Day 15 Bertha Lake in Waterton

Total miles today 9
Total miles hiked 161.5

Today we have a new breakfast at our bed and breakfast cabin.  Our job is to critique the dish and then let Terri know how it tastes.  It is called a Finnish Pancake.  So imagine a pancake baked in a glass pie pan, top it with fresh strawberries and blueberries in the middle, a dollop of real whipped cream and then drizzle with real maple syrup. Hmmm. It was a 5 star breakfast.  We took four pictures and sent them to our hostess Terri. Terri wanted a critique right? So we sent a series of 4 pictures describing our morning breakfast.  She should  definatly add this to her list of breakfasts to make.

Our home for the last four nights was a log home style bed and breakfast.  We had our breakfast delivered every night around 8pm.  This allowed the B &B guests to get up in the morning and eat whenever if fit best into their schedule.  Our first breakfast was croissants with home made triple berry jam and a big bowl of fresh fruit.  Second breakfast was musli and fresh cinnamon bread, third breakfast a frittata and blueberry scones, and lastly the Finnish pancake.  We also had the opportunity to have a hot tub soak in a wood burning round hot tub.  This was not a bubbling hot tub, just sit and soak in the tub.  The tub was located out in front of the cabin so you hot tub while sitting out with the rolling prairie and the Waterton River to look over Range cattle in the distance and a few deer to boot. Peaceful.

We are packed up and on the road by 8 ish.  Off to our last hike for this vacation.  We are headed to one of Waterton parks most popular hikes Lake Bertha.  Ok this backcountry lake is named after Bertha Ekelund once a resident of Waterton.  Bertha was caught passing counterfeit money and sent off to jail, she was never seen in Waterton again.  I'm not sure I would name my lakes after a criminal, but they did not ask me. 

The hike starts out at a nice grade.  Actually very reasonable grade of elevation gain of 300 feet to the first falls.  This is a nice falls and a place that seems as if you could go and walk around in the water which is below the falls.  After this first falls you enter a patch of very tall cow parsnips.  As has been usual  these last two weeks, the cow parsnips are over our heads and crowding in over the trail making it difficult to see the trail, the rocks sticking out of the trail and the bear snacking on the cow parsnips just off of the trail.  I guess the cow parsnips are suppose to taste like celery.  I don't know for sure nor do I plan on eating any for a taste test.  I'm relaying on that information from the plant lady who hiked with us back at the Belly river. All I know is I have seen what cow parsnips looks like after a grizzly leaves a pile of poo on the trail. 

Shortly after this overgrown area we get to the switchbacks.  Perhaps I should say we got to the switch ups.  We climb 1300 feet switching back and forth across the mountain face up to the hanging lake.  We make the climb in twenty-two switch ups.  It is sweaty work, but we are happy to have the shade of the forest and a nice breeze.

On the long switch back almost at the top we have a short view of upper Bertha falls.  You can just sort of see it through a few trees.  We get to the top in just five more switchbacks.  There is a small lake overview point and if you can believe it, you have to hike down about 100 feet to the lake.  Hiking down after hiking up is in my mind poor trail planning!  They need a better project manager and surveyor!  

We take a few pictures before hiking around the lake.  Thinking the lake shore hike will meander around the lake edge we found our selves at times climbing more to get up and around cliff walls.  So yes, the trail does go around the lake, but not on the shore.  Up and down and up and down around the lake.  When we are almost to the far end of the lake we see three "things" swimming in the water.  Whatever it is, it is leaving a large wake. Just as they arrive at the far shore they look like they are chasing each other in the shallow water followed by shaking the water off their bodies.  Ok, so what could those "things" possibly be?  They are too big to be ducks, perhaps bear or moose.... 

We wonder if we should turn and hike back the way we came.  Running into three bear on the trail might not be very fun. Hmmm, we decide to go back the way we came.  Nope, we change our minds again and proceed around the lake making LOTS of noise.  We have the bear spray, right!  

We never did see what the three big things were. We did see five small ducks fishing further off towards the end of the lake.  We do know the three big things were not ducks.  On this back side we see some bear poo on the trail, but it is not from today.

When we think we are far enough past the swimming things to sit and have a half a lunch.  We take a few pics and watch two ding a lings climbing up the side of the mountain in front of us.  There is not a trial that goes where they are hiking. What they are doing  seems like a very silly thing to scramble up.  I told Kathi it will be hard for search and rescue to find them when they fall because neither guy is wearing bright colors...

Well, all that is left of this years hiking adventure is the 22 switchbacks down the trail.  We have fun counting and naming the switchbacks on the way down.  We did not name them on the way up as breathing was more important!  As we get to switchback number 22 we step over some old bear poo and walk across a bridge. Here we meet a man who has big round eyes and a look of shocked surprise.  He tells us a bear just crossed the trial in front of him.  We are close to the falls  and the rushing water sounds of the falls makes a lot of background noise.  One must be extra loud here!  This trail is now fairly populated with hikers as it is one of few trails open to hiking.  Everyone we meet is on super bear alert as the guy must have yelled back or something.  Word travels fast on the bear hotline!  

