Lac-des-Arc Island is becoming quite populated.

The Icefields Parkway.

Smoke Shrouded Crowfoot Glacier.

Our Helen Lake parking lot is directly across the highway from the glacier viewpoint.

The Helen Lake/Cirque Peak crowd.

Now What?

We will divide into two groups once at Helen Lake. Five will go on furthe

Cirque Peak is identified at the top centre of this map. Helen Lake is fish shaped and in the middle of the map below Cirque Peak. The following photo is the same as this one except it's the Earth View.

Same situation as the previous photo except the peak and lake are more to the left. Following the Icefields Parkway coming up from the bottom of the map, our parking lot is right at the 93 and that little curlicue. We hiked through the trees, staying parallel with the highway going back to the right. About an inch further from where the highway disappears at the bottom, we turn left (north) and continue following up the valley to the lower end of Helen Lake. Five of our group continue on to Cirque Peak, the remaining nine of us follow the lake trail along the right side to the top of the lake, make our way around the light green area just below the brown ridge and follow on the top of the light green to the ridge along the left side of that long lake, Lake Katherine.

After lunch nine of us hiked to the unnamed ridge above Lake Katherine.

Trail Art

We are 2.4 kilometres from our parking lot and standing next to a rock slide. This is the last wide open view we will have of Crowfoot Glacier because at this point we begin our trek heading north. You can refer to the Google Map photos earlier on.

I thinkin' there may be a lesson to be learned here.

Cirque Peak in the distance with Helen Lake, which is not in view. below the left side slope.

Our lake is below that distant hill.

Not sure if he is staying just for the day or building a week into this hike.

Helen Lake

Except for us the area is completely deserted, but I guessing it will become more popular soon enough. After some energy food our group of nine will follow the lake trail which will lead us up to the ridge at the top right.

Standing here and looking towards Cirque Peak, I am trying to pick out where our friends may be. That tiny spot appears to be moving, up there, in the centre, where that band of black rock stretches across the lower part of the brown slope.

I can see the five of them now.

That is certainly too much of a hill for me to tackle. Yikes!

After lunch we're doing some higher elevation stuff of our own, but I am feeling like maybe I should have had only half of my peanut butter and fresh peach sandwich--man this is tough.