This is another post that's like a month old... BUT...the place is amazing... and a bit tricky to get to. To get there, you have to get one of the 42 day use permits they lease 3 months prior to your visit, or have to have a reservation at one of the campsites (even tougher to get than the day use permits), alpine huts (even harder still... you have to get it through an online lottery in Oct for the summer months), the Lake O'Hara Lodge (have to be loaded)... or hike in on the dirt road.
At first I wasn't sure about the place, but the more I read about it, it sounded like it would be worth a visit... as I was doing research on this place, I figured out that the reservations were going to be coming up while we were in Japan. So we volunteered Kim's folks for the task of getting a permit... and from the sounds of it, it sounded like medieval torture (thanx Mama Margie & Papa Steve!). But we did manage to secure some spots... albeit not on the desired date (as Steve wouldn't be with us at this time... and this would be when the World Cup finals would take place...) Yes, it was a tough decision, but I reasoned that I had watched plenty of world cup action and this was very limited opportunity for me to go into Lake O'Hara. Although... I will be back. For sure.
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| The bus drops you off near the Le Relais Day Shelter. If you can score a summer job here, you are soooo lucky. |
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| a bald eagle on top of a lone tree on Lake O'Hara greeted us to this magical kingdom. |
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| Check out that backdrop... Mount Schaffer |
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| We decided to take a tough trail... there are 3 alpine routes around Lake O'Hara, involving steep hiking, some scrambling, and some via ferrata. The trails are really beautiful and well maintained, but I think we got in a bit over our heads with the kids and Mama Margie's knee got tweaked. |
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| the trail is a bit exposed ... I held Kai's hand here... |
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| a traverse over there looks fun. |
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| some sort of Columbine? |
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| Kimbo dosing up on some SPF... |
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| Kai had a lot of fun on this trail! |
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| Back at the lake... the day was beautiful |
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| Banzai! |
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| Kai couldn't stop running and giggling |
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| This is the view from the lake side cabins on Lake O'Hara... which start at 900$ CDN per couple. Yikes. |
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| I got both boys! |
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| Kai levitating over the bridge! |
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| HDR action... |
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| Family pic at Lake Louise |
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| Mama margie & Nikko |
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| Weehaw! |
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| Nikko sure was tired after a long day of being carried around! |
Next time: I'd like to camp out or stay at one of the ACC huts
- Definitely go to the Abbott Pass Hut (check it out!!!!)
- I'd love to do all the alpine routes... spend a day or two at the Elizabeth Parker hut just trail running/scrambling during the day.
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