Day 14 - Waterton to Calgary

Unfortunately we had to leave Waterton. We set off animal spotting (we'd come to call them game drives in Africa) along the Red Rock Parkway. We saw one black bear & nothing else. At least we saw a bear. After breakfast we packed our gear into the car & set off back to Calgary. We stopped for a photo opportunity at Cameron Falls (below) on the edge of town. We stopped once more at the edge of the upper lake (above) before one last drive along the Akamina Parkway. The animals were already hiding in the forest, but finally Cameron Lake (below) was in the mood for being photographed. The cloudless, windless day was identical to the wonderful weather from the day before.

Sadly we left the park but not before a lap around the bison paddock. Parks Canada maintains a small herd at Waterton for the benefit of visitors. These guys look like passive grazers, but I assure you they are way more bad tempered than your garden variety moo cows.

We took a different route back to Calgary to the east along Hwy 2. A 15 km divert bought us to the world heritage site, Head-Smashed-in Buffalo Jump.

It's a slightly disturbing (if your an animal person like me) but very interesting site that has an interpretive centre that helps you to understand how the native people used to hunt these creatures on mass.The actual jump site (above & below) doesn't look like much as but erosion has filled in the valley a little. The cliff is still high enough to kill bison. Thankfully he practice stopped long ago.

The drive back to Calgary was uneventful to the point of being boring which is why we tend to use Hwy 22 that runs alongside the mountains.
Just when we thought we would have a peaceful evening relaxing at Shane's, we were ambushed by some of the work clan who wanted to catch up for a beer. Quite a few of them couldn't make it for drinks the previous weekend. Who am I to be a party pooper?

Day 13 - Crypt Lake

We woke up a bit sore in the legs after the Forum & Wall Lakes hike. I dragged myself out of bed to go animal spotting early but couldn't manage to convince Kerri. I headed out along Red Rock Canyon without too much luck. The elk were still out in the open, but soon moved on. I saw one black bear way off on the side of a hill (below), but it was hardly worth stopping for.

On the upside the cloud had cleared & the wind non-existent. Looking along the parkway Mt Anderson (below) was lit up with the morning light. By the time I'd returned to the room, Kerri was up & about. We went for breakfast & grabbed a couple more hiker's lunches. Today we were going to do the Crypt Lake hike for sure!

The boat carried nine hikers (including us) & a large number of people who were just cruising the lake for the morning. They would end up at the far end of the lake & step onto US soil at the border post. We had cruised the lake before with our friends Jim & Sandra in their boat just before we left Canada just on 2 years previous.The cruise wasn't for us. 15 mins after leaving the wharf we were at the trail head. It was the start of a 7 hr, 18km round trip. (Trail map above). The Crypt Lake trail is supposed to be one of the top three hikes in Canada. Along with some spectacular scenery there are also a number of unique challenges particularly toward the end of the trail.

The trail immediately started to gain elevation as it zig zagged up through the cool forest along a number of switchbacks (below). The forest floor was covered in wild berries (above) that are a magnet for bears. We were constantly making noise & looking for signs of them.Eventually the switchbacks broke through the dense forest & opened out to some wonderful views of the lake & surrounding peaks (Mt Richards below).

The trail flattened out a little for a 2 kms or so before reaching the first of three waterfalls at kilometre 3.5. Twin Falls (below) is just a taster for the much more impressive cascades further along.The trail continued up the valley through the forest occasionally crossing side valleys & little waterways (below). The sky was still so clear & blue & didn't change the rest of the day! The disappointment the day before with the boat not running was all forgotten. Things sometimes happen for a good reason & the day was spectacular.

Eventually the forest thinned out making way for more rocky terrain & short shrubs.

At kilometre 5.6 we caught our first look at Burnt Rock Falls (below). It was by far the most interesting of the falls. It's easy to see the colour in the surrounding cliffs that give the falls their name.Closer to Burnt Rock Falls, the trail started a series of steep switchbacks across loose scree. It was the start of a couple of kilometres of tough hiking. The Crypt Lake Trail is a challenge not so much because of the distance, but more for the elevation gain & the tricky sections at the end. The majority of the elevation gain is done in the last 3 kms between Burnt Rock Falls & the lake.

From the top of Burnt Rock Falls we could see both the valley we'd hiked up (above) & the Crypt Falls (below). Our destination (Crypt Lake) sits in the basin behind Crypt Falls. At the end of the switchbacks the last section has a tunnel & a ledge that can be seen to the left of Crypt Falls if you know what to look for (far left of picture).

At the end of the countless switchbacks the trail crosses a small creek before traversing a scree slope to the tunnel (below). The narrow path was a little unnerving with the steep slope below us, but it was nothing compared with what was about to come.

To enter the tunnel you have to climb a short (but skewed) metal ladder bolted to the rocks (below).

The tunnel is wide enough at the entrance but quickly narrows until you nearly have crawl.

Right where you're stooped the most with your backpack & camera in front of you, the tunnel ends abruptly with a ledge! (below).

What makes the ledge more terrifying is that it opens out to the Crypt Falls amphitheatre and the shear drop to the right (below). To put some perspective on it, Crypt Falls is 175m high!

The last trick the trail has in store is the narrow angled ledge (below) that has a steel rope to your left hand & a sheer cliff to the right. It was terrifying, but not as bad as coming back down the same ledge a little later! It was at that point I was very glad we weren't trying to clamber along this ledge in the 40 knot winds of the previous day.We turned the corner off the ledge & the trail was back to normal again (below).There's a side trail that lets you look over the edge at Crypt Falls but the main trail heads over the rim of the cirque lake basin to Crypt Lake (below). After three & a half hours, we'd made it! The lake was gorgeous & the photos just don't tell the story.

