Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake, Banff National Park, Sept. 2012

We had heard that Peyto Lake was a beautiful spot, so we turned off the Icefields Parkway 40 kms after its southernmost end to see the lake.  The trail was steep but not too long.  We took our time, among other travelers, walking up to the Bow Summit, past many fir and spruce trees.  Interpretive signs pointed out the differences between these two most prevalent conifers prompting us to attempt to identify which tree we were near at any one time.  This became a playful exercise throughout our trip.  I am very much in the dark about so much of what I see in nature and wanted to begin learning even the simplest of things to enlarge my horizons.  I believe the photo I’m including of conifers on the trail shows a subalpine fir in the centre.

Conifers on Peyto Lake Trail, Sept. 2012

Peyto Lake and Mountains, Sept. 2012

Peyto Lake, Sept. 2012

When we arrived at the lookout point, we joined our fellow hikers to look out on the mountains and distinctively shaped blue green lake.  For someone like me who has not grown up in such land, the beauty was almost shocking.   At the summit was an interpretive sign, this one about the Peyto glacier, which originally carved out the shape of the valley and the bowl of Peyto Lake.  During the past century or so, the glacier that once filled the valley has receded about two kilometres.  And before the glacier materialized, there stood a forest in its place. This was revealed through the discovery of 3000 year old wood fragments under the ice.

At Peyto Lake Lookout, Sept. 2012