Sunshine Simpson Healy : Banff National Park September 21, 2024

My wish was to acknowledge the last day of summer in some mountain-style way! I brain-stormed ideas and the culmination of that brain-storming resulted in the following story!  The last day of summer comes once a year and there is no rehearsal so I needed to make the most of this day.  It turned out being a celebration of kinds, many of my favourite things played a part!  If you wish to celebrate with me, you may need to book off time, pour yourself a beverage, then settle in, this is not a short story!  

It rained most of the day in the city yesterday which means snowfall in the mountains.  Today is the second last day for the Sunshine Gondola to run before it closes to prepare for the ski season.  Tis' the season, the Larch watch is on.  I wanted to ride the Gondola, I wanted to be in snow and I wanted to see golden Larch trees.  After riding the Gondola, I walked over to the Standish Chairlift and rode it to the top of the world.  

It was a cold ride up on the chairlift, I was the first to sit on the chair that I did, it was covered in frost and my rear felt frosty by the time I hopped off at the end of the ride.  The first view that I had at the top went on forever. 

In a matter of a few minutes later, I saw my first golden Larch!  Ride the gondola, be in snow, see a golden Larch, everything I wished for already came to me and I had many hours and kilometres still ahead of me.  It could only get better and it did!

following the trail towards the Standish Viewpoint

Just before walking down the stairs to the Viewpoint, I admired what was right before my eyes.  I felt like I could reach out and touch Mount Assiniboine, that mountain sticking up in the middle of Quartz Hill.  

on the Standish Viewpoint platform with The Monarch behind me

That's Rock Isle Lake down there! I did not descend to hike around the three Lakes, I had another plan in place.  Six Sunshine employees were at the deck and from here they split ways to do their morning sweep.  Four went towards the Lakes and two went in the direction I was going.  

After descending from the deck, I aimed west to hike along the Twin Cairns Trail. The two employees were long gone, I could see their blue jackets in the distance.  No one else was hiking this trail while I was there.  I was happy to see more golden Larches.  There are still many that are well on their way to gold. 

It was cold enough for icicles!

hiking along the Twin Cairns Trail

This is a similar photo to what I shared as the promo shot at the top.  For this photo, I stood behind the Larch tree to capture more of the gold. The mountain in the background is Mount Bourgeau dressed in lots of new winter white.  

getting ready to cross the boardwalk, the two employees did so already and are long gone

a delicate ice droplet about an inch in size

I arrived at the Monarch Viewpoint and took care of my location selfie before doing anything else.  From here I would descend then ascend then descend again to Simpson Pass.  It was time for a snack and a sip of hot chocolate/coffee combo.  

These beverages always taste better in a mountain setting!

The Sunshine employees would not have come this way, they would have continued their sweep down the Meadowlark Trail back to Sunshine Village.  The Larch trees along this section were beautiful and even more beautiful when they held some of the new snow.  

This is my favourite kind of puddle!

look at that tiny gold Larch tree in the middle

bless its' little heart, it's thriving and living its' best life through this season

I arrived at the Simpson Col marker.  The front of me is in British Columbia, and the back of me is in Alberta.  Talk about being in two places at once!  It was time for another snack and another sip of that hot beverage.  It remained comfortably cool so I was content leaving my down jacket and hat on.  From here I would be ascending again to where I remembered there were lakes.   

It was while I was snapping this shot that I saw another person!  He was hiking towards me heading to Sunshine Meadows.  Not too long after another solo hiker came along, her plan was to hit Simpson Pass and then come back out to the Healy Creek trail.  Back to the Lakes, this was what I remembered!  The Larch trees were beautifully golden around here. 

lots of gold reflecting in the lake

It was time to carry on through Simpson area and aim towards Healy.  I was beginning to see less gold and more green by now, yet the scenery was still quite breathtaking.   That is The Monarch far left and The Monarch Ramparts running along the middle at the top of the trees.  

autumn hues on a summer day

By now I could see people through the trees in the middle so I knew I was approaching the Healy/Simpson Junction.  I took a little time here, taking it all in, enjoying the peace, the quiet, the silence, I knew I would not be afforded that at the junction.  

I stopped at the big boulder at the junction to have another snack and another sip.  Group after soloist after couple were passing by here and heading through those trees and up to Healy Pass which would be another two kilometres or so.  I decided at this point I would not carry on up to the Pass.  The larch trees here were still green as you can see in this photo.  I would say by next weekend they should be prime.  

I already hiked thirteen kilometres and still had seven ahead of me to get back to my vehicle.  I decided to just saunter along for the next hour and a half.  The views along these seven klicks are not plentiful but there are a few, this was one of them.  A few hikers and runners passed me on the way down and there were a few dozen hikers just on their way up. 

I felt overjoyed with how today turned out, feeling it became more of a celebration rather than just an acknowledgement.  I am not feeling the need to venture back up the Healy Pass Trail to Healy Pass in the coming days to view the Larch trees, but I may venture out to another trail somewhere for more golden delight!

my route