While we were having lunch in this beautiful setting, some of the wildlife joined us (below).

The avalanche slope on the far side of the lake was home to mountain goats (below) but were even further away than at Wall Lake the previous day.A little closer to us on the escarpment to the left, a small group of big horned sheep (below) were happily going about their business.

After 45 mins at the lake we had to set off back down the valley. We had to get back to the trail head to catch the boat at 5.30pm. We knew it would take nearly 3 hours to get back so it was time to go. From the top of the ledge, the view back down the valley is breathtaking.

The decent was nowhere near as exciting as the ascent, but at least it was downhill. We stopped a few times to admire the view & give out legs a break. It only took us 2 hrs 40 mins to reach the lake shore. We took off our boots & cooled our sore feet & legs in the cold lake. We were very glad to see the boat come around the corner to pick us up.

Even later in the afternoon the sky was still cloudless & there was just a gentle breeze to cool things off. What a great day! It would have to be my favourite day of the Alberta part of the trip. I think part of it was the challenge, part the scenery & part the fact that it was new territory for us.The next day we'd have to leave this wonderful national park & head back north to Calgary.

Day 12 - Forum & Wall Lakes

We were up & about early the next day. We were keen to go animal spotting before the rest of the crazy tourists scared off all the wildlife.I was hoping to catch a dawn photo of Cameron Lake in the process. The morning was a bit overcast & very windy. We didn't see any animals on the way to Cameron Lake, but took a nice photo of Mt Rowe (above) lit up with the early morning sun.

Cameron Lake itself wasn't quite as spectacular as I was hoping thanks to the wind & cloud but the photo above didn't come out too bad.

As we were leaving the Cameron Lake car park we saw a black bear sow with her two cubs crossing the road. They scurried into the brush beside the road before we could get a photo but we followed them down a small service track. Unfortunately the photo above was as good as we could get. Mother bears can be very protective about their cubs at times & this one lead hers away as quickly as she could.

Strangely, as soon as the bears went away all sorts of animals & birds appeared like the ptarmigan (above) that was starting to grow it's white winter feathers, and a couple of mule deer. When we arrived back at our room, the mule deer had set up camp across the road from us as well (below). The deer are very comfortable in the town site because the predators stay away from the humans. The lush lawns are much tastier than the natural grasslands.

Back in the township we grabbed some breakfast from our favourite shop (Zum's) & ordered a hiker's lunch while we were at it. We loaded up our backpacks for a day's hiking & set off for the lake ferry. We had planned to do the Crypt Lake hike that day but the howling wind had put the boat that takes hikers to the trail head out of action. We were disappointed at the time but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Time for the backup plan. There were a couple of other hikes we'd planed to do the next day. The one we decided to do was to Forum & Wall Lakes. The trail head is near Cameron Lake & heads West out of the national park & into B.C. & the adjoining provincial park. As we stepped out of the car a Steller's Jay (above) made a pest of itself. We set off along the trail which is more of an old fire track than anything. 30 mins later & we were at the border! The sign below was a bit of a dead giveaway.Half a kilometre later we were at a crossroads. We had decided initially to only hike to Wall Lake which is slightly further but a flatter trail than the Forum Lake trail. Forum Falls (below) lies 200m from the cross road so we decided to take the short detour. It was a pleasant reward for such a short walk.

After stopping at the falls, things started to unravel a little. We decided that since we were diverting, why not hike up to Forum Lake. After all, it's only a couple of k's. How hard can it be? The trail became very steep almost immediately which was expected beside a waterfall. Little did we know, it would continue nearly all the way to the lake. At the top of the waterfall, there was another shorter waterfall (below) that was almost as pretty was the main cascade.

The steep trail continued its steep ascent until it finally leveled out into open forest. We were up high near the tree line made evident by the golden needles Larch trees (below). These are the ones I spoke of in my post from Lake Louise.

From up close you can see how the yellow needles are a photographer's dream in the fall.

Finally we reached Forum Lake (below). The photo shows a pretty little blue lake with surrounding cliffs, but it doesn't show the howling icy winds that were cutting holes through us. I was so glad at that point that we weren't hanging off a ledge at Crypt Lake in those winds (I'll explain that comment later).

We didn't stay long at Forum Lake & started the decent through the forest. We had lunch at the campsite at the bottom & decided what to do next.

After some deliberation we made the call to walk the extra 5 km round trip to Wall Lake (above). Besides, we were already half way there. Kerri wasn't completely pleased about it but we went anyway. It turned out to be the right call because it was by far the more picturesque of the two lakes & also protected from the harsh winds. In hindsight we should have turned around at the falls & gone straight to Wall Lake.

An added bonus was that there were a couple of Mountain Goats (above & below) on the cliffs above the lake. They were a long way off, but they were definitely goats.

I wanted to follow the trail further around to get closer to the goats, but Kerri started heading back having had enough walking. I continued a little way around before turning around. I was a little nervous having seen some fresh "signs" of grizzly bear activity in the area (below). Hiking alone is a bad idea at the best of times in North America. This was asking for trouble.

I caught up with Kerri eventually after what seemed like hours. The wander back to the car park along the mainly downhill track was uneventful. We were very glad to get back to the room & put our feet up for the afternoon.

Later that afternoon we set off animal spotting again. The cloud had turned to spots of rain, but we were in luck. A black bear with 3 cubs were eating berries next to the red Rock Parkway. These bears were of the cinnamon persuasion. The ones that morning were at the dark end of the colour variants & these ones were the light end.

Unfortunately the light was very poor so the photos came out quite grainy, but they were quite comfortable going about their business while everyone sat & watched them.