Mt. Victoria – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

Lupe arrived in Canada for the very first time on the morning of July 20, 2013. By afternoon she was in Banff in the beautiful Canadian Rockies. Lupe and SPHP toured Banff the rest of the day and all morning on the 21st, but by afternoon it was time to leave the crowds behind. Lupe and SPHP left Banff heading W in the G6 on Trans-Canada Hwy No. 1.

SPHP intended to take Lupe to Sunshine Meadows, which isn’t far from Banff. From Sunshine Meadows, Lupe and SPHP could take the trail up over Healy Pass to explore the Egypt Lake area. SPHP left Hwy 1 intending to head up to Sunshine Meadows, but almost immediately found out that the road was closed for construction. Heavy rains in June, 2013 had flooded and damaged the road.

Lupe and SPHP wound up driving on to Lake Louise, arriving a bit after 3:00 PM. It was a bad time to arrive. All the parking lots were full and cars were parked alongside the road for a great distance. Lupe is a lucky dingo though, and SPHP soon found a parking place in the upper parking lot near the lake.

Lake Louise was gorgeous and busy. Most of the crowds were at the NE end of the lake near the Chateau Lake Louise and the boathouse where they rent out canoes. There was still time for Lupe and SPHP to make the round trip hike up to the end of the Plain of Six Glaciers trail beyond Lake Louise and back. Lupe and SPHP set off on the Lakeshore trail. The Lakeshore trail goes a little over 2 km right along the NW shore of Lake Louise heading SW with little or no elevation gain.

Lupe first reached Lake Louise near the boathouse where they rent out canoes.

Lupe near the start of the Lakeshore Trail at Lake Louise 7-21-13 — Lupe at Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada 7-21-13

Mount Victoria (11,375 ft.) from Lake Louise. — **Mount Victoria** **(11,375 ft.)** from Lake Louise. The Plain of Six Glaciers trail would take Lupe up to the base of Mount Victoria just to the right of the lowest big patch of snow.

Lupe checks out the grounds at the Chateau Lake Louise. Like the Banff Springs Hotel, the Chateau Lake Louise was originally a Canadian Pacific Railroad Hotel. — Lupe checks out the grounds at the Chateau Lake Louise. Like the Banff Springs Hotel, the Chateau Lake Louise was originally a Canadian Pacific Railroad hotel.

Lupe continued beyond Lake Louise on the Plain of Six Glaciers trail, which soon starts climbing as it continues up the valley towards Mt. Victoria. A few km on the Plain of Six Glaciers trail brought Lupe to the Plain of Six Glaciers teahouse. Lupe just isn’t that big on tea or coffee, although she probably would have gone for some cookies or chocolate cake if SPHP had mentioned that the teahouse had those delicacies as well.

A look back at Chateau Lake Louise from along the Lakeshore Trail. — A look back at Chateau Lake Louise from along the Lakeshore trail.

The Plain of Six Glaciers trail on the way to the teahouse.

From the Plain of Six Glaciers teahouse, it was another 1.3 km to the end of the Plain of Six Glaciers trail at the base of Mt. Victoria. Lupe and SPHP continued on to the very end of the trail.

Lupe at the start of the last 1.3 km section of trail going onward to the base of Mount Victoria from near the teahouse. — Lupe at the start of the last 1.3 km section of the Plain of Six Glaciers trail going to the base of Mount Victoria from near the teahouse.

Mt. Lefroy (R) and The Mitre (center) from the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail. Philip Stanley Abbot fell to his death from near the top of Mount Lefroy on 8-3-1896. News of the tragedy inspired great interest in mountain climbing in the Canadian Rockies. — **Mt. Lefroy** **(11,293 ft.)** (R) and **The Mitre (9,836 ft.)** (Center) from the Plain of Six Glaciers trail. Philip Stanley Abbot fell to his death from near the top of Mount Lefroy on 8-3-1896 on his third attempt to be the first to climb Lefroy (he had tried and failed twice before in 1895). News of the tragedy inspired great interest in mountain climbing in the Canadian Rockies. American Dingoes, however, prefer to avoid falling off precipices. Lupe showed no interest in climbing Mt. Lefroy.

This glacier-filled canyon between Mt. Victoria (R) and Mt. Lefroy (L) is known as The Death Trap.

The Death Trap 7-21-13 — The Death Trap as seen from the end of the Plain of Six Glaciers trail. Abbot hut is supposed to be at the upper end of The Death Trap, but SPHP couldn’t see it.

Intrepid Carolina Dog Lupe near The Death Trap 7-21-13

Lake Louise from the end of the Plain of Six Glaciers trail.

