Day 1+2: Mo-Raine Mo Problems
Ok, bad puns aside, Moraine Lake had no problems. Neither did Lake Louise, both of which the ol' Sandmeister and I visited yesterday.
(As I'm writing, he's currently asleep with one leg crossed over his other's bent knee. Who does that?)
Now Sandmeister and I have both seen our fair share of subalpine lakes. This past summer, we did 2-3 hikes a week for three weeks before and after my *first big solo camping trip!*
There was Lake Eunice in Mt. Rainier National Park, on our wait to Fremont Lookout:
Then I did Anderson-Watson Lakes in North Cascades National Park (hint: the *first big solo camping trip*). These lakes glisten and felt warm enough for me to take a dip in. Unreal views of Mt. Baker, but that's for another time. Check the lakes (and my lame-ass selfies) out here:
We also checked out Lake Twenty-Two, for whose name we could find no origin. I was so lucky to catch the Sandmeister in his natural habitat: the rock he lives under.
Yet Lake Morraine and Lake Louise still astounded me. Today, we saw even more lakes, like Peyto Lake, Waterfowl Lakes, and Beauvert Lake, in addition to Athabasca and Sunwapta Falls, the Athabasca Glacier, and countless stops along the way. We drove and stopped and drove and stopped from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Today's shout out goes to TED Radio Hour for that good car ride entertainment. (Check out the amazing episode we listened to on the history of humanity here.)
It's a very humbling experience seeing glacial subalpine lakes, especially when you can see the glaciers feeding the rivers and lakes. The glaciers, as they've been doing for years, grind away at the rocky mountains, crushing the minerals into a fine powder called rock flour. As the ice melts away, the rock flour travels downstream with the frigid water, all the way into the lakes. The sun shines down on the lake and hits the milky waters, all the colors of light are absorbed except for green and blue. This process gives the lakes the astounding shades of turquoise one can find across the Rockies.
Glacial lakes give the rest of the subalpines a serious run for their money.
Other highlights: we took an amazing ski chair up to the top of Banff's ski area, during which we peered down to see grizzlies with their baby cubs. We saw a cub crossing the road just outside of Jasper, too. Along the road, a herd of mountain goats (with the TINIEST babies!) fed on the grass while tourists got out of their cars and walked way too damn close for comfort. Did they not see the many signs instructing one to do the EXACT OPPOSITE?
Enjoy le photos, unedited bc it is 1:51 a.m. and I'm supposed to go mountain biking tomorrow. LMAO!
Cheers, my friends.