Moraine Lake (Banff National Park Hiking Expedition)

Moraine Lake (Banff National Park Hiking Expedition)

Hello fellow travelers!

I'm back from another hiking trip. Yes! this past week I flew up to

Calgary, Canada to visit the famous Banff National Park.

I have been planning this hiking expedition all summer long,

and for some reason I didn't have a lot expectations of making this trip,

however, two weeks before the day arrived I decided to purchase the flight ticket,

and as I always say, once you buy the flight ticket you are committed to your trip.

As many of my hiking expeditions I'm always up to inviting someone over,

it could be close friend, a friend of a friend, any outdoor traveler,etc. 

Well, this time was certainly different, I had not one to accompany me to this trip.

Even though, I always recommend not to hike alone or go for any hiking trip,

I had no other option than to rely on myself this time and do this hiking expedition alone.

I ain't going to lie, I was pretty nervous and excited at the same time,

it happens every time I get to go a hiking expedition.

Days before leaving to Canada, I had prepared my hiking backpack

with all the necessary equipment and getting my itinerary done as well.

Since this was a whole new country and the fact that I was traveling alone,

I had only time to stay and discover Banff National Park.

On my itinerary I traced down hiking locations and places that were close to each other,

and some others places that potentially I would do in case I had some extra time.

One of first and most important locations I should say was the famous Moraine Lake,

this place was on top of my list of things to do in Banff National Park.

As soon as I arrived to Calgary, I had a couple of things to take care first,

getting my rental car and supplies for the next couple of days.

Since Banff National Park is outside the city, approximately 1h 30minutes drive, I knew

I was getting to the park pretty late, meaning, I wouldn't have a chance to do anything.

Once you arrive to the park visitor center you would need to purchase your

park entrance fee. The daily price of admission is $9 per adult,

$8 per senior, $19 per family/group, and free entrance for youth.

If you're planning to do more than just visit the park itself, they offer a separate

admission entrance called Discovery Pass, pretty much it covers all entrance fees

to other places within the park: Historical places, museums, events, etc.

These would go $67 per adult, $57 per senior, $136 per family/group,

if you'd ask me these are great prices for what you're going to experience at this park.

On my first night at Banff National Park I had a tough experience ahead for myself,

I stayed at Lake Louise Campground, which it was relatively close to Moraine Lake,

most of these campgrounds are not that expensive, it costed me $27 and an

extra $8 if you wanted to have the fire permit to get unlimited wood for the night.

I knew it would be cold since I had looked at the weather weeks before heading to Canada,

what I didn't know is it would too damn cold and would start snowing at night.

Unfortunately, I was not well prepared for this hiking trip and cold weather.

I had only packed one lightweight jacket, and another for the cold at night,

not even wearing these two jackets plus some extra clothes you couldn't escape the cold.

The next day I headed to my first place on my itinerary Moraine Lake.

It was a snowy morning on my way up to the mountains and to Moraine Lake,

I got there really early which it actually helped a lot since a lot of tourists fill this place up. 

At Moraine Lake big groups of tourists wander around snapping photos all day,

others are hiking the short trail and the rest are just simply enjoying the beauty of the lake. 

I’m glad I was able to do all of those things and more.

Honestly, it’s pretty amazing and unreal the amount of tourists

and visitors Moraine Lake attracts from all over the world,

after all, it is considered the main attraction in Banff National Park.

 I honestly have been very luck to have experienced something this amazing, 

if somebody would have told me early this year that I will be taking on a hiking expedition

by myself to Banff National Park, Canada I’ll probably would have told you to keep

dreaming, but then again, dreams really do come true!

 After coming back from this trip I have realized that it was just the perfect trip,

I would have never thought in a million years I would have risk it all

and gain the confidence to go by myself on this hiking trip.

Visiting Banff National Park has been so far one of the most unexpected

hiking trips I’ve done, and probably one of the best of this year.

I was never one to think I would have made it to this hiking trip, and especially not alone.

Trust me, it all stars with a dream, you envision it, you own it 

until it becomes real and you live it up to it!

Well this me for now guys, please note this will my blog post of a new series of blogs,

since this was a new hiking expedition and I have so much content to upload,

I thought it would be better to split it with several blog posts.

Expect a lot of great content and photography coming your way.

See you next time!

 

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