Waterton Lakes National Park Day 1

It pays to be resourceful, flexible and determined.  After arriving in Waterton at 10:00am, we headed straight to the campground only to find out we were #33 on the wait list for a campsite.  The Warden said it would be in our best interest to immediately get going in search of another place to stay other then any close by campgrounds or hotels in Waterton.  We figured it didn't hurt to check out Waterton first,  lucky for us we were able to secure a room for two nights and I could use the certificate I won in February to cover a portion of the cost.  

We quickly checked in and then just as quickly, headed out the door to begin our hike .  We picked an easy hike as by now it was already noon time.  We hiked across the town site then started up the trail to Bertha Lake.  By now the rain turned to drizzle, the temperature began to rise and the sky started to open up but only a tiny bit.  The trail in areas was lush, over grown and by the time we got to the other end of this section, we were totally soaked from the moisture on the bushes.

Bertha Lake

We veered towards the right side of the lake to an open area with a view to have our lunch.  We did not proceed beyond this spot nor did we hike around the lake nor follow the left side.  All folks returning reported brand new bear scat and prints.  We put our bear aware knowledge to work.  This was our very late in the afternoon lunch time view at Bertha Lake.

After lunch, we returned to our room, cleaned up, and headed off in the early evening to secure a dinner site.  This is it!  We toasted to our day and to the days to come then settled in to enjoy a fine dinner with a fine view.

The Prince of Wales Hotel sits on the hill just behind us.

We watched a rescue off Bears Hump.

We enjoyed the sights as the sun set.

I was thankful for my friend being relentless in making sure we found a place to lay our heads tonight.  

We did some pre-organizing for our big day tomorrow, then called it a day.