Some places are so incredible, words can not do them justice. The Alpine Circuit which follows the peaks surrounding Lake O'Hara in BC is filled with such views. It's the best hike we have ever been on and deserves its 4.9/5 rating.
About halfway on this eleven kilometer hike, one reaches Yukness ledge. It's part of a trail that has the mountain on one side, and a few hundred meter drop to the lake below. It's a ridge, you can't climb down without ropes and if you fall, it's not going to be pretty.
Many smaller lakes or ponds dot the alpine valleys, that's mount Huber and the Wiwaxy peaks in the center of the photo. This ledge is is the heart of the Canadian rocky mountains.
This is looking back towards lake Oesa, on the other side of Glacier Peak is Alberta. This is a view of the continental divide where water falling on this side goes to the Pacific Ocean and water on the Other side goes to Hudson Bay which is attached in a way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Getting here isn't easy, one needs to enter a lottery that is open for one day a year to get a chance to get bus tickets. Or you can walk one way 10 kilometers uphill just to get to the parking lot. Bikes and private cars are not allowed and the number of visitors is restricted to a few dozen per day.
It's mostly rocks, lichen and moss up here. The odd pocket can grow grass or even small trees. It's a very short growing season so the environment is particularly fragiles. Tiny trees or shrubs take much longer to grow up here than they would in the valleys below.
The lakes get their vivid colours from the minerals in the water. These are the gems of the rockies.
Waterfalls from melting glaciers cascade down the peaks into the lakes, it's like a dream being up here.
We constantly look back to get a view of the lake. One has to watch where they are going up here as a misstep could be fatal but the beauty makes it's so hard to keep your eyes on the trail at the same time.
Avalanche chutes and rockfalls extend for up to a kilometer down towards the lake.
Here is an example of the slope, the rock faces can be sheer cliffs but in many places the slope is about 45 degrees making it nearly impossible to go anywhere except along the trail. We are now looking into the Opabin Valley on the other side of the ledge from Lake Oesa.
Here is one side of the ridge, the East side and below is the West side. Every valley is filled with natural wonders. One could hike here over and over again and never tire of the views.
Thanks for reading.
All photos were taken with an s22 or iphone 13 pro and are unfiltered
