A View Of The Rockies From The Trans Canadian Highway (HWY 1)
12th of Jun, 2010 - 15 colleagues from IBM, amid much fanfare trekked the picturesque snow laden peaks above Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. The names of the trekkers - Sudarshan Madabhushi (DPE Suncor Account), Monojit Dhara - la premier chef l'organisateur (the prime organiser),Manish Kaduskar - la chauffeur de la premiere voiture (chauffeur of the first car), Rahul Rane (myself), Sachin Kulkarni, Pramod Limaye, Brijesh Bhaduaria, Sushil Katkade - la chauffeur de la deuxième voiture (chauffeur of the second car), Manisha Ghooi, Anand Sastry, Debasis Ghosh, Avaneesh Gupta (replaced Madhu Prakash on account of illness), Sijo Mooken, Saurav Maria and Srinivas Vadrevu (accompanied by his wife)
Preparations for the trip had started much earlier, earlier than the actual date of realization. The original location destined for the trek was Lake O'Hara, which is located in the province of British Columbia, Canada. At the time when the planning was just ripening, which was at least 2 weeks earlier than the holy date (the date the trek was made), there were many more faces doing the discussion rounds for planning. But as time went on and priorities changed we had the above listed members remaining. With the final count of members locked at 14, we planned for two 7-seater-vans - Dodge Grand Caravan. Srinivas joined later with his wife and he came in his own car - a Chrysler 300. It was decided that Manish would take the wheels of the first van and Sushil, of the second.
We had booked the first car from the National Alamo Rental agency. We were to pick it up on the 11th of Jun at 6 PM MDT. Manish took us (myself, Brijesh, Monojit, Sachin and Pramod) in his car to 10th Avenue, where the agency is located. We completed the formalities and Manish left back in his car for his home. I was registered as an additional driver and took the rest of the folks to the North East (the north-eastern region of Calgary, popularly called so, in the local lingo). We went to a variety of places to purchase a good amount of diverse fuel for the stomach and by the time we landed back home, we had scrapped a good 5 hours of time from the time machine. And as we did not have the mechanism in place, to turn back time, we bargained with it, by pressing a heavier foot on the Gas Pedal and were glad enough to make it home by 11 PM.
The next day i.e. on the actual tour date, we were supposed to meet in the back alley of Garden Towers at 9.45 AM; but as history has it, it was never to be and JAB-WE-MET (when we met), it was only at 10:25 AM. Sushil's van (the second Dodge) arrived at about 10.35, and we were able to push off by about 11 o' clock. The drive to Lake Louise takes you through the Canadian Rockies and The Trans-Canada Highway (HWY-1) offers really magnificent and breathtaking views of what I find is one of the most beautiful landscapes on the face of this earth.
We reached Lake Louise by 1.30 PM. All members got together at the base of the trekking trail, just in front of Lake Louise. Lake Louise is situated in The Banff National Park at an elevation of 1750 meters. It is situated near the Hamlet of Lake Louise and is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Elizabeth of England.
Group Snap At The Base
I have already been to Lake Louise once before, in the winter time, in February 2010. That time the lake was fully frozen and we had walked kilometers on it to reach the other end which has a glacier. The fantasy of this lake is that, every time you gaze at it, it has a different look to offer, which is even more mesmerizing than the previous one. The lake also seems to change colors, from clean deep green early in the morning, to a magnificent turquoise as the sun rises and then to a scintillating emerald as the sun casts its rays in full glory upon the face of the lake.
Lake Louise
There is a trail which goes from the eastern shore of the lake up into the mountains. It has a steep grade and the sights from it are as lovely as that of the lake itself. The trek was planned in stages, all of which are given below -
1. Ascent onto The Mirror Lake - 2.6 kilometres
2. Climb onto The Lake Agnes - 0.8 kilometers from point 1
3. Visit The Tea House - Near Lake Agnes
4. Trek further to the Beehive - 1.1 kilometers from point 3
The total one way distance till the beehive, excluding the long walk from the parking lots to Lake Louise, comes to around 4.5 kilometers. Manish had been on this trail before and from the bottom he showed us where the Tea House was on the hill. Though not visible from below but you can fathom the height at which it is located in your thoughts. The sight of it nestled among coniferous trees all the way to the top makes you shiver with enthusiasm and thrill.
