The Yoho Valley from the Iceline Trail
This morning was clear and beautifully sunny. We didn’t rush around to get ready to hike,
in fact, we weren’t sure where we were going to go. I thought about going to Takakkaw and doing part of the Iceline trail. We stopped at the park office in Lake Louise to inquire about the trails around Moraine Lake, but since they all require hiking in a group of four, that was out. The interpreter in the office suggested that we go high to the Iceline Trail because of the good weather forecast, so that is what we did.
From the parking lot at Takakkaw Falls, which was almost completely full and so we were just barely able to squeeze our vehicle into a tight spot, we walked the kilometre or so to the start of the trail up the west side of the valley. We climbed up switchbacks on the clay trail, which was slippery because of the rain, until we reached the junction to the Yoho Lake campsite.
The trail soon flattened out beyond this point. We stopped for lunch partway to the lake, then continued on to the tiny lake. There were three women there eating lunch and heading to Emerald Lake.
Enid is sure that the one young woman was a guide, since she was much younger than the other two, and very knowledgeable about the trail. She told us there were a couple
of trees down across the trail, and she was partly right. There were four downed trees. One was too high to step over, and I tried to go around it. That was a mistake, as I
ran into a sharp tree branch, ripped a hole in the back of my shirt, and have a
10 cm long scratch on my back.
Takakkaw Falls from the Iceline Trail
The trail climbs again after leaving the lake. Near the top there was a considerable amount of old snow, just where the trail flattens out a bit. Several runners passed us on the flatter
sections just after this point. There are great views of Takakkaw Falls at this point as well, just before it reaches the junction with the Iceline Trail. We joined the Iceline trail and climbed up it for about half an hour before heading back.
Since the weather forecast tomorrow is poor, and we’ve about exhausted the hikes right around here, we’ve decided to head home tomorrow.