Canada (2019) Part Two -- and Post #500

Now it's time to resume reporting on our September 2019 trip to the Canadian Rockies. This is the second post and will cover the first part of our five days at Lake O'Hara; the first post is here. There was, of course, no 2020 trip.

This is also post #500, yes, the five-hundredth of this blog; the first post was in June of 2009. That's roughly one post every eight days. Who would have thought I'd stick with it so long?

Lake Oesa ...

Joan and I drove up Kicking Horse Pass and reached the parking area for Lake O'Hara in good time. A warden, Lorraine, was there to explain maps, options, the lodge bus vs the campground bus, and the 11km walk uphill to the lake if you hadn't already booked a spot -- with no guarantee of a bus ride back. No bicycles. Even so, Lorraine informed us, during the long summer weekends there were up to 140 walk-ins a day!

Joan and I had a lakeside cabin, which wouldn't be available until 1pm. We picked up a bag lunch at the lodge and took what is a traditional first-day hike for us, up to Lake Oesa. We hoped to see mountain goats at some point during our visit, but to our gleeful amazement they were visible on the Yukness Ledges from the Oesa trail.

With binos the sight was even better.

We pointed the goats out to other hikers and we all had a good look, passing binoculars around.

Along the way we admired the late-blooming flowers, including harebells, and various fungi. In September the birds were silent and the marmots were hiding, maybe hibernating already, but the autumn has its own charms. The larches turning yellow are the counterpart of the autumn colors back east.

Lake Oesa spread out before us. The weather graciously permitted us to eat our lunches perched on a flat rock, a treasured spot up here; today wasn't crowded.

Joan and I decided to return via the initial stretch of the Yukness Ledges alpine trail and the Victoria cutoff. This photo looks back at the Oesa outflow after descending to the alpine trail.

We met several people on the trail, including a German couple who got separated when she went ahead while he took photos and chatted with us. When she couldn't find him on the Yukness Ledges, she decided to pursue the Victoria Cutoff, where we also went. Then he backtracked, she spotted and called to him, and I wish I understood German ... but they went on to complete the Ledges after having hiked in from the parking area and up Wiwaxy Pass and along the Huber Ledges to reach Oesa. Whew! Young, strong, and well-trained they were.

Not far from Victoria Lake the outflow transforms into a tumbling cascade.

From here we spotted our 9th mountain goat, a solitary male.

We finished our hike by completing the loop around Lake O'Hara itself. This photo looks up from that path to the Seven Veils falls.

Then we reached cabin #4 and began unpacking. That evening at dinner we swapped stories with our table-mates about hiking glaciers, biking, and so forth, plus Lake O'Hara tales.

Opabin Prospect ...

The next day (September 9th) began with rain showers teasing us, off and on, during breakfast.

Joan and I decided to hike to the Opabin Plateau and see how the weather developed; Opabin is lower than other destinations, and it's usually easier to bail out from there. Because of the precip the kids decided to stay behind.

"We'll be fine, thanks!"

We started for the west trail, which skirts Mary Lake by just a few feet. Mount Schaffer had its head in the clouds.

This is a look at the lower part of the west trail, which hugs the bluffs of the plateau. Click on the image to enlarge, and you may spot the path, starting about 1/3 of the way up the left-hand side.

The marmots may be dozing, but the pikas were still out harvesting. They are so fast, though, that getting a sharp picture isn't easy when they are dashing back to add to their larder.

From the west trail we went across to the Opabin Prospect, which usually offers a spectacular view, but not today. The Prospect consists of large blocks with cracks and gaps in between and a sheer drop at the edge. Joan slipped on wet lichen on one slab, banging her shin, but didn't fall into a crevice or suffer any serious harm. We began walking up the plateau. This photo looks back towards O'Hara, but you can't see anything beyond our surroundings.

From above the Moor Lakes we spotted a couple of american dippers, hurrah! This bird feeds on various invertebrates by walking and swimming underwater.

Joan and I crossed the lakes

Pop down from here to cross to the central ridge.

on a footbridge and headed up the plateau on the Highline trail. Showers came and went, light and sparse, and then grew heavier and steadier. Joan and I reached our favorite rainy-day lunch spot up here, a small clump of trees split by the path, only to discover that it was already occupied. We continued past the Yukness Ledges terminus and reached Lake Opabin in a steady rain.

We paused momentarily to absorb the view, then returned and found the lunch spot open. Two of our table-mates from last night, Greg and Nancy, trod by as we ate. Joan and I were astonished to learn that they were attempting the entire Alpine Circuit today, Lake O'Hara > All Souls Prospect > Opabin Plateau > Yukness Ledges > Lake Oesa > Huber Ledges > Wiwaxy Gap > Lake O'Hara. Bad weather for it, we thought, but perhaps this was their last chance.

We returned to Lake O'Hara by the east trail, boring compared to the west but only a stone's throw away, and hence the quicker choice. Back at the cabin we spread things out to dry -- there are never enough hooks -- and at dinner had a new set of table-mates. At O'Hara your dinner partners are changed by the management nightly, unless you have a request otherwise. Joan calls it speed dating.

We'll see what tomorrow's weather brings.