So it’s summer, and everyone’s out having fun, being in the sun, seeing new things, travelling to new places, etc. Is anyone else feeling a little left out? But luckily for us, travelling doesn’t necessarily mean taking a plane to the Bahamas and going to the beach. Travelling can be more local than that. For example, for those of you who are staying in Calgary for the summer, why don’t you take the opportunity to travel to Canada’s own Rocky Mountains?
Yes, as an attempt to get me out of the house more often this summer, my parents have decided to take advantage of living so close to the Rockies, and do a few hiking trips.
And amongst several of these (torturous) hikes, the most recent would be last Sunday, when we hiked the Wiwaxy Gap trail at Lake O’Hara, in Yoho National Park.
Although the next week will probably be spent complaining about these mosquito bites that I unwillingly obtained from the hike, it was actually an excellent, very scenic hike that I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to get out and explore the mountains this summer!
My day at Lake O’Hara started at 3:30 AM, when my parents woke me up, because for some reason, we had planned to leave Calgary at 4 AM. Why, I may never know. But in hindsight, it was actually pretty cool that we left so early, as we managed to catch the sun rise over the mountains, and we even saw a grizzly bear while driving in to the Lake O’Hara parking lot!
After waiting a couple hours because we left too early (I bitterly thought while sipping my tea), we took the 8:30 bus up to Le Relais, the day shelter, and we started our ascent up the mountain!
The trail we took was approximately 10 km long, but it was fairly steep, and there were a fair bit of exposed terrain, some scree slopes, and boulder fields. But it was definitely worth it, as the views were absolutely amazing
I must say, one thing about Lake O’Hara that I really enjoyed was that there weren’t many people there. The tour guide explained this to us on the bus ride, basically, to protect the area, visits are intentionally limited. For example, there are only 30 camping sites, which have to be reserved 3 months in advanced, and generally are all reserved within 10 minutes. There are only a few buses every day that will bring you up to Le Relais, and you also have to buy a bus pass months in advance for that. This limitations are put in place so that visitors can enjoy the amazing area in reasonable solitude. However, if you’re feeling up to the hike, you could also hike up the 12 km that the bus would otherwise drive you to.
Although this hike may seem quite intimidating, but it’s actually fairly reasonable, even for anyone who isn’t an avid hiker. I, personally, am probably pretty out of shape (whoops?), and the hike didn’t even completely kill me!
So this summer, take advantage of our beautiful Rockies, and consider going hiking at Lake O’Hara!
(All photos are my own)
