| We booked in at the
campsite then went up the road to the lake itself. There is a very
impressive hotel at the edge of the lake, built at the beginning of the
century by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. |  |
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There is a warning on the road up about congestion. There are four rows of
parking spaces for RVs. Only one is part full today. And ours is the only
non rental unit! |
| Failed!! We last came
here almost 20 years ago and it was frozen over. It isn't much better this
time, despite being a couple of weeks later. They say there will be ice on
the lake for at least another two weeks. |  |
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The view from the same point but looking to the left. There are walks on
each side of the lake but not all round. |
| Occasionally I let Jan in
the photo just to show we have actually been there. This is the classic view
of the lake (or would be without the ice). |  |
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We went in the hotel and looked out from the tea room. Afternoon tea was
C$39 so we declined although Canadians are a little better at making tea
than most Americans. |
| And you do get music. The
harp had a lovely tone but she told us that the damp plays havoc with the
tuning. It was made in Chicago. The music was rather musack so I
didn't buy a CD. |  |
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I did like the sign by the lift. After weeks of Spanish in the US and French
in Canada, this made a welcome change, particularly since the hotel was
overrun with orientals photographing each other and everything in sight. |
| The walls of the two
hotel blocks had photos of prominent personalities in the area's history.
This is Major Rogers who was chief engineer of the CPR mountain division in
1881 and who selected the Kicking Horse Pass just west of here as the route
through the Rockies for the railway. A very modern face (apart from the
whiskers.) |  |
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We haven't seen any mountain sheep although there are frequent warning signs
on the roads. They are fairly elusive. |
| There are several stained
glass windows depicting local wildlife. This is the only one which is
immediately obvious. |  |
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There are also several bas relief wood panels depicting important scenes.
The railway made access to this area possible long before the road. |
| In the early 1900s the
railway brought in several Swiss alpine mountain guides to work from the
hotel. They did much to foster tourism in the early years and blazed many of
the local trails. |  |
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The hotel has been extended over the years particularly after a fire in a
wood built wing in1926. It is said that after the fire, dinner was served
that evening as normal complete with the orchestra. |
| We walked along the lake
edge (elevation gain 0ft - just as well since we are already over 6000ft). |  |
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The absence of wind ruffling the lake water makes for some excellent
reflections. |
| The water of the lake
changes from deep blue to milky white. It is over 70m deep in places. The
paler greens and whites are caused by glacial dust in the water from the
runoff from the glacier up the valley. |  |
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Visibility was varying all the time so the amount of reflection did too. |
| Walking back for a last
look. Maybe next time we will come even later in the year! |  |
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And with better weather we might get to hike one of the longer trails.
Avalanches are common so care is advised. |
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