This hike was a blast! We started just after lunch when our buddy dropped us off a short walk away from Lake Louise. After walking up to the lake and taking a quick look, we found the trailhead and headed up the mountain.
The weather was fantastic, around 25 degrees and sunny for the whole hike. It was a busy trail, but it was a pleasant incline through the woods to reach a lake halfway up with the Big Beehive in behind. We had a quick snack and pressed on.
It didn’t take us long to find the real reason there were so many people on this trail – there was a tea house at the next alpine lake! I would wager that if you want a coffee on top of a mountain that you would have to get there VERY early to avoid the hour+ lineup. And heaven forbid if you want to use the washroom. Once again, we turned our backs to the R&R and tramped towards the ominous thumb reaching into the sky above.
It was a quick walk around the lake to find the next set of switchbacks, and boy are they tough. It was a steep incline, and not one for the feint of heart. At the top of this section we had a tough time finding the trail to the thumb, but you head towards the rocks and climb up about a meter with just your hands and feet, before heading to the left of the thumb and circling round to the back. Now this is where the views became AMAZING.
We were so lucky to have such great weather and a perfect day to experience this scenery. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the slight chill of the wind on my bare arms as we transported from forest to this wild, alpine environment. The valley that Lake Louise rests at the base of is spectacular. Please come see for yourself if you make it to this area.
We rounded the corner behind the thumb and were suddenly met with a hiker’s nightmare. An extremely steep slope, no switchbacks, and loose dirt. My friend almost didn’t come up with me! And I have to admit, it was quite treacherous. If you want to turn back here, just do it. You got to see the valley along the edge, and you have a very short hike up to the top of Big Beehive where the view won’t be ANY worse. Only do what you’re comfortable doing 🙂 here’s a pic!
As my buddy took the left hand side of the slope and pulled his way up by the foliage, I dug my hands and feet into the dirt and bear crawled my way up. I’m not an expert in mountain climbing and I don’t know if it was the right choice to make, but I’ll update this if I ever learn of a more appropriate technique for erosion protection. At any rate, we made it to the top! And what a view!!
We spent a good half hour at the top taking pictures and looking out over the valley. This is a really special place. There’s a good reason why this is a national park and is protected so well.
The whole escapade took us from 12:40pm to 4:30pm, from Lake to Thumb to Lake. We were two able bodied, young men with light backpacks and plenty of water and snacks. If you go on this hike, let me know how it went!