A mere hop, skip and a jump from my home away from home, is the trailhead for Bertha Lake. I did this hike last summer and enjoyed it so much now that there are views galore due to the wildfires. This Lake was my go to place today. The stroll along Evergreen Avenue to the trailhead was delightful.
trailhead kiosk
Right from the get go, the wildflowers were in abundance.
It was quite breezy which I was thankful for because it was already warm. There was loads of blue in the sky and just enough of those white fluffy puffy clouds that I love so much,
overlooking Upper Waterton Lake
Along the trail were dashes of red, pink and orange offered up by the Paintbrushes.
the beginnings of a Bears Breath
a video of Lower Bertha Falls taken from the bridge
After crossing the bridge, the switchbacks begin to gain elevation.
That’s the Lower Falls in the centre.
A splash of colour up there in amongst the lush green vegetation, that’s me! A few years back, I posted about being “kissed”, that’s what I called the little X that appeared on the photo from the way the sun caught the camera lens. Well, as you can see in bottom right of this photo, I got “kissed” today.
As I approached Bertha Lake, there were short sections of snow that were easily passable, then for the short down hill stretch just before the lake, I kick stepped through the snow. There was one slice of ice still floating about near the shore.
The wind was strong and cold. There was loads of snow still around. It was loud from where the creek runs from the lake turning into the Upper Falls. There was no one else here. For all those reasons, I only stayed long enough to capture a destination shot then began the hike back.
This was the perfect location to stop for awhile on the way back. It was only fifteen minutes on the way back from Bertha Lake.
The whole route was buzzing with bird song and activity. I decided I did not need to see every bird that sang. I would get no where if I did. I did spot this Hammond’s Flycatcher which was a lifer for me.
a male Western Tangier
He sports the same colors of the ice cream I purchased later.
As I got lower on the trail, more and more hikers came along. We shared pleasantries and many asked about the conditions higher up. This was the view as I began the last stretch down to the townsite.
What an enjoyable hike!
I have a feeling this could become an annual trek.
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