September 24, 2019
There's really no better way to celebrate the end of Summer and the first week of Autumn than a week camping in Banff. I'd never been - only seen pictures and heard stories of this magical place.
But boy, was this
the week to be there. The weather was perfect (warm days in town with snow at higher elevations and cold nights in our toasty tent) and there were few crowds, if any. We were only one of maybe five tent campers at Tunnel Mountain Campground II which, by the way, is like a car camping hotel. Free warm showers, flushing toilets, sinks for washing dishes, and clean. Soooo clean.
With only two days planned for hiking, it was difficult to choose which two to do! We decided our first hike would be to Lake Bourgeau (~11mi RT) with the possibility of climbing up to Harvey Pass depending on weather. Conveniently Lake Bourgeau trailhead is just off Hwy 1 about 20 minutes from camp. We were the first to arrive at the trailhead, about 20 minutes before sunrise. There are two toilets and a small lot to park which should be paved now.
If you're familiar with Banff National Park there are fences, tunnels, and overpasses along the Trans-Canada Hwy to help animals cross the roads safely. Because Lake Bourgeau trailhead is just off the hwy, we had to enter the trail through a gate in to the Raptor Cage as Andy would say.
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| It was dark, so we waited for actual sunrise before heading in |
I assume this trail is quite popular in the summer. It's very wide and well maintained. You really start gaining elevation towards the last half of the hike, but I enjoy the climb. There are a few stream crossings with the help of nicely built bridges, gabions, or by good old fashioned rock and log hopping.
In my opinion, Fall is the best time of year to hike. It's cooler out, less bugs, less people, and the colors are breathtaking.
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| #larchlover |
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| Stepping stones on the path as Andy approaches the lake |
I packed several jackets for this hike - rain/wind jacket, insulated vest, fleece jacket, insulated jacket. I hiked up in my vest and fleece and peeled them off as needed. Once we arrived at the lake and stopped for lunch it got breezy and started snowing so I put on my insulated and rain jackets to stay toasty while we huddled between the rocks to eat and shelter us from the wind.
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| Brrr! Bundling up at the lake |
Because of the clouds the color of the lake water was not as vibrant as it could've been. We had the whole place to ourselves, though.
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| Too windy to eat on the rock |
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| Lake Bourgeau |
Looking up, we could see that Harvey Pass was freshly dusted with snow. Not wanting to be the first to forge ahead on the slippery Pass, we decided to frolic around the lake a while longer before heading back down.
It was a while before we saw any one else on the trail. We ran into a dozen or so people while we hiked down. To me, it's always worth it to get up early and be the first to the top. It's a peacefulness that can be rare nowadays.
