Why is it the must see place when in Banff National Park? The breathtaking views at the Lake Louise with deep blue colour surrounded by mountains and woods are typical for this location.
It's very popular place all year round. You can enjoy hiking from spring to autumn and ski in the winter. Official hiking season is from June until September which is the reason I went there in October. Just to see Lake Louise from different side and to explore what it can offer for hiking even when snow is already around. You can get there quite easily from Banff by car in 40 minutes or by bus in 50 minutes (for around 8$).
Hiking in snow
Eventhough it wasn't an official hiking season in October I still met there many people. My initial plan was to reach the top of Mount St. Piran and enjoy breathtaking views of Rocky Mountains and Lake Louise from the top. I started with Lake Agnes Trail which must be very enjoyable trail within hiking season but when the snow is around and especially couple times melted and frozen it becomes more challenging as most of the path is covered by ice. I must admit it looks funny when you make one step forward and slide 3 steps backwards (I was even thinking turning around would make it faster).
Non-slip gear was essential
Luckily I was prepared for this situation and had already this piece of equipment in my backpack. It doesn't matter if you have metal chains over your shoes or just cover with metal tips both will work for basic/easy trails. I started to move finally more up than down. I took it as a little win. The trail is consistant medium steep path leading to Lake Agnes. It didn't take long and I reached it quite easily. You are going through the forest so there are only a few viewing spots along the way.
Weather was my enemy
As I was about to start climbing and reach the top of the mountain weather had a different opinion about my intention. It started to be windy, cloudy with heavy snow. This time I decided to go back down as reaching the mountain top in this weather could be dangerous and I wouldn't most likely see anything.
I came for an adventure
I went back down to Lake Louise and when I got there weather changed its mind again to pleasant conditions suitable for hiking. As the weather conditions were quite unstable I didn't want to go back and eventually repeat the previous scenario. I came up with a different plan to hike Plain of Six Glaciers Trail going through the valley with possibility to enjoy great views of Lake Louise and its valley (if weather will not be stubborn).
Plain of Six Glaciers Trail
This trail is not boring as the path keeps changing and the snow makes it definitely more challenging. I was lucky with the weather this time and had chance to enjoy some nice views even it was just for a brief moments. The way up took me about 2 hours but I got to the glaciers.
You can see the rest of photos from this hike in gallery.
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