32. Fairview Mountain, (b)

Distance: 10.6 km
Elevation Gain: 1014 m

September 9th, a bright Monday ( better than the rainy Saturday before) we climbed Fairview Mountain for the first time, with assurances from others that it was quite easy. It was a glorious hike, one of our better ones.
 We drove to Lake Louise and started hiking through beautiful, mossy green forest on a trail wide enough for us to walk side by side

Herm found some delicious blueberries but alas there were not very many.

 

 The trail soon opened up on one side and we could see across the valley, ski slope, village and the Bow River.

Soon we got up to the Saddleback and enjoyed the larches which were just starting to turn yellow as well as the surrounding mountains and glaciers.  Mount Temple, with its snow cover, stood taller than the others.

To the north was Fairview, a steep climb but clear trail.

The steep climb forced Herm to sit periodically to give his heart a chance to return to normal. It also prompted both of us to take more time to look around.

We made it to the top and posed at the cairn. We chatted with Germans, Japanese and Canadians over lunch. It was not a place for solitude.

We looked over the side to see iconically green Lake Louise far below.

It was interesting to see the Plain of Six Glaciers from a totally new perspective.

Looking south, we considered going back to the Saddleback and running up Saddle Mountain.

But when we got down and looked at the mountain close up, our knees clearly said,"not today".

We continued on down the comfortably wide trail and took a last look at Fairview Mountain from the trailhead at the Lake Louise canoe rental shop.

Mount Fairview B
August 24, 2016 my sisters and I climbed Mt. Fairview. Doreen had been training in Ottawa and we all made it up without difficulty. This was still August and I found many, many blueberries but they were not ripe yet. The plant attraction was a large variety of mushrooms all through the woods.