Quite the consolation!

Oh, today was a great day to not be at work!! After I had an awesome sleep in, Todd and I drove out to Moraine Lake (near Lake Louise) and hiked out to Consolation Lakes. The trail winds around in behind Mt Babel and ends at the rubble field at the north end of the first lake, and this is where most people stop.

Now don't get me wrong - it certainly is a nice enough lunch spot... but we decided to boulder-hop our way down to the second lake... which was even nicer! You end up just that much closer to the spectacular Quadra Mtn, you get a decent view of Mt Bell, plus there was nobody else around. Bonus!

After lazing around in the sun for awhile, we bushwhacked our way back along the east shoreline and enjoyed views of the south face of Mt Temple the whole way. But we did eventually have to de-shoe and cross Babel Creek in our bare feet. There was too much water running and we couldn't find a place to get across to the trail.

 

 

I would have to say that the 'reward for effort' factor of this cool little hike is off-scale high! I had no idea the valley was that beautiful, and I definitely recommend it if you only have a few hours to spend in the Rockies.

Tomorrow: We are planning on scrambling Grotto Mtn... so I guess I better get my carcass off to bed. No sleeping in for that one!!

Cheers!

Consolation Lakes
Time (car to car): 65 minutes (first lake); 2-1/4 hrs (including second lake)
Distance: ~6km (first lake); ~8km (including second lake)
Elevation Gain: ~100m