10. Kootenay National Park

While we were in Yoho, we realized that this weekend is a long one, which means there's even more going on than usual. Since we didn't even want to try to get a camping spot in the Lake Louise area, we decided to split up for one night. So, for me, it was straight from Yoho to Kootenay National Park. Even there, I had to find out that the first campsite is completely full. So I drove on to Radium Hot Springs - a town that also has a hot spring. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to find a camping spot here and even relax in the hot springs in the evening.

On the way through the mountains, I made a few stops, of course. First, I visited Marble Canyon. However, the parking lot was closed, but there was a trail from the next attraction. The canyon is quite impressive, and you can see how the water eats into the rock.

Afterwards, I continued to the Painted Pots at Ochre Creek. The name comes from the fact that the sand used to be used here to extract color.

The next day, it was time to head back. However, I decided to do a hike on the way.

The goal was Floe Lake, which is reached after about 10km. In total, you climb about 950 meters in elevation on the entire hike. Most of the way goes through a plain that was destroyed by a forest fire but now has a lot of vegetation again.

After the plain, there is the ascent, which is only partly in the shade.

It took me 3 hours to hike up and only 2 hours to hike down.

Quite exhausted, I then drove back towards Banff National Park in the late afternoon to meet up again with the two Slovaks.