SPHP never did figure out what six glaciers the trail was named after. The only really big glacier in view was the Victoria Glacier coming down through The Death Trap. Presumably some of the glaciers have melted away over the years. Lupe and SPHP still had a great time going up to the end of the Plain of Six Glaciers trail. The trail is in very good condition and even relatively small children can manage it.

Although the trail had been very crowded when Lupe and SPHP had left Chateau Lake Louise earlier in the afternoon, Lupe and SPHP were the very last to leave from the end of the Plain of Six Glaciers trail. The trail was now deserted.

On the way back to Lake Louise, not long after passing the teahouse, Lupe and SPHP saw a wolverine ahead on the trail. At first the wolverine seemed rather curious and stared at Lupe. Lupe stared back intently at the wolverine. After pondering Lupe for a few moments, the wolverine concluded it had better not tangle with an American Dingo. It ran away out of sight down the trail. The wolverine had a rather peculiar gait, a kind of loping along.

It turned out the wolverine had not left the trail. Instead, it had stopped to see if Lupe was still coming. Lupe and SPHP caught up with the wolverine several more times before the wolverine decided to quit the trail and go into the brush. That was the last Lupe saw of the wolverine. Lupe was rather fortunate to see a wild wolverine at all. Wolverines are quite rare.

The wolverine wasn’t the only wildlife Lupe saw. Once back at Lake Louise, when Lupe was almost to the parking lot, she saw a porcupine. Despite wolverines’ reputation for ferocity, it turns out porcupines are much braver than wolverines. The porcupine was not the least bit afraid of American Dingoes. The porcupine took its sweet time sauntering across the trail before Lupe could pass.Lupe and SPHP returned to Lake Louise a year later on July 24, 2014 to make the hike up to the end of the Plain of Six Glaciers trail again. Click here for photos and commentary from that trip!

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It was 41°F and still totally overcast when Lupe and SPHP woke up in the G6. It had rained a little during the night, but by now the pavement was mostly dry. SPHP drove over to a picnic area near the N end of the Bow Parkway. No one else was around yet. While SPHP made a bit of breakfast, Lupe sniffed around. There wasn’t too much for her to do since the squirrels weren’t even up yet.

On the drive over to the picnic ground, SPHP had seen new snow high up on the mountains. Not so much to the E & S, but a fair amount to the N. The gray skies, mountaintops lost in the clouds, and new snow made the mountains look beautiful, but also remote and vaguely threatening.

After breakfast, Lupe and SPHP drove over to Lake Louise Village so SPHP could mail a postcard. While there, SPHP chanced to meet a 74 year old man from San Diego, CA. He was friendly and talkative. He was on a six month tour of the Canadian Rockies and the American West in a little motor home all by himself.

That sounded pretty awesome! SPHP enjoyed chatting with him. The man mentioned the hike to Sherbrooke Lake as a pretty nice one, and not too long. It sounded like a good idea to SPHP on a cool, drippy, overcast day when the mountains were hidden in the clouds anyway.

Sherbrooke Lake from the SE shore, Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada

Lupe and SPHP had actually planned to go to Sherbrooke Lake while in the Canadian Rockies back in 2013, but SPHP had not found the trailhead. This time, with the help of a tip from the guy from San Diego, it wasn’t a problem.

From Lake Louise, Lupe and SPHP headed N and then W on the Trans-Canada Hwy No. 1 past the turn off for the Icefields Parkway Hwy No. 93. After entering Yoho National Park, SPHP slowed down when Wapta Lake came into view on the S side of the highway. On the N side of the highway across from the lake is the Great Divide Lodge. SPHP turned into the big parking lot for the Great Divide Lodge. It turned out the trailhead wasn’t there, but SPHP knew it had to be close by.

Getting back on Trans-Canada Hwy No. 1 and continuing W just 0.25 mile from the Great Divide Lodge, SPHP saw another turnoff on the N side of the highway. There was no sign, but this was the correct turn for the Sherbrooke Lake trailhead. The road went N up a little hill, and then curved E to end at the trailhead parking lot, which wasn’t far from the highway at all. There were no other vehicles at the misty trailhead. Low gray clouds were dripping light rain sporadically when Lupe set out on the trail to Sherbrooke Lake.

The trail goes through the forest the entire 3.1 km to Sherbrooke Lake. Nearly all of the 165 m elevation gain occurs on the first part of the trail before it reaches a junction at 1.4 km with a trail to the lookout on Paget Peak (8,465 ft.). Ordinarily, SPHP would have been tempted to check out Paget Peak, but it seemed pointless to climb up into the fog. The last part of the trek to Sherbrooke Lake was a pleasant stroll through the dripping forest with little elevation change. Lupe was pretty damp, but in good spirits when she reached Sherbrooke Lake along its SE shore.

