Natural Wonder or Real Estate? - Yoho to Lake Louise

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The next morning, at the beautiful Takakkaw Falls, we were delighted by the antics of a little chipmunk, our first close-up wildlife encounter of the trip. Not that you could really call him wild. He had stolen a morsel someone had dropped on the ground and was contentedly munching away on his prize, blissfully unconcerned about its questionable nutritional value and the spectacle he was creating.

Next, we set off to the famous Emerald Lake, stopping along the way at the point where the milky Yoho joins with the raging Kicking Horse River (aptly named, 'Meeting of the Waters') and the roaring Hamilton Falls. Emerald Lake is apparently best viewed at dawn and dusk, when it radiates a brilliant green hue as its namesake suggests. We were there near the middle of the day, when the tones were more subdued, but the beauty of the lake was unquestionable nonetheless. However, we were shocked to discover that a 'resort' hogs a prime piece of the shorefront, and won't even let 'non-guests' access the lake viewpoints on that side, which they obviously claim as their own. This, of course, means the only publicly-accessible view you can get of the lake includes the visual scar of the resort itself, somewhat detracting from the idea of pristine wilderness. It astonishes me how commercial monstrosities are allowed to build and operate alongside natural wonders in a National Park.

For this reason, as well as the arriving coach-loads of package tourists, we did not linger at the lake for perhaps as long as we would have liked. An unexpected bonus, however, was getting a glimpse of the Burgess Shale World Heritage Site, perched on the face of one of the nearby mountains. This is a world-famous Cambrian fossil site which I'd learnt about in school, where the relatively recent discovery of 500 million year old remains of marine critters has contributed greatly to our understanding of early life on the planet. I had no idea it was in Yoho National Park!

After a quick hike in the nearby forest to 'cleanse' ourselves of the blatant commercialism surrounding Emerald Lake, we set off for our next destination, Lake Louise (as far as commercialism goes, out of the frying pan into the fire, you might say). Lake Louise is probably the worst example (in the Rockies, anyway) of a 'natural wonder' being compromised by its real estate potential, with the looming presence of the extravagant Fairmont Hotel dominating the waterfront and appearing totally out of place in such a setting. The tourist shopping complex that comprises the 'village' of Lake Louise is equally disturbing. Having been living off crackers and cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner for several days now, though, we did take this chance to fill up on yummy baked goods before heading off to our campground for the night. Quin tried to make another fire but the results were almost as pathetic as the last attempt, as it had been raining and all the wood was damp and smoky, and the glossy brochures (coated in plastic, no doubt) we found on the floor of the car did not prove to make very good fire starter. We did manage to roast some marshmallows, which were delicious, despite the toxic fumes they were inevitably absorbing from the black smoke. Ahh, why is everything that tastes so good bad for you?

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Photos

Emerald Lake
Carefully photographed to leave out the 'resort' and busloads of tourists

Takakkaw Falls
Yoho National Park

Little Chipmunk
Takakkaw Falls

'Meeting of the Waters'
Quin enjoying the view

Hamilton Falls
Yoho National Park