The next day was introduced by bright sunshine. A short drive up Kicking Horse Pass took us to the Lake O'Hara parking area and bus stop. The fire road up to Lake O'Hara is forbidden to private vehicles, including bicycles; only the Parks Canada buses and the Lake O'Hara Lodge bus are allowed.
Bilingual signs at the bus stop shelter.
The lodge bus arrived and disgorged the departing guests and their luggage, then Joan and I joined the group headed up. We passed a surprising number of hikers walking the 11 km to Lake O'Hara.
We checked in at the office, grabbed our trail lunches, and set off for Lake Oesa, always a good introduction to Lake O'Hara hiking. The Oesa trail split off from the the lakeside trail, at 7,000' altitude, and after several switchbacks that tested our legs began a more gradual climb that includes several boulder fields.
The trail passed by Yukness Lake, the first of several small lakes that precede Lake Oesa.
When the trail approached the gap between the Yukness and Huber ledges there were rock faces to tackle, but with steps,
courtesy of the legendary Lawrence Grassi.
A closeup of the plaque.
Soon we encountered a waterfall, the outflow from Victoria Lake (and ultimately of Lake Oesa).
Around the corner we stopped to observe a young raven bathing in a small pool. It ultimately flew off to a bluff on the other side of the stream, where it made an embarrassingly awkward landing.
There were plenty of flowers to observe; late July is late spring up here, "up" encompassing both latitude (51.35° N) and altitude (Lake Oesa is at 7438'). Joan and I saw beard's tongue, alpine mountainsorrel, fleabane, butterwort, and purple asters along this trail.
We decided to make a small loop from this point, rather than go directly to Lake Oesa. There is a cutoff trail that crosses in front of Victoria Lake and climbs up to join the Yukness Ledges trail. This map shows the loop we made.
First we gazed awhile at Victoria Lake.
Across the stream we went on stepping stones, then along a rock slab.
On the far side we had to climb among the boulders cast down by Yukness.
We could look out towards the Yukness Ledges,
and back down to Victoria Lake.
We reached the Yukness Ledges trail, and
turned towards Lake Oesa. We clambered up rock faces and through gaps between boulders, following the alpine blazes (two yellow stripes on a blue field). In this photo we're about to crest,
followed by our first glimpse of Lake Oesa.
Joan and I continued south towards Oesa. One more satellite lake, Lake Lefroy, appeared on our left. Lake Oesa is just behind that last bluff.
There were a few trailside chats along the way.
We reached Lake Oesa. Its wide expanse and rock slabs make it a favorite lunch stop. The small figures, center, provide a sense of scale. (Click on the image to enlarge.)
Joan and I were observed by gray-crowned rosy finches as we ate.
Clouds began to return, but our hike back to cabin #9 was pleasant and uneventful. Flowers hung from a basket on the porch.
Our pig companions for this trip, Margie and Rita, immediately headed for a front window.
Time to clean up and head for dinner! Tomorrow, Lake McArthur.
July 28th was overcast but not threatening to rain. Today was the last full day of our stay at Lake O'Hara, so our goal was Sleeping Poet's Pool, which we had been unable to visit the year before.
As we made our way around Lake O'Hara to the Lake Oesa trail, Joan and I were thrilled to get some good binocular views of a pair of varied thrushes, a bird not found in Ohio. Its unique ringing song always tells us we're in the Rockies.
We headed for Lake Oesa to pick up the Yukness Ledges trail. On our way, we look down on Lake O'Hara and a canoe (click to enlarge).
When we arrived at Oesa the weather was cold, but still no precipitation.
What's that? Out on the lake there are researchers in an inflatable rubber boat, no doubt sampling the water.
Another fun bird spotting at Oesa, a hermit thrush. These occur in isolated areas in Ohio, including the hemlock ravines at Clear Creek Metro Park.
But we're bound for the Yukness Ledges. Bye-bye, Oesa.
At first the trail drops down a short way from the level of Oesa.
We slowly gained altitude and distance along the Yukness Ledges Alpine Trail. Behind us both Lake Oesa and the lower, smaller Lake Lefroy were in view.
Using full zoom, my camera caught these hikers on their way up to Oesa. They're almost there.
After the Yukness trail drops and turns west in front of Mount Yukness, the view ahead is like this:
The first half of the ledge trail showed clear signs of maintenance work since last year; false trails and dangerous edges were blocked by a row of stones and the alpine trail markers, a blue square with two yellow vertical rectangles, appeared to be freshly painted.