Under the overcast skies, Sherbrooke Lake was a light gray-green color. The air was calm, and the lake was smooth with hardly a ripple on its surface. The trail continued another 1.4 km along the E shore of the lake to the far N end.

Everything was sopping wet, as Lupe and SPHP headed N along the lakeshore trail. Little streams crossed the trail on their way down into the lake. Small birds were perched up in the trees near the water’s edge. Lupe barked enthusiastically at them. There were even a few squirrels around. Her barking echoed through the valley, but no one else was around to care.

At the far NE corner of Sherbrooke Lake, the trail went into some terrain covered with tall bushes as it started around the N shore. Here there were larger creeks flowing down into the lake. The trail started to fade quickly as it went into the wet bushes. There were rounded stones on the ground and muddy places. SPHP got the impression that this whole area Lupe was approaching was a big wash where a larger braided stream was depositing rocks and mud, slowly filling in the N end of the lake.

It was starting to rain more steadily. The trail was fading away as it headed into the tall wet bushes. The larger streams Lupe now encountered were difficult to cross without getting wet. It was becoming clear that continuing on meant both Lupe and SPHP would get totally soaked. Without adequate rain gear, it was time to turn around. Lupe was just as happy barking at birds on the way back S along the E shore of the lake, as she had been going N.

Looking back to the S from the NE corner of Sherbrooke Lake.

Lupe and SPHP had seen no one at all on the entire trip to Sherbrooke Lake, but on the way back a couple from Edmonton appeared at the junction with the trail to the Paget Peak lookout. They were very nice and SPHP chatted with them for a while.

The Edmonton couple were on their way to the N end of Sherbrooke Lake where Lupe had just been, except they were going to continue on beyond the lake. They said that the trail does not end at the N end of Sherbrooke Lake. Not too far N of the lake is a headwall. The trail climbs up and over the headwall to some fantastically beautiful territory (Niles Meadows) and goes on toward Niles Peak. Definitely worth checking out sometime, but sissy SPHP wanted to do it in better weather.

The Edmonton couple was justifiably excited about a trip to the Himalayas they were going to take in the relatively near future. They planned on spending time at a 14,000 foot elevation base camp near Mt. Everest, although they had no plans to climb Everest. The airfare there was the big expense. They could hire a Sherpa for $10 per day to haul all of their gear, cook, make camp, etc. SPHP made a mental note to cross Sherpa off the list of possible career opportunities.

Of more immediate interest to SPHP was another trek in the Canadian Rockies that they recommended. Across the Icefields Parkway Hwy No. 93 from the Crowfoot Glacier near Bow Lake is the Helen Lake trailhead. From Helen Lake it is possible to climb up to the top of Cirque Peak where there are fabulous views of the Wapta Icefield, Bow Lake and Bow Glacier Falls. Two days later Lupe and SPHP actually climbed Cirque Peak. The experience was everything the couple from Edmonton promised it would be and more!

Just before 1:00 PM, a very soggy Lupe was back at the trailhead. Lupe hopped right into the G6 and began licking herself dry. She’d had a great time on the trail to Sherbrooke Lake. It really had been an enjoyable outing and had only taken a few hours. Sometime in the future Lupe and SPHP hope to return to see Niles Meadows.

Lupe’s 2014 visit to Sherbrooke Lake was over. It rained for a while. Lupe and SPHP took a nap. By the time SPHP woke up, the rain had tapered off. Lupe and SPHP returned to Lake Louise Village. There was still time left in the day to do something else. Lupe and SPHP headed for Moraine Lake for a walk along the lakeshore trail.

Lupe at Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada 7-25-14

From the big rock pile at the outlet end of Moraine Lake, SPHP was amazed how blue the lake was despite the still cloudy skies.

Moraine Lake and Valley of the Ten Peaks from the rock pile.

After dinner, Lupe and SPHP went to Lake Louise to take a wonderful evening stroll to the end of the lake.

Lupe took an evening stroll along beautiful Lake Louise to the far side of the lake. Mt. Lefroy (L) and Mount Victoria (center) visible in the distance. — Lupe took an evening stroll along beautiful Lake Louise to the far side of the lake. **Mt. Lefroy** **(11,293 ft.)** (L) and **Mount Victoria** **(11,375 ft.)** (center) visible in the distance.

The **Chateau du Lac Louise** is visible beyond Lupe across Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada 7-25-14

The views at Lake Louise looked even a bit more spectacular this evening with the bit of fresh snow from last night still lingering on the peaks.

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Tag: Mt. Victoria

Lake Louise & the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail (7-21-13)

Sherbrooke Lake, Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada (7-25-14)