Beautiful Lake Louise

We woke up to sunshine streaming in the windows and went into overdrive to take advantage of it.  The Canadian Rockies are experiencing three times as much rain as normal in the month of June this year.  They have a rainy season every June and into mid-July.  But this much rain is not normal.  Last night, another massive storm system emptied itself out over Canmore.  We’re parked in a basement garage, and there is a steady drip, drip, drip of water coming in making ever-widening puddles in the low spots.  I hope I don’t come back today to find a new swimming pool in the building.

We run out the door early, thinking we have everything we need in our backpacks.  We’re bound for Lake Louise, one of the most beautiful lakes in Canada.  I’m not paying much attention to the temperature.  This is summer and it will warm up, right?  Well, it depends.  As we found out later, it had snowed at Lake Louise for three days straight before our visit today.  Also, Lake Louise is at a higher elevation than Banff; the higher the elevation, the colder the temperature. 

Rain mixed with ice is falling out of the sky at Lake Louise.  And it's very cold. Somehow Bunny is more prepared for these conditions than I am.  She did her internet research the night before she left and repacked her entire suitcase, adding more winter clothes.  All my interviewers told me that mountain weather was unpredictable so prepare for everything, but I was thinking cool, mild spring temperatures.  Downright winter conditions were not part of my expectations in the middle of June.


I tear through the backseat of the car, pulling out anything wearable and eventually end up with a few layers of mismatched clothes.  The light rain gear I have doesn’t do much to keep me warm, but it helps to keep me dry.  The worst part is that my fingers are freezing and I don’t want to take them out of my pockets to use my camera.   I don’t remember being this cold even in the winter in North Carolina.

Time out.  We walk up to the Fairmont Chateau (not hotel).  Everything there is beautiful and expensive, but I find some fleece gloves that don’t bust the budget.  I realize that comfort is a futile dream given my lack of winter clothing, so we head back to the lake.


Ice pellets are still falling, but with less frequency than when we arrived.  I’m trying to trick my mind into ignoring the bone-chilling temperature, even if I get back to Canmore as a human icicle.  But all the advice I got was right on (next time I think I’ll listen to it). Mountain weather conditions can change dramatically from one hour to the next and can improve as easily as worsen.  As we walk the trail that makes a half-circle around Lake Louise, the falling ice disappears, eventually the rain stops, and at the trail’s turnaround point, the sun makes a feeble appearance, brightening the glacier high above the lake.  I’m not warm, but I’m no longer freezing.  I'm in total awe of the beauty of this place and that's all I can think about now.