Having spent the night camping near Lake Louise, I woke up bright and early and thought I might go photograph the sunrise at Moraine Lake. As a lover of solitude, I don't generally venture up to this area, I find the crowds can get a bit overwhelming for me. I checked my weather app, and the sunrise was set for 6:10 am. As I turned onto the road heading up to the lake the clock on the truck read 5:30 am. Perfect. Not having seen a soul driving up to the car park, I thought I may have just beat the crowds and would be one of the first up top to pick out my spot. Upon my arrival to the parking lot I couldn't believe my eyes; the parking lot was completely full, and staff were struggling to jam people into every nook and cranny available. Like a brick to the forehead, it hit me. I just realized I went up to Moraine Lake...the most photographed place in Canada on the Saturday of August long weekend. Yep... Nailed it. Despite the chaos, I was thankful to be quickly ushered by the staff to a premium parking space right at the front of the lot so I decided to stay and give it a shot. I was surprised to find everyone rushed up to the top of what’s known as the "Rockpile" for the classic shot, and yet nobody seemed to take any of the side trails a little lower down. I found a little chunk of real estate on the south side where my daughter and I were able to enjoy the sunrise together. Surprisingly, with the high volume of traffic that moves through this area, I was quite amazed to see how clean it was. I could barely find a single piece of trash anywhere. In a world where so many of the iconic landscapes have been trashed by tourists, it was a breath of fresh air to see there are still places that have managed to keep the impact to a minimum.
Within a four-hour drive of my house, the Purcell region is by far the most impressive mountain range that I am aware of. Getting here is an adventure in itself. There is only one way in, via a long pothole filled dirt road that will rattle out your fillings (or in my case the hardware in my bones) and will make you question your efforts. For those that make the trek, this magnificent view is the reward at the end. For majority of visitors, this vista is only the beginning of their journey. The primary objective for many of the people visiting this park is for the world class climbing opportunities among the many spires. For others, the hiking is first class, offering access to pristine alpine lakes, or glaciers. For the outdoor enthusiast, this park is a wilderness paradise.
Every evening emerging from deep in the forest canopy, Great Gray Owls such as this one come out to open meadows to hunt for meadow voles. During the twenty or so minutes I observed this owl, it had already caught and consumed three voles. It had no reservations with my presence.
