The Fox Adventure

These past two days have been a dream. If Banff is not on your bucket list, you need to add it now. I can’t begin to put into words the vast beauty of this place – I’m going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

We were so excited to have a whole day to explore Banff, and we did not want to waste any time. We knew that we wanted to hike and see the amazing views we had seen in our research – the problem was there were entirely too many trails to choose from. Andrew found a 5 mile round trip hike up to Lake Agnes Tea House. The best part was the trailhead started at Lake Louise – a must see when visiting Banff. Our day pack was stuffed, boots laced, and dogs leashed – we were ready to head out.

This was  our view as we entered. It literally takes your breath away. Lake Louise is a section in Banff National Park that is known for its turquoise, glacier-fed lake ringed by high peaks and overlooked by a five-star hotel, The Fairmont

We started our hike up to Lake Agnes Tea House at the foothills of this picture perfect scenery. Lake Agnes Tea House is located in a hanging valley on the shores of Lake Agnes, at an altitude of 7,005 feet.

The hike up took a little over an hour and our biggest struggle was the elevation gain of 1,300 feet. It felt as if we were hiking straight up. The views were worth altitude change.

Before getting to the Tea House, we took a quick detour to Mirror Lake. Together with Lake Louise and Lake Agnes, these three lakes are often referred to as the “Lakes in the Clouds”.

Lake Agnes Tea House was originally built in 1901 as a refuge for hikers and in 1905 it started serving tea. It is family operated and ran by many college students who live in cabins behind the tea house for the season. Lake Agnes Tea House features over 100 varieties of loose leaf tea, homemade soup, sandwiches and pastries.

Helicopter Day

Since the tea house is in the middle of no where and literally up a mountain – you can imagine getting supplies is no easy feat. Once a year, supplies are flown in by helicopter – 10,000 pounds of supplies. While we were drinking our tea the helicopter came five different times. We were told that it will make between 20-30 trips.

Throughout our hike, Andrew and I would turn to each other marveling at what surrounded us. I was reminded today that we serve an awesome God. He created those mountains, He placed every pine tree in its perfect place, and He selected the most beautiful color turquoise for Lake Louise. All praise be to Him.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

– Psalms 19:1

xx Katie