53. Rae Lake

Distance: 17.2 km return
Elevation gain: 366m

We had tried to hike to Rae Lake last fall but the path was under snow so we gave up and continued on to Tombstone Lakes which was easier to find. However, the trail looked so beautiful that I wanted to try again and we chose this day because we would meet Rachel and Esther and families in Peter Lougheed Park after the hike.
So despite the cloudy day and promise of rain, we set out at 8:30 on Tuesday, July 12. The first part was a hike up to Elbow Lake, very familiar to us by now.

This was a good place for our first snack stop; observing the lake and the massive Mount Rae on the other side. We would hike around over the shoulder and to the back to see Rae Lake.

A short walk along the edge of the lake brought us to the outlet or the source of the Elbow River.

The first few kilometres of the pass trail were wide, fairly level and easy walking; beautifully surrounded by mountains on every side.

Soon Piper Creek trails left the Elbow River trail amid unique, small rolling hills. I had hoped and expected from last fall's hike that these would be covered in flowers but they weren't; still very interesting.

Across from the route to Piper's Canyon was a cairn marking our route to Rae Lake and my second snack stop. I was starting to eat whenever I got hungry.

The trail to Rae Lake started through trees but soon opened to a spacious, green, friendly-feeling draw.

In this meadow and all around Rae Lake we kept seeing cute and aptly named elephant head flowers.

The clouds and drizzle changed to rain and our boots got drenched walking through wet bushes. We decided to look into waterproofing them before our hike to Assiniboine. Looking back, we enjoyed a small rainbow.

From the top of the grassy section, we could see Sheep Lakes in the distance - nothing remarkable - but there.

Then on over the shoulder of Mount Rae to a full view of Rae Lake, our destination. It was a beautiful lake but would have looked more dramatic in the sunshine.

We took a very brief break for lunch and pictures due to the rain.

 Rae Creek comes out the end of Rae Lake and flows into the Elbow River. Our route followed the creek in a loop back to the Elbow Pass trail.

The narrow, overgrowness of the trail through the woods was not pleasant and very wet.

We finally got through the woods and back to the friendly grassy draw and a final view of the north side of Mount Rae as a summary of our wet hike. Wet but not cold and full of energy now that we were on our return to a warm, dry car, we made it back in record time.