Larch Valley June 29, 2021

I was familiar with the challenges that faced me this morning: getting a parking spot at Moraine Lake, trying to capture lovely photographs when the sky is totally blue, surviving a sweltering hot day!  The only way to know the winner is to first get out and face those challenges head on!  I got out near sunrise, drove the minute to where the beginning of Moraine Lake Road is and at that point I already knew I was the winner with the first challenge.  The road was wide open with no barriers or signs in place yet.  

Seeing as I already hiked along the Moraine Lake Trail last evening, this morning I would just stop by the Lake to get an alpenglow photo before beginning the hike up to Larch Valley.  The air was so still it afforded a perfect reflection, even the moon showed off its reflection.  There were lots of people around, yet it was very quiet and so peaceful.   

I hit the trail for Larch Valley.  This was the earliest I have even been along this route and I wondered what I would be in for.   Early on I met this deer and the look  it was giving me was as if to say "What are you and what are you doing here this hour of the morning?"

Another couple came along and we chatted for a bit before I left them to enjoy this area.  This is the beginning of Larch Valley and where you can see the area for The Valley of Ten Peaks.  The challenge now began of capturing photos when the sky is clear blue.  I prefer when there is a white fluffy puffy cloud or two in the sky.  The moon is still there! 

I hiked up through Larch Valley and to the base of Sentinel Pass.  I could see people traversing the snow slope but doing that is not my cup of tea. I settled for a little while at the edge of Upper Minnestimma Lake.  The sun had not come up over Mount Temple yet and the sky remained a clear blue.  I have been here in  mid June when the lake is more open than it was today.

Yet, it was snow I went searching for and I found it!  

This fellow passed me in Larch Valley and I watched him carry on up the trail towards Sentinel Pass.  It's traversing the steep snow slopes like this one that is not my cup of tea.  Even watching others do it, makes the hair on my arms stand up.  It is easy to see others choose to slide down the slope on the way back rather than hike down.

What is my cup of tea though is playing in the snow even at this age in my life!  The snow was not snowman snow but I managed to create some kind of a resemblance.  Still, the sky was clear blue and that is a challenge for me to get lovely photos.  Yet, the moon is still there!

I continued back along the trail to the big boulder section where the sun was now shining down on.  I worked my way through the snow to this tarn, one of my favourite spots up in Larch Valley.  At this time of year it is still full.  

In a matter of a few minutes, it went from being comfortably cool to full on hot!  I went down to my short sleeve shirt, tied on my bandana to cover my head, smeared on sunscreen and eventually tied on my cooling neck tie.  This was a great spot to settle again for awhile after capturing my location shot.  See, the moon is still there.  

It remained very quiet up in Larch Valley.  A couple of couples passed through and carried on up towards Sentinel Pass.  I gave up hope for there being a few fluffy puffy white clouds forming.  The sky remained clear blue and I did the best I could with getting photos.  There you go, the moon is still there. 

The ground was carpeted with these Western Anemones and also lined the trail through the upper forest.

During the return hike back down, I met many others just heading up.  Seeing them and hearing them, I was thankful I was not ascending during these record setting high temperatures.  It was an enjoyable stroll down through the forest, yet when I exited the tree-lined trail and popped out into the open by Moraine Lake, the heat hit.  I headed to my car, dumped my pack then drove back to my suite where I could savour a shaded balcony, enjoy a good read, nap, sip some beverages and just keep my cool!  It's by hanging a moose on the door knob that tells staff I am in need of nothing. Right now I have everything I could want for!