Our second day was the date of our fifth anniversary. To celebrate, we got up at a crazy early hour to watch the sunrise.
When the conditions are right, the sunrise at Floe Lake is spectacular. The cliffs light up in an amber colour and you can see a distinct line as the sun hits the rockwall. The mountains and the glacier reflect in the lake. We saw an amazing sunrise here when we were on our honeymoon.
Sadly, the sunrises weren't quite as perfect during this trip, but it was still a beautiful, peaceful morning. We brought our cooking gear down to the lake and boiled water for hot chocolate and oatmeal. Then we sat by the lake and watched the beauty that is Floe Lake.
Our second day of the trip was our "easy" day. We were camping at Floe Lake for two nights, so no need to pack up camp, and it meant that we didn't have to carry our big backpacks.
We were doing a hike up to Numa pass, the highest point on the entire Rockwall trail. It was 2.7 km (1.7mi) one way, with an elevation gain of about 300m (984 ft).
When we started this hike, I had a similar feeling to what it's like when I ride my bike alone after being used to pulling the chariot. I felt like I was flying. We only had a small daypack and my husband chivalrously carried it for most of the hike.
It starts off with a short, but steep incline and then goes through some meadows of wildflowers before going back into the trees. Then it goes up again, and we went above the treeline.
The views are great even before getting to the pass, because you can look back and see Floe Lake from a distance. It's also easier to capture on the camera from further away, as you can get more of it one shot. It still doesn't really capture it, but it gives a glimpse of the beauty.
The hike up was work, but it wasn't too rough. After finding the first day easier then I expected, I wasn't as surprised this time. The hike was shorter then the day before, although still steep, and I wasn't carrying a pack. It feels so good to be able to really enjoy these hikes rather then just cursing on the way up and then enjoying the view.
We found a great rock shortly before the pass for a couple shot. One of our hiking poles converts to a mono-pod, one of the best decisions we made back when we bought all our gear. We've got some great pictures with it.
We also saw a deer running along the side of one of the mountains. No pictures, I'm afraid. We tried, but at best you'll see a speck on the mountainside. Those guys can move fast!
Just before reaching the pass, we had evidence of why you don't do some mountain trails prior to mid-July...
No worries though, this was the biggest patch of snow we saw anywhere, and it wasn't even on the actual trail.
We made it to the pass, then we went a little ways along the ridge you can see in the snow picture. The views were amazing and endless. Mountain after mountain spread out before us.
There's one more installment in this series, so if you've liked it so far, join me tomorrow for the evening of Day 2 and the way down on Day 3...
We started our day early, but with a two hour drive first, we still weren't hitting the trail till almost 9:00. (We got up at 5:00 am though, so I'm not really sure what happened to the other two hours...) This year, we were heading into Yoho National park. Our main hiking plans included the iceline trail and the whaleback trail, sections we'd never hiked before.
