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!

Banff National Park: Moraine Lake and the Consolation Lakes Trail

I thought that I would start this blog off by posting about the trails that I have experienced in the Canadian Rockies. As a child I had visited the Rockies on several of our moves across country; however, I had little to no memory of those visits. August 2011 marked my first trip to this magnificent area of the country as an adult. It was a spur of the moment trip and the main purpose was to meet my dad's cousin in Lake Louise in order to pick up our Great Aunt who we would then be taking back to my dad's home in BC so that she could visit with her sister, our grandmother. Having only a few days notice of this trip threw me through a loop, I am a planner, and the notion of taking on this trip having done little to no research was a tad overwhelming. Never fear though, my dad had been to the area before and I was able to locate some books and plan on the flight out. 

We would spend three full days in Lake Louise, Banff before meeting our Great Aunt on the fourth day and driving back to my dad's home.

On the first day we arrived at the Lake Louise campground around 10 in the morning after having spent a very wet night in Glacier National Park. After we set up camp  and hung our belongings out to dry we had the afternoon to take a short hike. I suggested that we head up to Moraine Lake and hike the Consolation Lakes Trail. I was aching to set eyes on the magnificent Moraine Lake and the Consolation Lakes trailhead was located right at the lake and the hike was described as being short and easy, a perfect way to ease in.

Moraine Lake was about a 20 minute drive from the Lake Louise campground and the views on the drive are not too shabby.

Road to Moraine Lake

Upon arrival at the lake there is a medium sized parking lot. Since it was the early afternoon in peak tourist season the lot was packed but we were luckily able to grab a spot. You get a very small glimpse of the lake from the parking lot.

In order to get the traditional view of the lake you need to climb up to the top of the moraine. No worries, it is a well-designed path, no scrambling up over rocks here. Pretty much anybody can manage the steps to get to the top of the moraine. This is the view you are greeted with when you get to the top. Beautiful, even on a cloudy day. It is even more magnificent on a sunny day when the true colour of the lake is reflected beautifully.

Moraine Lake

The family from left to right: Dad, Stepmother, the brothers, and myself. Of course, can't leave out the star of the family: Marcus, our beloved pup.

Once the family got tired of my taking about a million photos of Moraine Lake it was time to set off on the Consolation Lakes trail. The trailhead is located right next to the moraine. As with all trails in the Moraine Lake area you are required to have a group of four to hike the trail and you must stay close together. This is sue to the fact that you are in bear country. There was a lovely American couple looking to join a group so they could explore the trail and we invited them to join us.

Babel Tower is one of the first sights along the trail. 

The trail is relatively flat with very little elevation gain. An easy hike to start out with if you are just getting acclimated to the altitude, don't want a strenuous hike or if you only have a few hours to explore. The majority of the trail runs through a forested area with little to see but towards the end you emerge from the trees and see some very pretty scenery.

 Lower Consolation Lake

There are two Consolation Lakes: Lower and Upper. There was no defined trail leading to the Upper Lake and due to the time we did not want to go exploring to find the trail. Guidebooks do tell you how to get to the upper lake but we did not have one with us at the time. My dad, brothers and I scrambled around on the large boulders that lay to one side of the lake for a bit. True to our natures the brothers jumped around from boulder to boulder carefree while I carefully and slowly found my way.

 As you can see, the skies cleared and the sun came out while we were on our hike. This meant I had to take more pictures when we got back to the trailhead and Moraine Lake!

Babel Tower