By Saira Bhatti
Jeffrey Rasley rightly said “Chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains”. Recently I took a trip to the mountains, to the majestic Rockies on the Canadian side and got a glimpse of God’s grand creation. Travelling with two more companions, we were based in the Lake Louise area at a lodge; We reached the lodge at 3:00 am and were up and ready at 8:00 am to kick off our hike into the rockies. We don’t remember of being tired, we were energized by the view of the mountains around us.
The first destination we took was a 6 to 7 km hike to the Plain of Six Glaciers, one of the classics in the Rocky Mountains. Its a moderate hike with a diverse terrain. You will come across many hikers on this trail. It offers a great view of the famous Lake Louise on different levels and experience of array of mountains of Mount Lefroy and mount Victoria and Mount Aberdeen and surrounding glaciers. Initial few kilometers are relatively simple and flat which is a nice hike along the side of Lake Louise. After almost 1 km, the hike started to pick up elevation. The path was varied and became rockier as we climbed. One thing I came to know about myself while hiking on this elevation that I have been a sloth for too long as I started to loose my stamina...”Time to hit the Gym” is what I first thought. We stopped on various locations during the hike and took a moment to view the beauty around us. The silence of the mountains, the running water of the stream and the turquoise color of Lake Louise in the distance was breathtaking. The view was getting impressive as we continued to hike up towards the glaciers. Also summers had kicked in but we did came across very slippery snow patches. It is good to be equipped with hiking sticks in this situation. In our case we were not expecting this so were without the hiking sticks. The best way in this condition is to walk closer to the ground and using the bushes as support.
After almost 1.5hours into the hike, we reached a cosy welcoming tea house. We took our seats, my companions ordered soup and I got myself Masala Chai Latte. I am a devoted tea drinker and tea aka Chai is serious business for me. This tea house did not disappoint me at all. The tea house offered a homely feel and is a fantastic pitstop surrounded by Mount Lefroy, Mount Aberdeen and Mount Victoria. Please keep in mind this place only accept cash! While we reached the tea house, we were almost at 6,800 feet. The view of the whole valley, lake louise, the array of peaks and glaciers was a million dollar experience.
After taking a break, we started to hike again for additional 1.5 kilometers to take a closer look at the lower glacier of Mount Victoria. The hike was short but tricky since still there was snow but luckily not slippery. The terrain was getting steeper and steeper. We looked back and the view had entirely changed. There was no visibility of the tea house or the lake, just the mountains, the sky and the glaciers. That was the WOW moment for us. One of my fellow hiker had started to experience vertigo so she decided to discontinue and wait for us. Myself and my other friend continued with full determination. We came across a narrow ridge. There was a slight adrenaline rush as I walked on the ridge. One side of the ridge was a slope straight into the rocky valley; Gradually we hiked and at the end of the ridge we could finally view the lower Victoria glacier. That was the point when we turned around and started to head back. On our way back we decided to take the connector to another hike.....this connector has its own story. Stay tuned for my next story.
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