We had again beautiful weather for our summer hike. This year, Joe and Jeannette took us to the Lake O’Hara region. I have never been there before and just sitting by the lake and sipping a glass of wine would have been a treat. But our guides had other things in mind. They guided us on an incredible hike from Lake O’Hara to Wiwaxi Gap, Lake Oesa and Yukness Ledge back to Lake O’Hara (two thirds of a fairly strenuous hike called Alpine Circuit).

Joe and Jeannette went to the parking lot at the entrance to the valley at 7:00 am already. They wanted to make sure we would get a seat on one of the buses. There are no private cars allowed on the road to Lake O’Hara and the number of day visitors is limited. We were lucky to get the last 5 seats on the bus. At 8:15 am Maggie, Kari and myself came just in time to board the bus.

The first leg of the hike was up to the Wiwaxi Gap. Joe told us that it was a hike of two km with an elevation gain of 500 metres. Of course, to us amateurs that didn’t mean much. It was only once we started climbing that we realized, this was no walk in the park (editor’s note: I thought it was only one km with an elevation gain of 500 m; anyway, it was steep)! Needless to say, we admired the view a lot more, took more pictures and used any other excuse for a short stop. At least the trail was very well marked. To take a break at the Gap was out of the question. The view was breathtaking but the wind blew so hard through this gap in the mountain that we had to keep going. Luckily it went a bit downhill from here to Lake Oesa and we could catch our breath. The down side was, that this part of the trail, the Huber Ledges, was a bit treacherous at times. You had to look for the next foothold and hiking poles were a must here. But the whole time we had an unobstructed view of the opaque green Lake O’Hara (and other mountain lakes in the area, each of a different shade of green or blue).

Lake Oesa is an alpine lake at the bottom of Abbott Pass and Glacier. We had lunch there, huddled behind some trees for shelter. Even in August, at this altitude it is not very warm.

The next part was going over the Yukness ledges. Nothing but big boulders to cross and a trail that was sometimes hard to find. We had to take it slow, since Maggie had both her ankles broken in a ski accident two years ago. No point in taking any chances of another fall. And besides, Kari and I didn’t mind the slower tempo either. (Glad to be of help, Kari and Priska! Actually, I did not break both ankles, just the right one and, of course, my left knee. It was the knee that had me worried but it performed surprisingly well. The only soreness I had after the hike was in my thighs, from the steady and fairly steep descent… Maggie).

After reaching the Opabin Valley, Joe and Jeannette decided to finish the entire Alpine Circuit hike with another uphill leg and then meeting us either at the bus or at the camp ground. The rest of us were happy with our achievement and didn’t mind going steady downhill to Lake O’Hara.

We had to speed up a bit around the lake to catch the early bus back to the parking lot. Joe and Jeannette came back with the late bus and we didn’t have supper until 8:00 pm. By that time it had started to rain and Jeannette was grilling steaks, potatoes and asparagus under an umbrella. It all tasted very good and we were warm and snug in the tent trailer.

Priska Strickler