Canadian Rockies Trip: Hiking priority
 

Hi, we are going for Canadian Rockies trip in end of the month. Due to limited time and energy, we need to make choice between below hikes, please provide us with your opinion regard to scenery and safety.

Louise Lake Area: Plain of six glacier (10.6km / 4 hours) vs. Lake Agnes (6.8km / 3 hours) vs. Larch valley (8.6km / 4hours) - choose 1-2 hikes among the three.

Yoho: Lake O'hara (don't have bus reservation, assume hike 11km to it, plus 4km hike around the lake / full day) vs. Iceline trail (17km / full day) - choose 1 hike between the two.

Many thanks!

I hiked the Plain of Six Glaciers (PSG) hike in early August. Haven't done Lake Agnes.

I chose PSG because I had read that it has better scenery since it's out in the open as opposed to Lake Agnes which is mostly in the woods.

True? I don't know but PSG is very scenic.

I would agree. The views at Lake Agnes aren't nearly as spectacular unless you hike up to the Big Beehive (and by the end of the month, that may or may not feasible).

If you have a day, you can do a loop that would include both, but as I mentioned on another forum where this question was posed, it will depend on the weather conditions. Winter has come pretty early, though a lot of the snow is likely to melt off before it comes again for good. But at higher elevations, it may be here to stay.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...torm-1.2761664 FYI- seems vey early this year.

Yikes! I'm leaving Tuesday. Hope the snow is gone by then.

Thanks for your reply. Now I'm worry about the weather, we can do nothing about it; however it's better we know now instead of being shocked when be there.

I checked the long range forecast. Weather looks good - 60's in daytime, 40's at night, But be prepared for everything.

Poor Calgary. Last year around this time it was the flood that caused major damage - we could still see signs of it when in Calgary September 27 / 28. This year the unseasonal snow. What is happening to the world's weather patterns?

Panecott, have a fabulous holiday. I am still envious but look forward to reading about your impressions, if you have time. :)

Wow, your Lake O'Hara plans are impressive! 11km walk in on the road (uphill) and then you "hike". Whew!
Make sure that you try to get a bus ride in, on a standby basis, in case of no-shows. This has worked for me in the past, but get there EARLY! Then you can hike the REAL trails.
While the walk around the lake is easy (and with glorious scenery in all directions), if you do get a ride in, check out the Opabin Plateau - a great spot, with super views over the lake. You could also head up to Lake Oesa, and maybe even link up a couple trails with one of the higher alpine routes. A lot to do in a day, but spectacular is too mild a word to use, for that area.

This is the last week the bus is running to Lake O'Hara and the larches are just getting past peak.

I would definitely try for a stand-by spot - when I went up two different tour groups didn't use their full allotment, so there were 5 or 6 spots that opened up last minute. However, people did arrive a good hour early to get in line for any extra spots, so arrive early.

Also be prepared for chilly weather and snow/ice in the morning - the days have been quite nice, but at higher elevations there can be snow overnight and ice forming from meltwater and seepage.

We've back from Canadian Rockies trip. We've done Plain of six glacier and Larch valley, both hikes are fabulous. We booked Lake O'hara bus at the last minute (somebody must cancel their trip), so didn't hike 11km into it, instead, we did Lake Oesa and Opabin trails. Weather in mountain area is very unpredicatable; By weather forecast, there's 10 cloudy and rainning days for our trip, however we got 9 days of good weather (half of them is total sunny; the other half is cloudy & sunny mix), just 1 day rainning.