Day 5 - Banff to Rampart Creek - LAKES, MAGICAL LAKES!

Lake Louise

Oh my gosh! Where do I start? And that's not just about choosing photos...that's going to be a massive editing job I can tell you. I am so pleased with the pictures I took. You know that feeling when you took a brilliant shot? Aaaaah, I love my camera so much. Today was absolutely freezing, and I'm regretting looking at the weather forecast in advance of my trip to be honest. I should have ignored it and brought my coat which I bought specially for this trip which would have been ideal. Instead, I trusted the long-term weather forecast which said it would be 12C in Banff (which it was definitely NOT!). But no matter how cold I was, the pain was worth it. David (the tour guide) kept saying that the lakes would get better as we went on. I partially agree with him. I think Lake Louise was beautiful, but Lake Moraine, which we saw second was probably my favourite. I also think Peyto Lake could have been even more stunning had the weather been slightly better than it was. We were a bit unlucky with the weather for Bow Lake, but as we've learned, the weather can change like every five minutes in the Rockies. It is so unpredictable.

Moraine Lake

All the lakes are glacial fed i.e. the water comes from the glaciers from the mountains surrounding them. The unique colour is a result of refraction of light of the rock flour which has been deposited into the lake.
There are other lakes in the region, including Lake Minnewanka teehee. Sorry, I had to write it, it makes me giggle.

Peyto Lake

I did get a tad worried when we were visiting the various lakes, and not just the fact that a hardy few decided to jump into Bow Lake for a swim - note, these are not like the Blue Lagoon - not thermal lakes. Instagram worries me, with people perching in highly dangerous positions for the perfect photograph. Thankfully no one died.

Last stop for the day was the Mistaya Canyon, and by now the sun had decided to make an appearance so we all felt nice and warm! Peyto Lake is actually the origin of the Mistaya River, so the water which was flowing into the Canyon had come from the last of the lakes.

Mistaya Canyon

It was now time to head off the Rampart Creek, our bed for the night. Rampart Creek is a simple abode, with no electricity and no flushing toilets etc. We di
d know about this in advance...
It was nice to have a campfire outside, and the whole area was surrounded by the mountains, so really beautiful, although we were slightly worried about wild animals i.e. bears appearing, especially given my experiences of camping in the Serengeti!
It was a bit of a shame that there was so much cloud cover meaning we couldn't see the stars. Still, it was an enjoyable evening.