Waterton National Park -Day2

Today, I was up at 7 AM for an eager start. Could not sleep. This time I was prepared for some alpine hiking. Bring on the snow! Had my waterproofs on. The camera was charged. I packed a map and plenty of water and snacks. Took a look up. To the west was blue sky and to the north was cloud.  Hard choice.  I figured I would start in the west and finish north and hope the clouds are gone by then. In other words the weather Gods told me to go west.

Drove up the paved road to Cameron Lake. The road, Alkima Parkway,  is an alpine road leading to mountain lakes and hiking trails. At the end of the road was a park building and allot of snow. I was definitely early in the season.  No worries I was on a mission.

The lake was frozen over and the snow to my knees. A cleared path lead out to the lake. It was busy with sightseers even at this time.  The scenery, regardless was spell binding. There is a large bowl in the mountains fronting Cameron Lake  and you can hear avalanches echo in the distance.

From the parking lot is a trail leading to Alkima Lake. The snow covering the trail but snowshoe tracks still provided a path to follow. The snow was hard in places so I could walk on top but every once in awhile a foot would fall through and down I went. The trail was only 500 metres but it seemed allot farther.

When I arrived at the lake it was only partially iced over. The picnic table was covered. And again the views were best. No one was around. Not a soul. Just me and my sandwich and a Gatorade. I wedged myself into the snow and sat back and enjoyed my find.

On the way down from Cameron Lake I stopped at a few of the trails and hiked into the snow pack to see if there were any views I could reach for a picture. No views but a beautiful little waterfall on Rowe Creek served as a good spot for a snack. Picture above is me at the river.

Clouds had disappeared so the second part of the day was a driving up the river valley on the Red Rock Parkway. It lead to a large parking lot leading to some trailheads. The Red Rock Canyon Trail is a short loop trail overlooking a, you guessed it, a red rock canyon. The canyon is easily accessed from the parking area and allot of people were around.

I choose more activity and after hiking the Red Rock I started out exploring the Blakiston Falls Trail. This was a great easy-grade hike leading to two viewpoints overlooking the falls. The trail was a bit muddy and some snow but otherwise a breeze.

Headed back to camp and packed up and left to meet Bro in Lethbridge.

Waterton National Park is a forgotten park which many have not heard of. This is a shame. It is a gem in Alberta. Imagine a little Banff with a village and big mountains.

Be well, Be active.

Greg G