The distance and elevation of my recent hikes have been grand, so now is the time to up the ante and go for grandeur! At a distance of 24 kilometers round trip and total elevation gain of 1500 meters, Mount Bourgeau is as grandeur as it gets. A few others were ready to go for grandeur with me and I was happy to have their company.
The trail head is not that far past Banff Townsite, so not a size-wise grand drive but always grand scenery-wise. The first seven kilometres from the trail head is a gradual climb through the forest without much in the way of sights to see. Once it does open up, it stays open and pretty all the way to the summit.
The first stop is at Bourgeau Lake.
Half of the elevation is done by the time you reach here.
It's the ideal place for a short break and to fuel up.
While the scenery was pretty, the bugs were not.
The wild life was cute, yet pesky.
Just past Bourgeau Lake was when a full view of Mount Bourgeau came into sight.
Wild flowers were in abundance....
....and so were lakes and lakelets.
Harvey Pass is a beautiful place to be and some folks make that their destination.
This Pass has everything!
A meadow of rocks of all sizes, shapes and colors.
Harvey Lake is, of course, at Harvey Pass.
Harvey Lake from one side...
...to the other!
Mount Assiniboine sits center at the back.
Also from Harvey Pass is where you can see the last long stretch to the summit!
View from along that last long stretch.
Before I did anything, I made sure to secure my summit shot!
Then it was time to relax, breathe, dine and enjoy the fine lunch time view right before my eyes.
Feeling refreshed and full, we packed up and hiked over to the oppsite side of the summit for another summit shot and more views. After 45 minutes on the top of Mount Bourgeau, we began our descent which would be long and after a few kilometers there would be the need to dig deep, forge on and just get the job done.
This is my final photo of the day. Conditons were perfect for a mountain reflection in the lakelet. Yes, reflection! Today was quite the accomplishment and it will be one I will reflect on for time to come. I had some slight concerns about how today would turn out. I wanted to have ideal weather which we got, I was not sure about trail condtions and those turned out to be perfect and I hoped my friends would have determination and guts to enjoy the glory and each one certainly showed me I was crazy to have even thought it could possibly be otherwise. Reflections! Scenery! They were grandeur!
I felt like I was "on top of the world" today!
A 'GRAND" hike - elevation gain 1502m!!!
ReplyDeleteI just did research and in my state of Queensland there are only 2 peaks, [far Nth QLD} which are above this height! Your photos made it look easier than it actually was. For a short time I thought I could do it. HA, HA!