Morys Musing

I had a really good sleep! I must have been tired. I got up, showered, shaved and made my way to the Truffle Pig right at 8 AM opening time. I was the first customer. They must have still been recovering from the jam session last night.

The latte was very good and I had the “My Way” breakfast- just right- 2 poached eggs, a ratti patti, baguette, 3 rasters of bacon and micro-greens. Yum!

After breakfast, I took a few photos around Field. Much easier to do when it is light. A very quaint village! I included a few photos of my accommodation as well.

I made my way back to Lake Louise at a leisurely pace and stopped in at Wilson’s for an area map. After some hemming and hawing, I decided on the Great Divide XC trail. It was likely to be less busy and was relatively flat (I thought) and long. A good way to spend a few hours. It was definitely chillier than yesterday but I figured the exertion would warm me up.

I made my way to the parking lot which was full and the sled dogs from Kingmik Sled Dog Tours were there. The Great Divide Road is converted to a multi-use trail in winter. It has opposing single track sets, a ski skating lane in the middle and a dog sled lane on the far left. The conditions were excellent and once on the trail it was not very busy despite the fullness of the parking lot.

I glided away easily for about 6 km enjoying the antics and protestations of the children with their parents. I stopped for a nice view before a moderately steep downhill.

Once I descended, the Great Divide marker appeared. It sounds very nice to say I skied from Alberta to BC!

I was originally going to stop at the Great Divide but felt good and carried on. I had to stop for an iconic photograph of a train blaring past the foot of a snow covered mountain. Lovely!

I soon reached my turn around point just prior to the Lake O’Hara parking lot, about 10 km.

Coming back seemed like it was mostly uphill. For some reason, I felt I needed to do the entire distance back without stopping. I was happy to see the parking lot. I completed a respectable 20 km. My right foot (yes, still an issue) complained and was happy for me to remove the ski boots at the end.

After packing up, I went back up to the Fairmont Lake Louise Hotel hoping to grab a quick bite, but, decided just to tour the hotel as it was quite busy. I paused by the shoreline for a few photos (I wondered how many cameras have taken exactly the same photographs over the years?).

Next, I stopped in at Deer Lodge thinking this would be a nice place for lunch, but alas, it was not to be! The front desk staff person said the restaurant would not be open until 4 PM. Argh……! I was famished after that XC ski and remembered the restaurant at the HI Hostel Lake Louise. It has always served good food at a reasonable price. I was not disappointed and that wheat ale accompanying lunch went down very easily! Unfortunately, all of this searching for a place to eat resulted in a later lunch than I had hoped.

Next, I wanted to find the village start point for the Tramline XC ski trail. I might do that trail tomorrow (or snowshoe again with those fancy, spanking new trekking poles I acquired yesterday). It was not hard to find and had a lovely bridge with nice views of the partially frozen Bow River.

I then decided to head back to the Baker Creek Resort to check out their new Bistro along the Bow Valley Parkway. Last time Anna and I were there last year it was closed for renovations, much to our displeasure!

Along the way, I stopped for a photo of Morant’s Curve- an iconic location to get a train photo- but alas, no train whilst I was there.

I arrived and had a quick look at the Baker Creek Bistro- very nice! I thought I might eat dinner there, but, I was still full from my late lunch. Too bad- perhaps breakfast tomorrow morning? I walked up the parkway a bit to find the trailhead for the Baker Creek to Protection Mountain XC Trail. There was definitely less snow here compared to Lake Louise despite only being 11 km east. I am happy I decided to ski/snowshoe in the Lake Louise area.

I had a leisurely drive back to Field and stopped at the bridge to catch the last vestiges of daylight disappearing below the mountain tops. Beautiful!

I toured around the village and found a lovely backroad that would make for a nice run, but, not tonight.

I retired back to my abode and pondered if I was hungry enough to have a light dinner at the Truffle Pig this evening?

Tomorrow I will either snowshoe (Rockbound Lake or Chester Lake in K Country) or XC ski the Tramline Trail from the village bottom up to Lake Louise and back before returning home. A good night’s sleep will help me decide. I really do want to try out those new poles!