Today is not the day we want to have a bear encounter, so we make ourselves extra obnoxious  with noise.  Finally we break out into the parking lot where a park ranger is going to take a group on a hike up to the falls.  We tattle on the bear!  I mean we respectfully report on the bear and enquire about what type of large animals might be swimming in Bertha Lake?  She said moose or bear...

Ok, so now we are back at the car and have not had the opportunity to use the Bear spray can.  This in not a regrettable problem to have!  But since the bear spray cannot go on the airplane with us, we are left with trying to find someone who would like to buy the bear spray at a very reasonable price.  We ask a couple in the parking lot who were packing up their backcountry camping packs.  To late as they had just tossed down a $100 bucks for two cans...  

We drive to the Waterton Ranger station and ask a few possible hikers standing outside of the station if they needed a can of bear spray.  They also had purchased their spray.  So we go in the office and donate the can to the Canadian Ranger Station.  They were more than happy to accept the can.  

I believe there is a great market here for bear can spray rental.  Perhaps $60 down payment, and if you return your spray unused you can have a return of $40.  If your spray has been deployed,  or you neglect to return the spray, you loose out and buy the can for the original deposit.  Hey, there is a nice summer job!

Now for our drive to Calgary.  We are driving through some town along Hwy 2 and need to buy about 10 liters of gas to make it to Calgary.  Gas is cheaper in Calgary.  In Calgary gas is only what we Americans know as $5 a gallon.  Ouch! Out on the prairie gas is about $5.55 a gallon.  After dropping in a few liters into the tank, we get back on the Hwy.  Hmmm, we should have payed attention to the posted  speed sign,  because we had pretty flashing lights in the mirror.  Ok, pull over and prepare for our first Canadian speeding ticket.  Mr. Canadian Mountie askes if we knew why he was pulling us over.  (I really wonder what sort of response they get when they ask that question.  I'm sure they get some sob story or excusses) We say we just stopped to drop in some gas so we could get to Calgary and then got back on the road not thinking about posted speed.  Mr. Canadian Mountie sees our hiking stuff in the back seat and asks Kathi for her license and asks Kathi where we have been hiking.  Down in Waterton was the answer, oh great, he likes to hike also.  He has hiked the Grand Canyon.  So he hands Kathi back her license and said we were 80km in a 50 km zone.  We should watch the signs a little closer... Have a nice day.  Nice day!  You know it, this has been the Perfect vacation!  I will mention here  that we drove the posted km per hour every mile after that close call, just in case he called ahead to other Mounties...
What a nice Mountie.

Perfect! That is what this trip was.  Although it did rain some, the rain managed to all happen after we were done hiking for the day.  I guess monsoon season is a Colorado phenomenon.  We spent a lot of miles driving to our hiking trail heads, but the roads we traveled on were all improved roads. All roads were improved except for the roads back into our Duck Lake accommodations...  That road was terrible.  Without planning the order of our hikes we managed to be hiking the Sperry Glacier hike when we made the 100 miles. A small celebration for us as this is a special trail and one we have tried three times to get to.  Yeah! Also since Sperry Glacier will soon no longer be an official Glacier due to climate change it was special.  And without further planning and totally by surprise we were hiking the Grinnell Glacier hike when we surpassed the 150 miles hiked.  This trail also a special place and rarely open this early in July.  Both Grinnell and Sperry are clinging to their active glacier status.  

Critters we saw:

Two black bear, but from the safety of the car.
One dead car kill moose.
Two snakes, not sure what kind they were as snakes are not my thing. ( No snake dances were performed as is past hikes.)
One tree Martin
Three Pikas
Dodged unnumbered amount of free range beef cows some of which believed the road belonged to them.
Countless Marmots
Countless white tail deer
Ground squirrels galore, one ground squirrel scoring a Koo for running up and touching Kathi's boot!
Countless people who we met on the trails all with a friendly smile and sometimes great information.

For the first time ever we over achieve and surpass 160 miles hiked.  A total of      ?  Feet gained in elevation.  I have never added up the elevation before but I guess, Kathi's knees and my feet were sort of wondering what we were doing to them:)

We have started our talkes about next years hike, but no firm ideas yet.  You will have to come back and join us for another virtual hiking adventure and countless giggles and laughter of another step in the right direction.

Bertha Lake at overlook

Peaking through the trees

Just before that water heads down Bertha falls

These pine cones grow up and are blackish

Last lunch :(

Our Bed and Breakfast

Hot Tub with owners home in background

Living area

Bed and Bath

Lower Bertha falls

Cow parsnips

Finnish Pancake

Hmmmmm

A finished Finnish Pancake

2009 Hike to the top of Carthew Alderson Pass and down to the town site of Waterton.  Totally socked in fog.
For what ever reason I am unable to get this into the correct day of the Blog.  Technology has scored one on me...

Looking down the screed towards one of the Carthew lakes.