After getting to bed at 1:30 AM, I was up at 5:30 AM for our Saturday Bible Study - I actually felt fine. We are in Hebrews, discussing trials - that's when the fire alarm went off. Everybody out of their rooms. So I said "Goodbye", shut down, packed up and left. I had something to eat in the car (yogurt, muffin, apple), so by 7:20 I was deep in Yoho National Park:
"Hiking around Lake O'Hara" has been on my to-do list ever since I saw the John Singer Sargent picture at the Fogg Museum in 2019:
I had previously stopped by here in September 2021, but didn't do anything because it was a 6-mile "Private Road" to get up to The Lake, and you have to make reservations for The Bus. Well, this year, among all my other details, that was not one that I got to in time. So I figured if I just showed-up, they might have room on The Bus for (little old) me. I arrived in the Parking Lot at 8:10, but the driver said they were sold-out. It being a beautiful day, and not having anything else to do, I got my pack and poles and just started up the road. 20 minutes later I was passed by the bus, but I was enjoying my hike:
At 10:30 I was up at Lake O'Hara, ready to tackle the "Alpine Route":
I think the 6-miles of the "Alpine Route" look best in Google Earth:
The trail kind-of goes STRAIGHT UP - it is very well-blazed. Can you see the hiker up on the ridge?
Fortunately, the higher you get, the better the views:
I made my way over-and-down to Lake Oesa, at the foot of The Mountain Peaks (can you see the people)? [YES, the water is COLD]
I could have taken the more-direct/easier trail down to Lake O'Hara - BUT NOOOOO, I had to get "the better view" from the Opabin Plateau via Yukness Ledge Alpine Route. Note to future self: Anytime a trail combines the words "Ledge" and "Alpine", think twice.
I wound up saying Goodbye to Lake O'Hara at 3 PM, hiking back down the road, and finishing at 5:10 - 19.7 miles in 9 hours. In looking at these pictures, I realize that it was one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever done:
I drove back to Golden and grabbed Dinner #1 (Dinner #2 was already in the car). I headed south on Hwy 95, seeing beauty and grabbing Post Offices:
It was 11:10 PM when I reached the Travelodge in Blairmore, Alberta, where I will be spending 2 nights. 343 miles today. Thank you God for these Great "British Columbia/Alberta" Adventures!
Music today:
Lyle Lovett - Anthology Volume One: Cowboy Man, 2001 compilation album, last heard 9/08/2015:
The Animals - Absolute Animals: 1964-1968, 2003 compilation, last heard 9/08/2015 - GREAT Collection, as is ANY "Best of/Greatest Hits/The Singles" by The Animals - a very nice, gritty side of mid-sixties rock 'n roll:
Rickie Lee Jones - The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard, 2007 album, last heard 9/15/2015 - Her "Jesus album"; I like it:
Pat Metheny - Secret Story (2 cds), 1992 double-album, last heard 9/09/2021 - This won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album:
John Mayer - Any Given Thursday (live) (2 cds), 2003 live double-album, last heard 9/17/2015:
The Doobie Brothers - Minute By Minute, 1978 8th album, last heard 9/18/2015. At the 1980 Grammy Awards, the album won Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, while the single "What a Fool Believes" earned them three Grammys, including Song and Record of the Year:
Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians - Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars, 1988 debut album, last heard 9/27/2015 - I've always liked this album. Edie Brickell married Paul Simon in 1992 - still married, with 3 kids:
10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe, 1987 3rd album, last heard 9/21/2023. I always tie 10,000 Maniacs (fronted by Natalie Merchant) with Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians - same time frame, both made excellent music:
Past entries of this blog are available on the website https://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/
Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment