Day 25: Day trip to Moraine Lake

July 24, 2007

After yesterday's late night I slept until 9:45. The weather was sunny and warm. Nicest weather in a week. I gathered dirty clothes and went into town and found that there is no public laundromat. Amazing, considering the size of the campground and the number of backpackers who come and go. Back in camp I washed a lot of clothes in the sink and hung them in the warm breeze to dry. I went back to the village for lunch at the deli/bakery.

At about 1PM I left the campground for Moraine Lake. The road climbs 350m to 1900m elevation, then drops 50m to the lake. Major road construction on the road to Moraine Lake, but nothing difficult to ride through.

The place was packed! Parked cars lined the road for about 1km outside the large parking lot. It was obvious that the views of Moraine Lake would be much better early in the morning. All my pictures were looking to the south and west, into the afternoon sun.

I walked the 1.6km shoreline trail to the opposite end of the lake. There were many wonderful places to rest in the shade and admire the view. It would have been fun to paddle in the lake.

I also hiked the 1km trail that ends with a hilltop view of the lake. This place would really be spectacular early in the morning. I like the entire area. People are everywhere but there is room to spread out.

Moraine lake looking into the afternoon sun.

Moraine Lake in the Canadian Rocky mountains.

Getting back to the campground was mostly downhill. I decided not to revisit Lake Louise. So I got back to the village with many hours to relax. I stocked up on groceries and had an excellent chicken pie for dinner.

I noticed 4 nearby campsites occupied with 8 touring cyclists. This loop seems to be where they assign the backpackers and cyclists.

Bow river at the Lake Louise townsite. Great example of the color of a glacier-fed river.

I enjoyed sitting in the campground feeling the warm 24C (75F) breeze blow. The campground has many tall pine trees that sway alarmingly in a moderate breeze. The trees are MUCH taller than the scrawny evergreens in the Boreal forest near Jasper. A sign that I have traveled south.

The Lake Louise tent campground has many hundreds of campsites. A 10+ km perimeter fence is electrified to keep bears out. The entrance is an electrified bear guard.

Electrified bear guard at the Lake Louise campground.

This was a good "rest day" for me. I rode 40km unloaded but spent most of the day relaxing and doing chores. Hopefully the weather will stay good. I was getting tired of constant overcast skies.

Distance: 40.3 km / 25.2 mi

Climbing: 461 m / 1520 ft

Average speed: 14.9 km/h / 9.3 mph

Maximum speed: 61 km/h / 38.1 mph

Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 2,014 km (1,251 miles)

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