Lake Louise the Second and Banff

The drive over the Kicking Horse Pass to Big Hill leads into the snow. Many places at the Lake Louise campground are empty. Obviously, the bad weather has discouraged some people. Verny's battery has power, which is reassuring. First, we want to explore the village. We walk along the Bow River towards Samson Mall. In the increasingly heavy snowfall, we continue towards the supposed village. Hotel facilities and parking lots, but no village. At the Visitors Centre, we ask and indeed, Samson Mall IS the village (you have found it). Really strange. It doesn't even take much time to comb through the shops in the mall. At least the coffee is okay. Slightly frustrated, we head back home. The weather forecast for the next few days looks very poor: snow/rain and cold. So if you can't do anything in the 'non-existent' village in bad weather, we have to take action. The weather in Banff doesn't look good either, but it should improve slightly on Tuesday. Since there are some unoccupied spots here and also in Banff, probably due to the weather, we decisively cancel the reservation made in Banff and shorten the stay in Lake Louis by one day for now.

In the morning, there is about 10cm of snow. We mentally postpone the hike to Agnes Teahouse and the Plain of the Six Glaciers at Lake Louise and drive to Moraine Lake. Luckily, the two guys at the junction to Lake Moraine wave us through, the road is not yet closed (so the parking lot at the lake is not full yet). When we arrive at the top, we squeeze Verny into a gap by the roadside with the kind help of the parking attendants and put on our hiking shoes. But we can't go more than a few meters along the shore, it's just not fun in these conditions, we can't go up, the clouds are hanging too low. The only funny thing is the instagrammers and selfie queens and kings who let themselves be photographed in the most impossible poses on tree trunks or rocks, just before falling down. We drive back to the overflow parking and take the shuttle to Lake Louise. With a few steps, we reach Deer Lodge and have a bite to eat there. But that's it. In Banff, there might be some improvement on Tuesday and it should also get warmer. We skip the last night in Lake Louise and zoom to Banff. The campground at Tunnel Mountain is not inspiring, but we really like the town (yes, there is one). On the recommendation of our Marcel from Maple Leaf Travel, we have some cider and Park Alpine Dry Gin with tonic at the Park Distillery + Restaurant and then a decent steak at Saltlik.

The promised improvement in the weather in Banff does actually occur. We take the opportunity for a hike to Boom Lake. When we return to Verny, we drive a few hundred meters back to Storm Mountain Lodge, a cozy little restaurant with a fireplace, and enjoy a delicious lunch. Before we return to the campground, we drive to Marble Canyon. A very beautiful spectacle. In the evening, Nina finally gets her long-awaited fondue at the Grizzly House.
Since the weather is supposed to be okay on Tuesday as well, we drive to Johnston Canyon early to hike up to the Ink Pots. Shortly after we reach the top, the clouds actually clear and the sun comes out. 'Supa woas'.

The next morning, we drive about 22km to Canmore, refuel, refill the propane supply, and enjoy a cappuccino made from locally roasted beans and panini in the sun. Instead of spending the beautiful day driving in the car, we head to the nearby Bow River Valley Campground to let Verny's insides dry in the sun. Pancia al sole makes life look completely different.

Rain is forecast for September 20. Then we will drive to Waterton Lakes National Park.

There is more to come...

https://stormmountainlodge.com/

https://www.parkdistillery.com/

www.saltlik.com