Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Canada Trip Day 7 - Another Canadian Rockies Experience at Banff - Lake Louise

Another hectic day of Canadian Rockies experience covering places from Banff to Lake Louise. The 22 of us were always on time as far as the schedule is concerned.
We started with a cable car ride to Sulphur Mountain. The weather was on a cooler side with a temperature of 16°.
It is an 8 minutes Banff Gondola ride where we began seeing nice aerial views as we ascend.
The panoramic views from above are spectacular.
The cable car took us to an observation deck where we could see the beauty of the surrounding areas like Banff town, Bow Valley, Lake Minnewanka and the adjoining mountain range.
The stair to the Cosmic Ray Station.
The Cosmic Ray Station located at the peak of Sulphur Mountain.
A few friendly squirrels were running around entertaining us and soliciting for foods.
Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station.
A brief visit to Bow River to see Bow Falls immediately after our Gondala ride.
Bow Falls is about 10m high separating by two different rock formations, one is 70 millon years older than the other.
Banff town has a population of 8,500 and during summer time it will increase to as many as 30,000 people staying within the town. It is popular for its outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, sightseeing and skiing.

Visiting Johnston Canyon requires only a mild hike where you could see a series of waterfalls, pots (formed from the forceful erosion over the years).
The lower falls are 1.1km from the trailhead.
While the upper falls are 2.7km away with a depth of 30m and we could see the effect of the erosion that have changed the rockies.
Lake Louise is known as Canada's "Diamond of the Wilderness" as well as the "Hiking Capital of Canada".
The emerald coloured lake is fed by glacial melt water and looking awesomely majestic.
The first mountain guides from Switzerland brought in by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1899 to the Canadian Rockies who have inspired mountaineering that continues to this day.
Moraine Lake is situated in the valley of the Ten Peaks at an elevation of 1,885m.
Though the lake is less than half the size of Lake Louise but it has one of the most iconic images of the Canadian Rockies. Its image have featured in the older version of the Canadian Twenty Dollar bill.

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