15 September 2016, Thursday
It is another sunny day. The thermometer is reading just above zero this morning. It feels significantly warmer than yesterday. After breakfast we drive the short distance to the visitors center to meet Mike. To get to Parker Ridge trailhead we must drive about an hour north on the Icefields Parkway to Saskatchewan Crossing and then another 25 miles past there. We arrive at the trailhead parking area and begin our climb. It is steep but short, and in just a little while we arrive at the ridgetop with a spectacular view of the Saskatchewan glacier.
Amazing to think that we drove by water from this glacier when we were driving past Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba a few weeks ago. We hike a short distance along the ridge line and sit down to eat lunch and gaze at the scenery. Our hiking guide book suggests an off-trail hike to a view of a waterfall, but there are other sights to see on the long drive back to Lake Louise, so we elect to save that part of the hike for a future visit.
We return to our cars and drive southward to the Weeping Wall viewpoint. This section of rock wall has several waterfalls coursing straight down from the top of a cliff . The sedimentary rock here is from the Devonian period and is noted for its myriad fossils.
O wanders over to the rock wall across the road, Mike goes down to the river to take photos, and I visit the pit toilet. The knob on the bolt inside the door is missing, but I can easily turn the flat pin sticking out to lock the door. Unfortunately, I can’t open it again. I am locked in! I realize that I need a pair of pliers to open the bolt. I begin pounding on the door. A French-speaking couple is picnicking nearby. They come over to see what is wrong. I explain (through the door) what I need, and they go looking for O. He is nowhere to be found, but Mike comes back from the river. Luckily he also carries lots of tools in his car. He slips a pair of needle-nosed pliers under the door and I am freed. We all have a good laugh over my adventure. I place a piece of tape over the bolt pin with a message saying “DO NOT USE BOLT.” O returns from the waterfall, and Mike and I, laughing, fill him in on my adventure.
From Weeping Wall, we continue south to Peyto Lake, named after one of the first park wardens here in Banff National Park. Mike had insisted we stop here to see the striking blue color of the lake. It is definitely a worthwhile stop. Now we drive on to Banff to have dinner at the brewery with Mike. There is a special on tonight – 32 oz steins for $8.00. O and I decide to share a stein of stout. Just the thing after a day of hiking. We are back at our Lake Louise campsite by 9:30 and ready for a good night’s sleep.