We were up early this morning as we'd planned to hike up to Cavell Meadows, a longish drive away.
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The hike begins with a view over the glacial lake
at the base of the Angel Glacier. |
And climbs to give stunning views of the glacier itself.
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We were lucky enough to see a family of hoary marmots playing amongst the rocks.
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| And I finally managed to get a shot of the elusive Pika....these little members of the rabbit family shout very loudly when they want to give a warning, but move so quickly they are very difficult to catch on camera. |
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| The Happy Couple |
On the way up we walked with a very friendly guy from Quebec who offered to take our picture with the glacier behind us.
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| As we climbed higher we walked through beautiful alpine meadows. |
This was a gorgeous hike...at around 6K it felt pretty easy and took around 3 hours. By the time we got back down around 11.30 the car park was packed and there were cars parked all the way along the road for several hundred metres, so the early start definitely paid off!
The area around here was devastated last summer when a piece of ice broke off from the nearby Ghost Glacier and smashed into the lake, sending a huge wave of water and debris which completely wiped out part of the access road and car park. Despite frequent signs warning of the possible dangers of this happening again, people were still walking right down by the lake and almost below the glacier itself. It seems to me that we live in such a protected society that people have lost all sense that the forces of nature can be dangerous in any way.
Just a couple of things that Rach failed to mention. The first is that she had a bit of a tumble whilst descending the near vertical slopes of Mt Edith Cavell. Not serious and certainly nothing that the mountain rescue couldn't resolve. And all she had to show for it was a grazed left knee. OK, so I may have exaggerated some of this but she does have a sore knee and has been very brave (bless). Also, we had a very pleasurable couple of hours in the Coin Clean Laundry, complete with WiFi and a very good coffee bar.
ReplyDeleteJulian: I recommend the Bear's Paw (no, really) deli and bakery when you're in town. Very good coffee and I enjoyed the apple strudel square.
This Edith Cavell - she of the Norfolk born nurse who saved soldiers' lives during WW1 and was executed for her troubles?? What a memorial!! No wonder Rach had an affinity with her and tumbled to receive some first aid!! Stunning shots again and merci bien au quebecois who took the cracking photo.
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