This zoom photo from the ledge trail shows the Oesa trail winding through a boulder field.
The point where the trail passes the center of Lake O'Hara is an irresistible sight: no matter how many photos I have of it, I'm compelled to always take another. Note that the clouds are still low.
This deep gully is the last spot where the winter snow lingers on the Yukness Ledges trail, but after the hot June this year, there is none.
After turning another corner we're headed south, and the Opabin Plateau is below and ahead. Just when you think that the trail to Sleeping Poet's Pool must not exist any longer, it appears, close to the Opabin end of the Yukness Ledges. Here, Joan is making her way up the steep, unofficial and unmaintained trail. Because I'm looking up to take the picture, it's even steeper than it appears.
An expansive ledge well above the Yukness Ledge trail holds the pool. Note our daypacks just right and below the center of the image, offering scale. There's plenty of water this time; in some years there's hardly any.
The lip of this ledge begins as a series of rocky steps before turning into a sheer drop.
The view changes as you walk along the edge. The little knob far below in this image is Opabin Prospect!
During our restful lunch next to the pool a solo climber came down the scree slope from higher on Mt. Hungabee. Afterwards we carefully descended back to the Yukness Ledge trail, where light showers resumed, and thence down to the Opabin Plateau. After tromping along the Opabin Highline trail, I took this photo looking back towards the upper part of the Cascade Lakes.
A gray-crowned rosy finch was busy foraging amidst the running waters, hopping about so frequently it was difficult to grab an in-focus picture. This is the best of the lot.
We also saw a parent/child pair of dippers, and a marmot on a high rock.
Joan and I descended using the West Opabin trail, and shortly after the All Souls Prospect alpine route had split off, we saw a fisher, a secretive member of the weasel family. This was the first sighting for either one of us. Further along we were treated to yet another view of the mountain goats that have been visiting the slopes of Mt. Schäffer this week.
Near the bottom of the trail we came across a porcupine, capping an extremely critter-filled hike.
That evening we had another wonderful dinner at the lodge, and prepared to depart. But tomorrow we would leave on the afternoon bus, giving us most of the day for one last hike at Lake O'Hara.
The next day of our Canadian Rockies trip, July 18th, we flew to Talus Lodge (you must fly in) for a three-night stay. This was our second trip to the lodge, which we had first visited in 2010.
I'm mostly clipped out of this photo taken inside the heli.
When we arrived the smoke from forest fires to the north had drawn a thin veil across the sun.
This concatenation of three clips shows some of the helicopter operations. All passengers, staff, and supplies reach the lodge by helicopter.
The lower level of the lodge holds four rooms; the upper level has the kitchen, lounge, and dining areas.
The wash-house, connected to the lodge by a walkway, holds the sauna, showers (pour-it-yourself style), and toilets.
In the early afternoon we set out on our first hike. All hikes here are guided; there are no trails as such. There were eight guests, including two youngsters, and two guides, including the owner, Chris.
Joan and I had chosen this time of year to see the spring flowers. This is probably an alpine buttercup.
Springtime also features plenty of bird activity. This is a juvenile gray-crowned rosy finch.
Chris led us around tarns (seasonal pools) and up moraines, gaining altitude. The lodge is at 2300m, or 7600', so we needed stops to catch our breath. In this photo the lodge is barely visible at the extreme left, below the horizon; click to enlarge. The large lake never dries up.
Our other guide was wearing sporty bandages, supporting some tendons (ligaments?) in advance of a marathon (or was it a triathlon?) at the end of the week.
Alpine fireweed was blooming.
Twenty minutes after photographing the fireweed, I captured this image looking ahead. We will turn left up a side valley and reach the top of the dark bluff, known as Angels' Landing, right of center.
Parts of that climb were steep with shifting rock fragments, so Joan and I were glad to have our hiking poles. We could have done it without them, but our confidence level was much higher with them. Joan took my "summit" photo.
Here is a panoramic view from our summit.
As you can see, the nose of the landing supports a surprising amount of vegetation,
including this eight-petaled mountain avens.
After climbing down from the landing our group visited a waterfall and a natural bridge (alas, no photos). Back at the lodge, standing on the deck as dinnertime approached, I spotted two white spots traversing a high ridge. I suspected it wasn't a case of white rocks, and checked with my binoculars. It was an adult and juvenile mountain goat! Being a notoriously bad spotter, I was inordinately pleased with myself.
Dinner was wonderful -- all the meals here were. We looked forward to tomorrow's breakfast.
