7 September 2016, Wednesday

Awake, showered, then breakfast and we are on the road just a bit after 8 am. We proceed back over Kicking Horse Pass. Clouds hug the mountains and in some places the road, as dense fog. We arrive at the Lake O’Hara parking lot a bit after 9. We have a wait for the bus, but the time passes quickly as we converse with park attendants who provide information and check us in. By noon we are at the campground and our tent is set up at site 26. We hang the tarp over the tent to provide a bit more dry space for entering and leaving.

The campground is quite luxurious. There are two cooking shelters, each with three picnic tables and a small wood stove to provide warmth. There are two stainless steel sinks with running, potable (very cold) water.

After setting up camp we go on a walk around Lake O’Hara. The lake is a beautiful teal color, surrounded by rugged serrated peaks, each with fresh snow on top looking like icing on a layer cake. The cold rain comes and goes. We even have occasional, very brief, breaks of blue sky. We cook up an early dinner and follow it up with two “depression” brownies and a small cup of our chocolate cherry truffle wine. It is still too early for bed so we go for another walk up to the Elizabeth Parker Hut, run by the Alpine Club of Canada.

The forecast for tomorrow is even more rain, so we tentatively plan 2 short hikes with a break in between at Le Relais Day Shelter to eat some lunch and warm up. The shelter is also run by the ACC. All profits go to maintain and improve the Lake O’Hara area, a worthy goal!