Banff: Consolation Lakes Trail, Moraine Lake with wildlife!

Banff: Consolation Lakes Trail and Moraine Lake with lots of wildlife spottings

On our August 2013 trip we revisited a trail that I wrote about previously, the Consolation Lakes Trail at Moraine Lake. You may wonder why I am writing about this trail again, had that much really changed? Not really, however, the weather, the company and some of the sights were very different on this most recent hike.

The morning started off with our packing up from our camping site near Glacier National Park and driving a few hours east to the Lake Louise campground. Along the way we saw the traditional mountain sheep along the highway near Golden. They love to hang out here and we see them almost every time we drive through the area.

Mountain Sheep in Golden, British Columbia

Once we arrived in Lake Louise we set up the trailer and our camp site and all made our way to the showers. It had been a few days without a shower and we were all feeling the need for one desperately. I highly recommend the Lake Louise campground if you plan on tent camping or using a trailer. It is in a fantastic location, offers warm showers and clean bathrooms and has some great Parks Canada programming in the evening. It is a great place to stay and see this beautiful area for a very decent price.

All washed up it was time to go meet some of my dad's hiking club friends at Moraine Lake as the club had arranged to do the Consolation Lakes Trail. My brothers opted to stay behind at the campground as the weather wasn't looking all that great and they had done this easy trail in the past.

When we arrived at Moraine Lake and met up with the group it was starting to rain so we all pulled on our rain gear. This group doesn't mind the rain and the trail  is fairly flat and safe.

I didn't take too many pictures along the way as  most of the trail is through the woods and I had hiked this trail in the past. It starts off at the rockpile at Moraine Lake and you have to cross some scrambly rocks at the beginning but after that it is a wide and fairly flat dirt path to the lakes. It is about 3 km to the lakes, a very easy hike.

It rained off and on for most of the hike but none of us were too bothered by it. In fact, I liked the effect that the clouds had on the scenery, very beautiful.

When you get to the end of the trail you have to clamber over some rocks to get a good view of the lake. Due to the rain the rocks were fairly slippery and none of us were willing to risk injury. I did not take any pictures of Consolation Lake itself but I did take some in the general area. You can read my previous report about this trail to see more pictures of the area and the lake: http://cdnwanderlust.blogspot.ca/2013/05/moraine-lake-and-consolation-lakes.html

Once we got back to the trailhead I had to go up the rockpile to get a view of Moraine Lake, one of the best views in the Rockies! I saw some cute wildelife in the area as well.

Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel

Pika

Pika

 My previous visits to Moraine Lake had been on relatively sunny days and the lake was spectacular as the sunlight causes the water to reflect the most amazing colour. However, the lake is still magnificent even in overcast and rainy weather.

There were very few people at the lake as it was around dinner time but the few who were there were fixated on the mountainside nearby. I looked over to see what the fuss was and there was a Grizzly Bear! We were all very excited at the sighting and I had to laugh because this was now the second time that we had spotted a Grizzly and my brothers had missed out yet again. The first time had been on our trip last year when we spotted a mother grizzly with her cubs.

My dinky camera did not get very good photos. My dad got some that were slightly better. I was happy just to see this magnificent creature in the wild and at a safe distance!

Grizzly Bear at Moraine Lake

 Here are two shots from my dad's camera. I am sure that the people who were there with professional cameras got some amazing shots and footage. The Parks Canada guides who were there were encouraging people to put their cameras down and just enjoy seeing this bear in its natural habitat.

Grizzly Bear at Moraine Lake

Grizzly Bear at Moraine Lake

 My group was starting to get restless and hungry for dinner so I got a few last shots of the lake in as some cloud cover came in. Sunny or cloudy, Moraine Lake is worth a visit!

Back at the campsite I bragged to my brothers about my good luck with bear sightings - I have seen many bears in the parks now and they have only had a very brief glimpse of a cub scampering across the road in the distance.

After dinner my family decided to take a drive down the Bow Valley Parkway. It was on a rainy evening just like this one the previous year in which we saw  the mother grizzly and her cubs so we thought we would try our luck again.

Well, no grizzly sightings for the boys but we did see this fellow loping through the fields and down the highway. My brothers thought it was a stray dog but my dad told them it was definitely a wolf. Another animal to check off our wildlife sighting list.

The drive back to the campground turned out to be rather frightening as a torrential downpour started and it was now dark out and there were no lights. We had to pull over to the side of the road because we literally could not see anything as it was raining so hard. Luckily we arrived back at the campground alive and satisfied with our day and thankful for our lives!

Sherbrooke Lake and Niles Meadow: Yoho National Park

Sherbrooke Lake and Niles Meadow: Yoho National Park

We drove over to Yoho to hike this trail from our campground in Glacier National Park. My dad was scouting the trail for a hike he had planned for his hiking club in a few days time.

The drive in was not promising, it was cloudy and raining most of the way over. However, the sun started to peak through when we arrived.  We all got ready and got the dogs prepped, they were excited to be hitting the trail!

The parking lot and trailhead for the Sherbrooke Lake/Niles Meadow hike is right off the Trans-Canada just a few minutes away from the Visitor Centre in Field and is about a 20 minute drive from Lake Louise. There is a port-a-pottie at the trailhead but as is always the case it is not too pleasant. I recommend hitting the bathrooms in the Field Visitor Centre before/after the hike for some more pleasant facilities.

The first part of the hike up to Sherbrooke Lake is not too demanding and is a nice short hike for inexperienced hikers or families with young children. The trail allows a slow gain in elevation and winds through a pleasant forest. Nothing too spectacular at this point.

As the trail leveled out we started to see mountains peaking through the trees, very lovely.

And then we started to see Sherbrooke Lake through the trees. There were several small paths that went down to the lake from the main trail. We chose one and made our way down to find a lunch spot.

We found some logs and rocks to sit on while we munched away and took in the beauty of the lake. 

After lunch my dad and brothers continued with the trail for the Niles Meadow portion of the hike. I stayed behind with the dogs and my step-mother as my dad said there was a portion of the trail that he thought would be too frightening for me as it was washed out the previous year when he had attempted the trail. Well, my brothers reported after the hike that it was not scary at all. Guess I will get to tackle it sometime in the future!

I did explore the trail to the end of the lake while the boys were gone. 

The following pictures are ones taken by my dad and brothers as they hiked up to Niles Meadow. This is a higly rated hike in many hiking guides.

It started to sprinkle on their way back to the car but luckily they were saved from a major soaking.


A few days later Dad went back and hiked this trail again with his hiking club. The weather was a bit nicer for them. We didn't join him on this hike but here are some of his pictures from that day.