{"id":1471,"date":"2015-08-20T08:10:17","date_gmt":"2015-08-20T14:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=1471"},"modified":"2020-02-20T21:37:37","modified_gmt":"2020-02-21T04:37:37","slug":"eiffel-lake-trail-the-valley-of-ten-peaks-banff-national-park-canada-7-22-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=1471","title":{"rendered":"Eiffel Lake Trail & The Valley of Ten Peaks, Banff National Park, Canada (7-22-13)"},"content":{"rendered":"

After Lupe’s trek up the Paradise Valley<\/a><\/strong><\/span> trail to see Lake Annette and the Giant Steps in Paradise Valley, there was still time left in the day for more Canadian Rockies\u00a0exploring.\u00a0 Nema and Danielle, who had joined Lupe for the Paradise Valley trip, were interested in taking the trail from Moraine Lake<\/a><\/strong><\/span> up to\u00a0Larch Valley and perhaps even on to Sentinel Pass.\u00a0 They were willing to let Lupe and SPHP join them.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe and Danielle at Lake Annette in Paradise Valley earlier in the day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a 12 km drive over to Moraine Lake, where it was just late enough in the day so a few parking spots were opening up again, Lupe met up with Nema and Danielle again.\u00a0 Danielle unexpectedly announced that she wasn’t feeling energetic enough for another trail, but after a few minutes, Nema convinced her to come along.\u00a0 Soon Lupe, Nema, Danielle & SPHP were heading up the trail.<\/p>\n

The trail to Eiffel Lake starts at Moraine Lake.\u00a0 For about 3 km it\u00a0is the same trail that also heads up to Larch Valley and Sentinel Pass, beyond which is Paradise Valley where Lupe had been earlier in the day.\u00a0 The trail climbs fairly steeply through a forest the entire way up to where it splits.\u00a0 Although it had been overcast and occasionally sprinkling rain earlier in the day in Paradise Valley, by now it was fairly sunny out.\u00a0 It started feeling rather warm going uphill.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP were glad the trail was in the shady forest.<\/p>\n

Due to the forest, other than a few occasional glimpses, there really weren’t any views on this first stretch of trail.\u00a0 The trail was very busy.\u00a0 By now most people were going down, but there were still some heading up too.\u00a0 Lupe became a pied piper.\u00a0 Part way up, Lupe met Peter and Verna.\u00a0 Peter and Verna\u00a0live on\u00a0an island in eastern Canada.\u00a0 They\u00a0were returning from a trip to see their daughter who lives in\u00a0northern British Columbia.\u00a0 Peter and Verna\u00a0joined Lupe’s hiking party.\u00a0 Chatting with Peter and Verna helped the last long section of switchbacks go by a little faster.<\/p>\n

There was a bench at the place where the trails divided.\u00a0 The trail to the left went to Eiffel Lake and beyond to\u00a0Wenkchemna Pass.\u00a0 The trail to the right went on to\u00a0Larch Valley\u00a0and\u00a0Sentinel Pass.\u00a0 \u00a0Most people head for Larch Valley and Sentinel Pass.\u00a0 Although Nema and Danielle also originally intended to go to Larch Valley, that trail still had considerable elevation gain ahead, whereas the trail to Eiffel Lake from here would be nearly level.\u00a0 Nema and Daniel decided to skip Larch Valley and head for Eiffel Lake.\u00a0 There would be\u00a0great views of the famous Valley of Ten Peaks, the lower end of which is occupied by Moraine Lake, along the way.<\/p>\n

A young ranger woman\u00a0was stationed at the trail intersection.\u00a0 She was lecturing everyone about staying in groups of 4 as required due to recent grizzly activity in the general area.\u00a0 She was pleasant enough about it, although it seemed a bit silly as there were lots of people hiking this trail.\u00a0\u00a0SPHP doubted\u00a0there were any grizzlies around when there was such a crowd.<\/p>\n

Still, the law allows for a penalty of $5,000 for non-compliance.\u00a0 The\u00a0penalty seemed\u00a0pretty ridiculously high, considering it could be enforced whether there was any grizzly or not.\u00a0 On the other hand, the ranger was armed with a rifle, too, so it was possible the penalty could be much higher yet.\u00a0 SPHP asked the ranger how many hikers she had shot with the rifle for non-compliance so far. She replied “none” in good humor.\u00a0 SPHP decided not to press the issue so that answer would remain the same.<\/p>\n

While the which way should we go discussion and ranger chat was taking place, Lupe\u00a0was busy making friends with\u00a0a couple who sounded like they were from Germany.\u00a0 They had\u00a0their two daughters with them and\u00a0were resting\u00a0on the bench.\u00a0 By the time a decision had been made to head for Eiffel Lake, Lupe had added\u00a0the German family\u00a0to her hiking party, too.\u00a0 Now Lupe had nine hikers with her including SPHP.\u00a0 This was very unusual, but\u00a0fine with SPHP since it meant there was little chance of being\u00a0eaten by grizzlies or shot by the government.<\/p>\n

