Oh Canada!

Canada Day, celebrated on July 1, is a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the enactment of the British North America Act 1867, which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire. 

We celebrated Canada Day this year by hiking the Plain of Six Glaciers and Lake Agnes Tea House loop. The hike starts at the Chateau Lake Louise. We hiked the trail in the opposite direction of the most popular route (naturally) to miss most of the crowds. By the time we made it to the Lake Agnes Tea House, most of the tourists were hiking back to their cars. The loop starts at Lake Louise and climbs along the the glacial moraine (rocks and debris left over from formerly glaciated regions) between Mt.Lefroy and Mt. Victoria. We had views of Lake Louise most of the way as we hiked higher and higher into the mountains. The views of the Victoria Glacier as it flows down Abbot Pass are spectacular. We heard and saw four avalanches that day. The avalanches are preceded by a loud "boom" and then you see what looks like a waterfall of snow coming off nearby Mt. Victoria. We were not in any danger, but I think I saw Jim jump a time or two. Then we headed up to Big Beehive and on to the Lake Agnes Tea House. The loop took us 6.5 hours and covered 18 km (11 miles). We were pretty pooped and ready for a cold beverage by the time we got down the mountain. Happy Canada Day everyone!

This is the loop!

The start of the hike.

Lake Louise in background.

Lake Louise in the background, Big Red in the foreground. 

A view of the moraine between Mounts Lefroy and Victoria.

Wide angle of same view.

Trails are still covered in snow in some places....what month is this? Oh yeah, July..

Getting closer to the Victoria Glacier and Abbot Pass.

End of the trail, Plain of Six Glaciers.

View of Victoria Glacier.

Victoria Glacier and Abbot Pass on the left side.

My handsome husband having tea at the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House.

This man does yoga!

View of Lake Agnes from the Big Beehive.

The Lake Agnes Tea House is at the far end of the lake on the left side.

View of Lake Agnes from the opposite end near the tea house.

Lake Agnes Tea House.

The end of our hike and still smiling!