Banff, AB - 85km

Some of you map nerds have already realized that it's only 55km to Banff from Lake Louise.

It would have been a short trip today, so we figured we'd stop by Moraine Lake, just 15km out of Lake Louise since it was a highly recommended sight. We were told that it would be one of the most beautiful things we'd see on our trip (which it was) but we weren't told that it would be a 300m climb to get up there! At around 1900m elevation it starts getting really cold! We passed by progressively larger patches of snow and by the time we actually got to the lake we were freezing! Also the guard rail on one section of the road was completely torn off due to an avalanche some time ago! We did manage to get some photos of the ten peaks surrounding the lake and see the amazing color of the water. It's a strong bluish green color that almost looks milky - it actually looks almost artificial!

Aside from that, today was actually the first day that we got caught in the rain. Every other time it's rained, we've been able to outrun it or wait it out. After a few hours in the rain, we just wanted
to get dry and call it a night. In a hasty decision, we ended up putting our
tent down in a rest area not far off the highway.

Sure enough, some time later we had a visit from a park warden telling us that we'd have to move camp. He was actually very nice, though! He warned us that there was a grizzly sighting not far from that rest area, and offered us a ride in his truck for a free stay at a nearby campsite. Nice guy!

Unfortunately by the time we got there, the rain was in full force. We managed to set the tent up and get inside, but a lot of our gear got soaked. The rain was also coming down so hard that even with earplugs we didn't get a good night's rest. Luckily we have a rest coming for us in Calgary at the end of the day! :)