I would like to acknowledge that this hike past through the ancestral and traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples. The Blackfoot Confederacy, Tsuut’ina, Stoney (Ĩyãħé) Nakoda, Cree, Lheidli T’enneh, Ktunaxa, Secwepemc, Sinixt and Métis who have called the Rocky Mountains home since time immemorial. I acknowledge the many Indigenous Peoples in Canada whose footsteps have marked these lands for generations and I am grateful to be a visitor in these lands.
Laura had an annual reminder in her phone to book a trip to Lake O’Hara. I had been lucky to visit Lake O’Hara in the late 90’s on an Alpine Club of Canada trip that was led by a friend but I really do not remember much about the trip. In years past securing a permit was a lottery but recently it has switched to online booking. The online booking is really just a lottery since when you log onto the the Parks Canada Reservation System you get put into a virtual waiting room, then when bookings open everyone is ascribed a place in line randomly by the booking system, a lottery. We did what a lot of people do and log in with more than one computer and utilized multiple browsers to increase our chances. My daughter Siobhan also wanted a booking to Lake O’Hara so when the time came to book we had three people logged into four computers utilizing a total of 12 browser windows. I made a little video to show Siobhan and Laura how to navigate the booking system as it is not very straightforward. When the bookings opened online at 8 am eleven of the browsers were more than nine thousandth in line but Laura on her ancient Windows 7 machine was 124th! Siobhan and I both held our breaths as Laura navigated the booking system first booking our trip then Siobhan’s. The booking system does allow you to book up to five trips before checking out. One challenge Laura had that as she was selecting the camping sites for Siobhan’s trip the sites were disappearing off the screen as she attempted to select them. In the end Laura was successful in booking both trips but Siobhan would have to move sites as Laura was not able to book the same site for two consecutive nights. This ended up not being an issue since when you arrive at Lake O’Hara Campground you are directed to chose any available site. You totally disregard the site number on your reservation. For fun I left one of my browsers open to see if I could have booked. The bookings were sold out before 9 am and the closest I got was a bit more than two thousandth in line. But we had our bookings and it was now time to plan our trip!
We modified our backpacking packing list. Since we did not have to carry all our supplies, we took the bus, we could take more luxuries than on a typical backpacking trip. One change I would make would have been to switch out the pocket rocket stove for the two burner car camping stove. There were quite a few people who use a two burner stove.
For hiking we looked to Graeme Pole’s “Classic Hikes in the Canadian Rockies”. We brought a map with us and we chose our hike each morning. We did at one time think we would do one hike in the morning and another in the afternoon but we ended up doing one hike per day so three hikes.
The last thing we had to organize was who would be looking after Margaux. We entrusted the kids to look after Margaux. It was a big responsibility but they were 17 and 21 years old and did a great job with Margaux.
With everything organized it was time to head to Lake O’Hara to explore the trails that link the many lakes and valleys that make up one of the most remarkable locations in the Canadian Rockies.
This was a very different trip than anything we have done.
- We only had to carry our gear from the bus to the campsite maybe a distance of 200 m.
- Stayed in one place for 2 nights.
- The volume of extras you could bring, this really is backcountry glamping
- Number of people that you got to know in camp since many people staying for multiple days
- The ability to attend ducational presentations about the area, animals, plants, history etc really add to the trip and something you normally only get at a front country campground
We had a simply wonderful time exploring Lake O’Hara and the surrounding area and the best part is there is still more to explore.
What we learned:
- Bring more fresh food and a two burner stove
- if wanting to purchase hot drinks or snacks from the Le Relais Day Shelter you will need to bring cash.
- check out what lectures will be on in the evening at the Le Relais Day Shelter. Great way to learn more about the area from experts.