Relative Position Of The Tea House
The Tea House is located on the hill opposite the middle brown hill, at an elevation of 2134 meters, which must be higher than the first green hill, as seen in the above photo. We all started on a merry note, and just as the ascent started we could feel the enormous pull of gravity on our legs. Nevertheless, everyone seemed determined to make it to the top. There are two great bends while you go to the top. One before Lake Mirror and one after it
Me and Debasis At The First Bend Atop Lake Louise
We stopped over at the first great bend to take tonnes of photographs. The journey resumed soon after the photography antics were over. And then making our way through the ice laden trail (iced at some spots) we finally reached Mirror Lake. From this spot, there are two trails - one which leads atop to Lake Agnes and the other one which goes to the Plain of The Six Glaciers. The first one is 800 meters long and the second one 6.4 kilometers. We had decided to go on the first one, as the second one would be demanding too big a ransom from our body.
We had reached Mirror Lake by around 3 PM. A major break was taken at this spot and people engaged themselves liberally in the noble hobby called photography. And this was the right time for us to bite in to the snacks we were carrying with us.
The Mirror Lake
We spent about 45 minutes at this place and then started off again for Lake Agnes. The scenery, as we climbed, was not only ever changing, but also equally fascinating. From just plain rock at places, to fern and shrubs, algae and moss, huge dense trees and ice, the place had it all. We kept engaging in our photography business in between, as the landscape was too beautiful to have been bereaved of the pleasures of being captured on a camera.
Snow Capped Peaks Enroute Lake Agnes
After making yet another big turn, at which the above snap was shot, and then followed by a steeper ascent, we reached the waterfall. The folks spent time here making fun and frolic.
The Waterfall
There was a duplex fall of wooden stairs, after completion of which we reached the Tea House, which is located at an elevation of 2134 meters. The Tea House serves amazing tea and coffee and also home made fresh biscuits and cookies. It was built in 1925 and offers breath taking views of Lake Agnes and the mountains around. Transportation of goods to the tea house is probably done by means of horses. This is a very popular place and more can be found on it be searching on google.
The Tea House Built In 1925
We assembled soon after, for having lunch. It must have been 4 PM by the time we finished lunch. And some of us started to trek further to the Beehive. This place goes past the Eastern shore of Lake Agnes into the mountains. The trail here gets pretty rocky, and there is lot of ice at places. You also have to walk through some swamps before you reach a level platform. There is a definite chill in the air at this place as the location is much higher than the below lying Lake Louise. Lake Agnes, when we saw it, was 3/4th covered with ice. The ice was not like it had been on Lake Louise in winter, but was a semi slush which covered the surface. A stone thrown atop it, would sink after making a definite forced escape to the bottom of the lake with a squelch.
Lake Agnes
We walked further ahead on the eastern shore of the lake to cover another 1.1 kilometers. We did some photography at this site. Only some of us had come this far after seeing the Tea House. The rest of the group had decided to stay back. When we started to get back to the Tea House it was 6 PM and the rest of the group had moved back down to Lake Louise. We did not spend much time to shoot snaps while coming down. And by 7 PM we were down at the base our camp.
The Emerald waters of the lake were still glistening and sparkling as though a jewel had been kept under the sunlight and were a shade different than what we had seeing in the afternoon. The latitude of Lake Louise being 51 degrees north, the sun sets much later at night during summers. So you can expect to see light at even 10 PM here.
Just at the Southern end of the lake, there is a major tourist attraction - The Farimont Chateau Lake Louise. This is a very old hotel built by the Canadian Pacific Railway in the end 1800s. It would be unjust not to put a snap of this marvel here.
The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
We then drove back to reach our sweet home in Garden Towers. What a brilliant trek it was.
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