Day 27/28 - The infamous Toe Shot and the Northern Lights

DAY 11 - Lake Louise and hike to The Plains of Six Glaciers

After being stuck inside yesterday due to the rain, we were ready to get back to it with a 730am hike at Lake Louise! The plan was to start earlier but we both felt we deserved an extra half hour sleep in. The drive towards Lake Louise made us question our decision as the fog was so dense you could hardly see 15' infront of you. Thanks to Melinda's in-depth research of our activities we knew to arrive before 8 because the chances of getting a parking spot after that are 1/1,000,000. She was absolutely right. Parking right at the front we hoped out with our Camel Backs filled to the brim and packed our snacks and lunch to conquer whatever was infront of us. Seriously, we couldn't even see the 2100m high glacier infront of us. After arriving at Lake Louise, we couldn't see the beauty it had to offer because the fog was about 3' off shore. We hiked the 2.2km around Lake Louise and as the fog lifted slightly we saw what resembled a mountain/glacier. After taking a picture at The Plain of Six Glaciers sign and reading the history of how Swedish guides were hired in 1922 to take people up the glacier safely, we started our accent up the 5.6km trail to the teahouse. The first (I'm gonna guess 2km, it was a really long hike) went by fairly smoothly, HOWEVER, after that the rocky terrain and near 45° slope started to take its toll, we had to start making some stops. Our first break after making it through the wooded area was in a rocky clearing. Here (with the fog still dense in our path unable to see anything) we decided "hey we're just about 3 quarters of the way there".... Lol as if. The final stretch where the sign read ".8km to the teahouse, 2.2km to summit of glacier lookout", took us nearly 45 minutes to an hour to just to make up. It was about 7 switchbacks (hike up one steep slope to hit a complete 180 and hike up the other way),  followed by a straight rooty, rocky path with boulders you almost need to climb over. Half way up, Melinda my fiance (love saying that) tells me to step aside for a runner. A runner... Up a mountain... I turn and look to see a 40 y/o going full tilt up this incline which has taken us almost 30 minutes, 5 breaks and almost a litre of water. As he passed, I noticed his calves made Arnold Schwarzenegger's calves (in his prime) look like wet noodles, so yeah didn't feel too bad. Finally, around the last bend we make it to the teahouse take a quick break, and head inside. After someone reading numerous reviews, I reluctantly asked the woman who worked there if they have an ATM. She gave me the most confused, puzzled face I have ever seen in my life. Now I'm not gonna say who told me there was ATM up there, but it was someone I was hiking with... Even though I knew it couldn't be true, with little time to take out cash in the morning I figured hell, I'd love to see an ATM in the mountains. Needless to say, there was no ATM. We had a good laugh and as we popped an electrolight tablet into our water bottle, the skies cleared and lo and behold, we were hiking a glacier. It was a sight unlike any other with the thundering Glaciers crashing in the background, and the sun illuminating all six peaks. After seeing that view we figured we had to walk the extra 1.4km to the summit/lookout and witness it as close as possible. At this point in the hike we thought we'd barely have enough energy to stand but the sun and glaciers rejuvenated us, and we made it there in no time to snack on our turkey sandwiches. We enjoyed the view for a while and trecked back down the mountain, making sure to inform the people coming up that they were indeed close to the top, but it's gonna suck. After the 3 hours it took making it to the top, it only took us 1h45m on the way down and made many friends along the way. A bonus was that we could see everything we missed on the way up because of the fog, so we had more time to truly appreciate the hike. The number one thing on this trip that makes me proud to be Canadian is that where ever we go, we talk to people from all over the world that want to see how beautiful our country is, and I think thats pretty damn cool. Arriving at the bottom we took in the turquoise waters of Lake Louise, dipped out feet in and headed back to camp. We also of course made a necessary stop at Cows to enjoy some well deserved icecream. It was an absolutely amazing day, and cannot wait to checkout Cave and Basin tomorrow to see some the beautiful hot springs and endangered Banff snails.