Hiking to Lake McArthur
Hiking to Lake McArthur
The last few days of rain is supposed to break. This morning remains heavily overcast, with only 30% of rain in the forecast. The afternoon is suppose to be partly cloudy only. We have an exciting hiking trip planned for today - hiking the Lake O’Hara back country.
Lake O’Hara is sort of like a wilderness managed area. Visitors have to reserve a seat on a shuttle bus to get in. It is about a 20 minute ride. Sophia made the shuttle reservation 3 months in advance. It was a concerted effort that required constant phone dialing first thing in the morning when the reservation office opened. She made two reservations, one on 7/15, one on 7/19 as back up just in case of foul weather.
By the time our shuttle bus reaches Lake O’Hara, it is already 9AM. The weather is foggy and damp, with hints of blue sky. The hike to Lake McArthur from the Lake O’Hara trail head is about 5 miles round trip, with 1,000 feet of elevation gain.
The McArthur trail is a hike of moderate difficulty. The hiking route actually has a figure 8 shape, so one has a choice to reach Lake McArthur on different trails. The high trails tend to be steeper. We take the high trail up and the low trail down, part of the high trail gets narrowed at certain spot with steep drop offs, but it isn’t that scary.
View from Lake McArthur trail
Hiking to Lake McArthur was probably one of our best hiking experiences. There was absolutely no one on the trail for a long time. The woods were dead silent, with the occasional bird chirping. There was no distant car noise, no airplane noise, just a slow cool breeze and warm sun.
Schaffer Lake
Schaffer Lake is located at the center of the figure 8 shaped route, midway from Lake McArthur. It’s a relatively small lake and is an excellent resting spot. On a calm day, you can see reflections of the distant mountains on the lake surface.
Approaching Lake McArthur
The main attraction of the hike is of course Lake McArthur. It is a huge Alpine glacier lake. The lake water has an intense blue color to it. There seems to be several thin sheets of ice still floating on the lake surface. The lake is surrounded by a cirque, very much like Glacier National Park’s Grinnell Lake and Iceberg Lake, except Lake McArthur looks larger and grander, and that blue water is very mesmerizing. This is probably one of the best Alpine trails we have ever done, surpassing some of the gems we did in Europe (Blue Lake, Mt Blanc) just two years ago. We have the lake all to ourselves. The day’s weather is on the cool side with partly cloudy condition. We have to bundle up a bit when the sun hid behind the clouds.
By the time we get back to the Paradise Lodge, it is already 4PM. We dine in for the night, cooking tortellini and grilled Italian sausages. There is also some left over Costco rotisserie chicken. Simple and cheap.
After dinner, we drive back out to Lake Louise to wait for the sunset. It doesn’t get dark here until 10PM. The body is just not accustom to this routine. After two consecutive days of hiking, our bodies need to take a rest, so it is going to be a casual lounging around day tomorrow.
Sunset over Lake Louise
Wednesday, July 15, 2009