

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Yesterday we drove up to Lake Louise, arguably one of the most beautiful spots on earth.

A path runs along one side of the lake.  Towards the end you can look back at the famous Chateau at Lake Louise.  My grandmother stayed there many years ago and I remember her talking about how beautiful it was.

From the edge of the lake, we took the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail up into the mountains.  We were excited to find the Tea House that was built for hikers in 1927.

The trail leading up away from the lake was very steep.  Lots of climbing.

From the trail, there were several points you could look back and see Lake Louise.  I stopped lots to take pictures in front of me towards the glaciers and behind me of Lake Louise getting farther and farther away.

The yellow trees continue to amaze! Waves of them high on the mountains.

High above the lake, the trail meanders through fields of boulders and along cliffs.

The trail went along a ridge below the glaciers.  We think we counted six as we were hiking this ridge.

Just before we got to the tea house, we reached snow.

We were so excited about reaching this adorable tea house.

We had the best lentil vegetable soup ever to warm up our tummies.  Plus a rich chocolate cake, apple pie, coffee and of course, tea.  Wonderful rewards for a hefty hike.  Everyone was delighted.

We bounced back down the mountain with full bellies.

This picture is from just below the tea house before we hiked back down.

Back down at the lake, we spotted a bear (small black blurry spot in the picture above).  He was across the lake from us, so we stood and watched him for a while as he climbed up the hill away from the lake.

All in all it’s about seven miles round trip to the tea house from the trailhead.  We were plenty tired when we finished.

And a little chilled from the damp air.  We finished the day with more coffee in the Chateau.

Cold, cloudy days will forever remind me of our summer of camping in the Pacific Northwest and how I drank coffee or tea all day long.  You are always trying to warm up those chilled bones.  The kids are motoring through a huge warehouse box of hot chocolate.

But it is well worth the chilled noses and toes to get to see this part of the world.

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On our second of hiking in Banff, we hit the most popular trail in the area.

Johnston Canyon is an amazing trail, complete with paved, elevated level pathways that are almost stroller accessible.  Lucky for us, we are now stroller (and even baby backpack) free.  I am loving these days of everyone hiking on their own two feet.

In fact, I’m having to run to keep up with them.  This hike is super family friendly.  Everyone in our party made it the whole way.

The trail went by so many of these gorgeous pools and falls.  The kids wanted to see if we could hike down underneath some of them.  On the way back down, we found a trail to this set of falls, so we could actually touch them.  And even get behind them.

We had a picnic lunch on the trail, which we devoured.

After loading up and heading out of Johnston Canyon, we had to stop and take pictures of the AMAZING golden Aspens.

On the drive back I took pictures of this peak that looks like it’s been sliced off on one side.  Very striking.

We stopped and did another short trail near town called Fenland Trail.

It was deserted compared to Johnston Canyon, so we got to meet this forest friend in the quiet woods.

Then on our way back through town, we spotted a rainbow!

All in all, another great day in Banff!

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Our first hike in Banff was roughly five miles, with some pretty decent elevation gain.  We had a beautiful view of Lake Minnewanka through the trees.  We hiked around old mining shafts.  We climbed boulders and chased pikas under rocks.  We picnicked at the bottom of a great rock basin that was cut by an alpine glacier under the shadow of the sheer eastern face of Cascade Mountain.

My legs were aching at the end of the day.  In a good way.

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The trees are a sparkling gold instead of just yellow.

Against the pine trees and the blue sky, the color shines so bright.  As we are hiking through this part of the Canadian Rockies this week, we are all staring up into this blue, blue sky.

The contrasting colors and the bright shades of yellow take my breath away!

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I am currently in the Canadian Rockies with my four children and my parents. Oh yes, Taido got a relief driver and gave us the slip so he could study without interruption for the final two weeks. So far he has missed a lot of time in the van on the road with insanely loud Chinos and several nights of setting up, camping and taking down in the rain. I know he’s really kicking himself.

On the bright side, we have seen five bears. We saw a mama bear and her two cubs climbing down from a tree. We watched them for almost half an hour. It was amazingly sweet. The kids went nuts. Even Simon was pointing excitedly.

And today, we drove the stunning Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Banff. We got enough breaks in the rain to see the glaciers and waterfalls all along the way. Mary Polly, Daddy and I even hiked the short trail up from the road to touch the toe of the Athabasca Glacier. The boys response when asked if they wanted to hike up and see a glacier, I don’t want to hike anymore. It’s too cold. Whine. Whine. My reply, Fine then. MP and I got stuck in some glacial silt. Both of her shoes came off and Daddy had to carry her back to the car. We were all covered in this gray muddy substance before it was over with. I’m not sure my poor beloved hiking boots will ever recover. Still, we touched a glacier. The path up was fascinating because it had markers where the glacier used to be according to years, showing how much it has receded since 1885 and on up to 1992. You hear about the glaciers shrinking, but it was crazy to actually see it. The markers where it used to be. It’s sad.

Actually we saw a lot of sad exhibitions today on how our lifestyle affects the earth. Lots on global warming. And then we also read a lot about the danger to the animal habitats that the throng of visitors is every year. The kids watched this sad movie about a grizzly bear whose comfort around people eventually lead to its death. And there was a book about another similar bear. I had read in my guidebook that they are trying hard to do more to protect the area’s grizzly population, and we definitely saw evidence of that today. There are trails that are closed this time of year because they are part of the grizzlies’ grazing grounds. The kids were all impacted by all the protecting animal wildlife propaganda. They are all about the plight of the bears right now. And not so much about learning the facts about glaciers, which is ahem, what I told them we were learning today.

ME: Everyone tell me three things you learned about glaciers today.
COLE: Ummmmm, I forgot already.
BEN: Glaciers are cold.
MARY POLLY: You can get your shoe stuck in the mud if you hike up to a glacier.

We are really making up for all these missed days of school, I tell you. Maybe their teachers will only ask them about bears.

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