Today we woke up and ate breakfast in our room before heading to our Parks Canada bus to visit Lake Louise. Whitaker was especially excited about riding on the "big bus" since we saw many of them yesterday. We arrived at the lake and found it very beautiful and also extremely crowded. We enjoyed the view and took a few pictures and then we were off to find our trailhead.

The Lake Agnes Tea House trail was not recommended about a week ago due to being in an avalanche zone. As I checked on the trail conditions in the days leading up to our arrival at Lake Louise it had decreased to slippery and icy conditions near the top of the trail. We decided to go for it and just turn back if it got too bad. As we climbed the mountain into the forest we could still see the bright blue-turquoise waters of Lake Louise through the trees and it was really amazing! We had to stop several times for snacks on our way up, but seeing some horses from a tour on the way up gave Ainsley a little boost! After an hour and a half we made it to Mirror Lake. It is a small lake that has the Big Beehive mountain towering above which is mirrored in the glassy lake. We stopped for a rest and the kids played in the water a bit. As we started climbing further to Lake Agnes that's when it started to get pretty slick. There were really only 1-2 sections of the trail that were especially icy, and with some careful maneuvering we all managed to make it!

The kids didn't know there was a restaurant at the top so that was a fun surprise. We lucked out and a table opened up about 15 minutes after we arrived. We ordered some tuna sandwiches, desserts, and hot chocolate and read up on how the tea house was run. We learned that it takes ~46 helicopter trips to the mountain to get the heavier supplies in for the summer. Anything fresh like cheese and cucumbers gets packed in by the employees coming up the mountain after their day off. They are also required to haul garbage down the mountain as they are going down for their days off. They typically do the climb 2-4 times per week! It had been raining a bit while we were inside the tea house but the delicious chocolate cake gave the kids the energy to start the trek back down the mountain. As we headed out it started to snow! So we all bundled up and kept going. The snow only lasted about 20 minutes and then it got sunny and nice again. Round trip the hike was about 5 miles with ~1300ft of elevation gain. When we got back to Lake Louise it seemed to be even bluer than ever!! So we took a few more pictures before getting back on our bus to the Lake Louise Park N Ride.

The Park N Ride happens to be the Lake Louise ski resort so we walked through the lodge a bit so we could check out the runs out the back windows. It's interesting to see a ski mountain with no snow!

We decided that even though it was only 4:30pm everyone was hungry so we grabbed an early dinner at Bill Peyto's Café, just across the street from our hotel. Afterward Liam, Odin, Ainsley and Kevin played some mini-golf at our hotel and Liam beat Kevin! Then we all headed to the pool for our last swim before we head to Jasper tomorrow and get to drive the famous Icefield Parkway.

~Keely