Lake Louise and Mosquito Creek
28 June 2018
Escape From the Heart of Tourism
Stylish new boot muffs! (My anti-chafing strategy)
Another day in Banff, another breakfast at the Wild Flour Bakery. Delicious, surprisingly reasonably priced, and in the heart of downtown Banff. I had an excellent cup of coffee and a “gourmet” grilled cheese (it had Brie. Fancy!). Yummm.
I decided that instead of getting back on the Trans Canada highway with the trucks and RV’s, I would take my time and go up the 1A, the old but nicely maintained original road. It was much curvier and prettier than its interstate-like replcaement. Unfortunately for me, there was a flood in the last couple years that did some damage to the highway, and so it was closed about 3/4 of the way to Lake Louise. I decided to go up it anyway just to make sure it was really closed and to see the scenery.
Castle Mountain
The thing I didn’t expect was this little stop on the side of the road. Its a memorial for the prisoners at the WWI internment camp along this road where suspicious (aka, of the wrong nationality) people were put to work for two years to keep them from making trouble. They lived in terrible conditions, with minimal supplies, and difficult work. Its been recognized since that this was probably the wrong thing to do and so a memorial was put up. I had no idea this kind of thing had happened here.
Eventually I made my way to Lake Louise, where I encountered a Texas Gate. Or as we would say in Texas, a cattle guard. This isn’t the first one either, I’ve seen others here and they had the same sign. If they’re trying to keep Texans out with this gate they’re clearly not doing a very good job.
Huh
After admiring the Texas Gate for a while, I crossed the freeway and pulled into the central area of Lake Louise. It was a scene of orderly chaos. RV’s everywhere, people in high viz vests directing traffic, a line of RV’s waiting at the gas pump, and not an open parking space in sight. Luckily, on a bike you can make just about any neglected corner into a parking space, so I grabbed one at the end of a row.
The original plan for today called for grabbing a campsite in Lake Louise Campground, and then touring around the lake, maybe doing some kayaking, and possibly wandering around Moraine Lake. I decided to check in at the visitors center to see how crazy my plan was in light of all of the Canada Day visitors.
I asked, and the helpful lady said that when they last talked to the campground at noon, 30 minutes prior, there was one site left, and that I should go check there because they could also point me to the next closest place to camp if they were indeed full.
I pulled up to the booth at the campground after waiting in line, and sure enough, they were full. The thing I didn’t know is that this campground is 100% reservable in advance, and so if you know when you’re going to be in the area, you can reserve a site. They don’t set aside any first-come-first-serve sites for those of us with flexible and variable schedules. Oh well. The kind lady in the booth suggested that I try continuuing up the Ice Fields Parkway to Mosquito Creek, and if it was full, keep going to Waterfowl Lake, and beyond. Or, I could go back to Banff.
I wasn’t going back to Banff, so I grabbed a quick bite to eat and went on up the highway. About 15 miles later, I arrived at Mosquito Creek. Much to my amazment, there were empty sites! I chose the one right next to the bathroom and adjacent to the bear boxes. By the time I got all setup, it was about 3:00.
I could have gone back to Lake Louise, but I really wasn’t in the mood for dealing with the crowds. Also, at Canadian campgrounds if you buy a fire permit, they provide unlimited firewood. Unlimited!!! Meanwhile, back in the states, you can pay about the same price for a bundle of sticks that will burn for all of an hour.
So that was pretty much it for the day, I made a nice fire, cooked a bowl of pasta, chatted with my Czech neighbors, and enjoyed the evening. Lake Louise would have to wait until next time, I’m okay with that.
