Emerald Lake Hamilton Falls January 31, 2019

Head west "young lady" if you want to land smack dab in the middle of a winter wonderland! The forecast hollered out loud & clear that it would be snowing all day in Yoho National Park. As we crossed the border from Banff National Park into Yoho National Park I knew our destination of Emerald Lake would be a players paradise. That place today was as white as white can be!   

Before snowshoeing the circumferance of the Lake, we found our way up to Hamilton Falls.  This unique marker sign showed the way to go.  It was constructed of a wind flag hanging from a pole/X-C Ski contraption.  

 along the trail

With not too much effort we arrived at Hamilton Falls.  

This was as far as we went and yes I am on Hamilton Falls.

And yes this part of the Park has loads of snow.

Now back at Emerald Lake, we began snowshoeing in a counterclockwise direction.  This meant sauntering through the accommodations area first.  It must be a dream for those staying here who have not experienced snow before.  

 keeping the wine chilled

or

please bring another bottle

 at the entrance to one of the cabins

 It's a full time job to keep paths clear out here!

The views were non-existent other than white on white on white on white!  Throw in a snowshoer who embraces these conditions and that will brighten up the color spectrum.  We were fortunate for it to be somewhat warm day, we are talking negative numbers but the digits were not double.

 along the trail heading to the forest on the far side of Emerald Lake

 I see something in that snow mound!

hibernating for the winter

After snowshoeing around the Lake, some of the others did one thing while others did another thing. My thing was to scoot on down the trail beside the river to add a little more distance and to capture more pretty pictures.  The lone duck was in its glory owning the river.

 view along the river

I wasn't ready to pack it in yet so I bundled up, put out my seat pad, sat down, flipped my snowshoes, poured some tea and enjoyed the view while the lightly falling white gold continued to accumulate on the ground and on me.  I took a few minutes to reflect on how fortunate I was to be here today experiencing this World UNESCO Heritage Site National Park.