Helen Lake and beyond, Banff National Park, August 17/09

[Lori S.]

The Helen Lake trail, on the Icefields Parkway, past Lake Louise (for us approaching from the SE), is a popular hike... not much effort for many spectacular views.  (Down at highway level, on the opposite side of the trailhead, is the parking area for views of Bow Lake and Crowfoot Glacier... but the hike is a much more rewarding experience for those who have the time and inclination!)
1, 2) The uphill climb is rewarded with some tantalizing glimpses as the forest starts to open up...

Trailside plants...
3) Agoseris glauca... those in seed look, at first glance, like very refined dandelions.
4) Felwort, Gentianella amarella...what a mellifluous name!    An annual plant.

And some views...
5) The incredible turquoise of Bow Lake, with Crowfoot Glacier overhanging it...
6) And just to the left in the mountain chain, Bow Peak with a dusting of fresh snow.
7) Far in the distance, Mount Hector and Hector Glacier, with Little Hector to the left and the Bow River winding through the foreground.
And more to follow...

[cohan]

The Helen Lake trail, on the Icefields Parkway, past Lake Louise (for us approaching from the SE), is a popular hike... not much effort for many spectacular views.  (Down at highway level, on the opposite side of the trailhead, is the parking area for views of Bow Lake and Crowfoot Glacier... but the hike is a much more rewarding experience for those who have the time and inclination!)
1, 2) The uphill climb is rewarded with some tantalizing glimpses as the forest starts to open up...
Trailside plants...
3) Agoseris glauca... those in seed look, at first glance, like very refined dandelions.
4) Felwort, Gentianella amarella...what a mellifluous name!    An annual plant.
And some views...
5) The incredible turquoise of Bow Lake, with Crowfoot Glacier overhanging it...
6) And just to the left in the mountain chain, Bow Peak with a dusting of fresh snow.
7) Far in the distance, Mount Hector and Hector Glacier, with Little Hector to the left and the Bow River winding through the foreground.
And more to follow...

looking forward to seeing what the rest of this trail brings... we passed this area at the end of may, and bow lake was still quite frozen, with snow in patches along the highest parts of the highway..

[Ewelina Wajgert]

Lori, I hanker for this landscape and dream of next trip...

I hope, you upload more photos from the north.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

A verrrrrrrrrrry promising start Lori ! 

When I drove down the Icefield Parkway at the time, unfortunately there was no time to get beyond the viewpoint towards Bow Lake and the Crowfoot glacier... but that was breathtaking already.

As you're promising even better, I'll definitely be watching... 

[David Nicholson]

As usual Lori a stunning batch of pictures.

[ranunculus]

Magnificent, Lori ... keep them coming please!

[Stephenb]

Looking forward to "beyond" - excellent pictures of the distant glacial lake...

Felwort is a wild plant here also growing locally on rocky outcrops with little soil right next to the coast, Yours seems to be a different subspecies: http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/di/gentiana/genta/gentamav.jpg

Agoseris glauca - Indian Chewing Gum (from the dried latex) - I've tried to overwinter this one a couple of times but without success....

[cohan]

Looking forward to "beyond" - excellent pictures of the distant glacial lake...

Felwort is a wild plant here also growing locally on rocky outcrops with little soil right next to the coast, Yours seems to be a different subspecies: http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/di/gentiana/genta/gentamav.jpg

Agoseris glauca - Indian Chewing Gum (from the dried latex) - I've tried to overwinter this one a couple of times but without success....

lots of felwort here too (no certainty on species), pics soon--you know, its so abundant, i didn't even realise its annual

[Paddy Tobin]

I'll be back!

Paddy

[Stephenb]

you know, its so abundant, i didn't even realise its annual

Biannual here.

[Lori S.]

Yes, to be more expansive, Moss & Packer indicated it as an annual, while another (albeit less authoritative) reference said annual or biennial.

[Lori S.]

Despite suffering mild discomfort*, such is my devotion to your viewing pleasure that I am soldiering bravely on... thus, I feel I should point out, actually earning the esteemed title of "Hero Member" (which, up until this defining moment, just meant I had a lot of time on my hands).  

(*I got stung by a wasp on the way home - its path and mine intersected as I was coasting downhill on my bike and it landed on my shoulder and stung me many times (the b***d!!) before I could dislodge it without crashing!  Those things are crazy - it still burns, periodically, over 2 hours later!   )

Anyway, as I try to suppress the bitter sense of betrayal by the insect world that is welling in me, let's carry on...

1) A spill of Gog Formation quartzite boulders from up top, looming above the trail...
2) And, coming around the bend, where the trees are thinning out, is the first glimpse of the sawblade ridge of the "Dolomites"... (so named for Dolomite Peak, which is actually formed of dolomite... and I suppose this is probably a pun on the real Dolomites.)
3) Looking ahead to Cirque Peak, the yellowish peak, on the right side of the trail...
4) And the view to the left...
5) And a view back over our shoulders to Mount Hector... which, very oddly, almost looks like it's getting closer  

[Lori S.]

1, 2) Valeriana sitchensis
3) Juncus spp. bordering a pathside stream
4) Petasites frigidus var. nivalis in a bed of moss...
5) Flowery subalpine meadows on the steep slopes below the path...
6) Seedheads of Agoseris glauca in a tangle of Trollius albiflorus, Potentilla, Pedicularis, Senecio, etc.
7) Highly fractured rockwalls (this is why I don't sit on the edges of cliffs   ), giving way to diminutive trees and then to rich meadows below...
8 ) Arnica lonchophylla (based on the dentate lower leaves)
9) More meadow views, with a stream flowing out from the thinly-covered talus at the base...
10) Senecio triangularis, Valeriana sitchensis, Erigeron peregrinus(?), etc.

[Lori S.]

1) Approaching the rockfall/boulder moraine/rock glacier/??...
2, 3) Veratrum eschscholtzii (or V. viride ssp. eschscholtzii)
4) Fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium
5) Crowberry, Empetrum nigrum, and bilberry, carpeting a steep shaded slope
6) Bronze-bells, Stenanthium occidentale
7) Anemone occidentalis
8 ) A view down the steep slopes into the valley below...
9) While on the trail (not "trial"), we are approaching treeline...
10) Riiiight about now, where the trail crosses Helen Creek...

[Paddy Tobin]

Lori,

This is a posting very worthy of your elevation to the status of "Hero Member", a well-earned status from the excellent postings and reports you have given us from your mountains which are a joy to view and read. Extra points have been earned and duly noted for your suffering at the hands/sting of the bee.

Stenanthium is completely new to me and is an absolute beauty and I adored the veratrum.

Post on SuperHero.

Paddy