Here Comes the Sun

Before I jump into Wednesday’s adventure, here are some interesting facts about the Trans-Canada Highway. This highway system is the longest continuously paved road in the world. It starts in Vancouver, British Columbia and extends across this massive country to Newfoundland.

Dense forests blanket each side of the highway along long stretches through many of Canada’s national parks. Fences were added due to the increasing number of fatalities (both humans and animals) from wildlife trying to cross from one side to the other. While the fences solved this issue, it created another challenge – wildlife had to no way to naturally roam or migrate, interrupting the natural order of things. The answer? A clever one! Underpasses – tunnels burrowed under the highway – and overpasses (bridges) were built exclusively for wildlife, allowing them to cross the highway naturally! Both have indigenous trees, shrubs, and grasses to cohesively connect and blend with the environment.

Wednesday morning came early, with a 5:00 am departure and our Radventures guide, Charlie, greeting us for the 45-minute drive to witness the sunrise at Moraine Lake. It’s hard to describe just how beautiful and serene this lake is. Nestled below the Valley of the Ten Peaks, its glacial waters shift from turquoise to electric blue as the light of the day changes. Due to increased popularity of this gem, thanks to social media and the “covid effect,” the lake is only accessible by commercial tour vehicles. Individuals, including residents, aren’t allowed to drive or park in the lake area. That said, there were still plenty of people making the trek up the Rockpile Trail (named after the hill of rocks formed by avalanches at the far end of the lake) to take in the views.

With massive, jagged peaks reflected perfectly in the calm water, it felt almost surreal, as if someone had maximized the saturation of the water’s color. Our group found a spot at the top of Rockpile, while Mark and I hiked a bit down the rough, uneven edges and onto the rocks for an even better view of the sunrise. What makes this lake so spectacular, aside from the water itself, is the anticipation of the alpine glow from the sun cascading its rays onto the Ten Peaks towering above.

Even with so many people awaiting the sun’s arrival, it was insanely quiet and peaceful. I could have sat here all day, without a care in the world. And I couldn’t stop taking photos, trying unsuccessfully to capture just how spectacularly beautiful and special this place is – especially at dawn. This needs to be on everyone’s bucket list! I won’t ever forget it.

As dawn turned to morning, the sun made its way first on the far right peaks and was unveiled one each peak to the left as time passed. We enjoyed ourselves so much, and watched the transformation of light and color unfolding in front of us, that we ended up staying much longer than originally planned.

My final shot, after walking the trail along the lakeside, was this breathtaking panorama.

We left Moraine and made our way toward Lake Louise, perhaps the more famous of the lakes here. Luckily for us, Charlie talked the café back in Lake Louise Village into fulfilling our very late breakfast order!

In my opinion, Lake Louise doesn’t possess the same serene spirit as Moraine – mainly due to the troves of tourists covering every square foot of space in front of the lake. Yet, it is still breathtaking, with its emerald hues backed by the imposing Victoria Glacier. Photos hardly do it justice. The lake was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria, and became a tourist destination as early as the 1890s.

While walking along the shoreline of Lake Louise, we encountered several active golden-mantled ground squirrels and I couldn’t resist capturing a few of them!

After a short rest back at our hotel, we decided to take in the full views from the vantage point of the Banff gondola. We enjoyed a drink at the top, and then made our way back down to our hotel in time for dinner at Lupo Italian in town. Highly recommend this restaurant – the food was fantastic.

The guys decided to have a nightcap (or three) once back at our hotel, while we women headed to bed. Thursday is our final day in Banff and we plan to spend it touring two additional national parks – Yoho and Kootenay!