Lupe’s\u00a0whole group took the trail to the left heading for Eiffel Lake.\u00a0 Danielle led the way.\u00a0 She must have recovered her lost energy.\u00a0\u00a0She was slender and lightly built, but had great stamina and moved quickly. \u00a0The rest of the party had trouble keeping up with her.\u00a0 Eventually Peter and Verna gave up trying and turned back.<\/p>\n

From where the trails divided, the Eiffel Lake trail was\u00a0wonderful.\u00a0 The trail was quite high up on the lower slopes of Eiffel Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(10,095 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> and nearly level.\u00a0 Not too far from the bench where the trails divided, there started to be openings in the forest with\u00a0tremendous views of the Valley of Ten Peaks.<\/p>\n

\"Mt.<\/a>
Mt. Fay<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (10,610 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> from the trail to Eiffel Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mt.<\/a>
Mt. Babel<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (10,180 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> (L), Mt. Fay and the Fay glacier (center), and Mt. Bowlen<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (10,079 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> (R). Moraine Lake visible at lower left.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The trail eventually crossed one big snowbank shortly before Eiffel Lake came into view.\u00a0 By now the German family had been left behind, too, although they were still on their way.\u00a0 Lupe’s hiking group was back down to just Danielle, Nema and SPHP.<\/p>\n

\"Eiffel<\/a>
Eiffel Lake near the upper end of the Valley of Ten Peaks. Wenkchemna Pass is visible beyond the lake. The mountain sticking up beyond the pass is probably Curtis Peak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"L<\/a>
L to R: Mt. Babel, Mt. Fay, Mt. Bowlen, and Mt. Tonsa<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (10,020 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>. SPHP isn’t 100% certain, but believes the peak at the far right is Mt. Perren<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (10,010 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"On<\/a>
On the Eiffel Lake trail Lupe was right across the Valley of Ten Peaks from Deltaform Mountain<\/span><\/strong> <\/a>(11,240 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The scenery was magnificent everywhere one looked.\u00a0 The Eiffel Lake trail doesn’t actually go down to Eiffel Lake.\u00a0 Instead it stays 30 to 40 meters above the lake and skirts it a little way off to the N.\u00a0 Ultimately the trail heads W all the way up to Wenkchemna Pass.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP would have loved to go on to Wenkchemna Pass, but Nema and Danielle were done.\u00a0 It was clouding up again and threatening to rain anyway.<\/p>\n

\"Rain<\/a>
Rain clouds started gathering again over Eiffel Lake forcing Lupe & SPHP to turn back. Mt. Hungabee<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (11,450 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> is the high point on the right.\u00a0 The trail going on to Wenkchemna Pass is faintly visible on the rocks near the right edge of this photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reluctantly, Lupe and SPHP turned around and started following Nema and Danielle back.\u00a0 Danielle outpaced everyone and disappeared from view.\u00a0 Nema and SPHP chatted while Lupe kept a sharp eye and two ears out for squirrels.\u00a0 Near the end of the return trip it did start to rain.\u00a0 Around 6:00 PM, Lupe was back at Moraine Lake.\u00a0 Nema and\u00a0SPHP spotted Danielle\u00a0ahead in the parking lot.\u00a0 She\u00a0was already\u00a0on her way to their vehicle.\u00a0 She waved and shouted back\u00a0at Lupe and\u00a0SPHP that it had been nice to meet us.\u00a0 Lupe and\u00a0SPHP said goodbye to Nema.<\/p>\n

Nema and Danielle were going to go up to Jasper the next day.\u00a0 They had reservations to spend several days\u00a0hiking the Skyline Trail near Maligne Lake.\u00a0 After that they planned on working their way S along the Icefields Parkway, so there was some slim chance that\u00a0Lupe and SPHP\u00a0might meet up with them somewhere again as\u00a0Lupe and SPHP\u00a0worked\u00a0their\u00a0way N, but Lupe never saw them again.\"Mt.<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2013 Beartooths & Canadian Rockies Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After Lupe’s trek up the Paradise Valley trail to see Lake Annette and the Giant Steps in Paradise Valley, there was still time left in the day for more Canadian Rockies\u00a0exploring.\u00a0 Nema and Danielle, who had joined Lupe for the Paradise Valley trip, were interested in taking the trail from Moraine Lake up to\u00a0Larch Valley … Continue reading Eiffel Lake Trail & The Valley of Ten Peaks, Banff National Park, Canada (7-22-13)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[105,32,30,31,106,26,231,104,230,232],"class_list":["post-1471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2013-beartoothscanadian-rockies","tag-american-dingo","tag-banff-national-park","tag-canada","tag-canadian-rockies","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-eiffel-lake","tag-lupe","tag-valley-of-ten-peaks","tag-wenkchemna-pass"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1050038.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1471"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26106,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471\/revisions\/26106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}