2022-10-04 | Upper Rowe Lake (Waterton NP) | 2290 max | 1605 TH | 15.6km | 672 TA | solo Got the Fall Home Show out of the way (for which I didn’t want to possibly injured) and booked off today for hiking. BUT a little casual urban bike ride ended up getting boxed out on the pathways and somehow end-oed my bike resulting in numerous contusions and bloody scrapes (including the pet knee) but most lingeringly painful some kind of rib injury (likey bruised) – so by the time today was over just about every bit of me was sore….
Bluebird fall day, I chose this hike for the larches at the lake, the ability to still salvage a good day if hiking didn’t work out, and for the mid-week potential for solitude. Except for the first km or so this area didn’t burn in the 2017 Kenow wildfire and while the larches only start just before the lake, there were many other fall colors. I set a slow and steady pace and only met a few people on the trail. Right at the junction of Upper Rowe trail and Lineham ridge trail I met a ranger on horseback who assured me the lake was the place to be for the larch (Up till then I was contemplating the ridge). She also confirmed for me that the big larch trees I had seen more toward Lone lake on a past backpacking trip had burned. It was always in the back of my mind to revisit them. Oh well.
Several other parties were at the lake when I arrived, so I went along the north shore and then mildly scrambled a little loop up the north slope across and back down thru larch glades. By the time I stopped for lunch I had the place to myself. Rare treat. I had some goodies along for lunch and lingered in the sun. Getting up it was obvious that I would be sore at the end so the trip out was again, slow and steady. Nearly back to the truck the legs were giving the wobbly sensation of having had enough. Once reaching the truck I drove to town to see what was open. This time of year things closing down and mostly older folks heading to dinner so I went to Driftwood beach with my cooler and returned a few emails and had a few cold ones while icing my knee. Once mountains intercepted the sun, I moved to the overlook just outside the park to finish my stay in Waterton, until the mountains once again intercepted the sun. Hard to beat a day like this especially after a stint like this Homeshow was!
Here's the "Two Minutes of Zen" from the day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I14Di55ZSY
