Vivid & Vibrant

...today was...

...at Healy Pass, the Monarch Ramparts, Eohippus Lake, Simpson Pass...

Even though I was hiking in Banff National Park where all the big mountains are, they were not the main attraction.  In a way that was a good thing because they appeared to be covered in a haze anyway.  From what you are seeing here already, you have probably figured out that orange and gold were the focus.  At this point, we have come off Healy Creek Trail and heading towards the Pass and this is where the show began.

Here is where we are headed next, The Monarch Ramparts (the long ridge spanning the width of the photo) which would be our high point for the day.  This was also the start of seeing the many, many lakes along the way.

I love the larch trees this time of year!

As we cruised along The Ramparts, the views grew and grew.

I was extra happy today that the weather was in our favour, and that we hit this trail at just the right time of year, when the larches were at their prime.  I choose to portray this extra happiness by making my summit shot more joyful and like I have a little more spring in my legs.

The larch trees were never ending.

We took time at the high point along the ridge for some fun photos.   I took a few moments to myself to "breathe".  I felt like I was "on top of the world" sitting here with this unbelievable view right before my eyes.

Our first lunch was at the beginning of The Ramparts and our second was here, after we descended The Monarch Ramparts down to Eohippus Lake.  This is what it looked like today.

Here it is on July 16, 2011.

After our second lunch, we hiked through the meadow towards the trail that would take us to Simpson Pass.  Along the way we passed by a few more lakes.

Last week we saw grizzly bears along the way, today it was a moose.  

There were two, see the other one napping in the grass to the right!

We made our way to Simpson Pass then back on to the Healy Creek Trail for the long stretch back to the trail head.   After today's hike, I felt pleasantly depleted (we hiked 27km), and I felt that I had my fill of the vivid and vibrant larch trees.  So that's it for focusing on orange and gold for this year now back to some more grey and black mountains before everything turns white!