Back to Canada: More from Moraine Lake

On July 26th, Joan and I explored several areas at Moraine Lake, starting with the Highline trail, which goes for many miles down to the Paradise Valley trailhead, roughly paralleling but separate from the access road. It's the green dashed line in the map below. (Click on the image to enlarge).

We had the shared bike/hike trail to ourselves. Early on, these swirled, feathery branches caught my eye.

Although we were in the woods, we could hear traffic on the access road below, and occasional viewpoints bade us pause.

We had good views of the Tower of Babel, with our perspective changing as we proceeded along the Highline.

There is no trail up the Tower, but those willing to tackle scree and gullies, plus loose rocks large and small, can make it to the top. One description of the infamous route is here, but note that private parking no longer exists at Moraine Lake; you must register for a shuttle. Through our binoculars we could see successful scramblers enjoying the view from the Tower. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

I took a picture of this butterfly but didn't notice, until I was touching up the photo, that someone had lost a ring here; enlarge the image and look at the tip of the right wing.

This bird refused to face me.

After going for a few miles on the Highline, Joan and I decided to return to Moraine Lake and check out the attractions favored by the throngs. First, a view of the Rockpile at the lake's mouth.

A trail, composed of steps, takes you to the top and its scenes. Here's looking up the lake.

Down to the lodge, canoe livery, and the logpile, dead timber that can't squeeze through the outlet creek.

There were various plaques and monuments up here, including this one to Don Gardner, whom we had met on a Lake O'Hara trail in 2018, when he was in his early 70s. What a wild man he was in his youth!

We descended from the Rockpile. I paused, waiting for a break in the crowds, to take this photo of visitors taking photos.

Joan and I hiked along the lakeshore trail as far as it went. Here, paddlers face the spectators atop the Rockpile.

A flotilla of rented canoes beneath the peaks.

Reaching the stream that feeds Moraine Lake.

Looking back down the lake, we noticed submerged rocks in the clean, glacially tinted waters.

The trail ends here.

On the way back to our cabin, I photographed the scene around the canoe livery.

This was a day of gentler exploration. For the next day, July 27th, Joan and I planned to tackle the Paradise Valley trail, which had been a snowy slog in 2018. We hoped to get further this time in the excellent weather.