Diversions
Midday arrived all too suddenly … the snow had melted somewhat and icy roads were soggy rather than treacherous. We had arranged to meet my step-sister Lindsey in lake Louis for an afternoon of snowshoeing. Haven’t done that since I was a teen, so we were looking forward to discovering LL and all its delights. But Mother Nature sometimes can cre8te unexpected diversions, which can lead to new revelations and explorations.
Just the other side of Golden, the road was closed due to a mudslide on the Trans-Canada. They said it would probably be open in two hours or so, but instead of waiting for the highway to open, we decided to take the Golden triangle detour. Here’s Wikipedia’s definition of the area:
The Golden Triangle is a major 330 km cycling route located in western Canada along the border between British Columbia and Alberta, forming a triangle with Lake Louise, Golden, BC and Radium, BC as its points. It crosses the continental divide twice, through the Kicking Horse Pass between Lake Louise and Golden, and the Vermillion Pass between Radium and Lake Louise. The portion from Lake Louise to Golden is considered particularly beautiful.
Knowing that this 2 hour deviation would make us way late for meeting Lindsey, I tried giving her a call, but only managed to leave a voicemail. I was praying that she wasn’t there and waiting for us. Cell phone reception in the mountains is rather sporadic, and the day would leave us with the inability to connect with Lindsey. Quite disappointed about that. However, in the interim, we thoroughly enjoyed our drive through the glorious Columbia Valley. The sun finally broke through, shining brightly (a first for the weekend) and made for some sun-sational photo ops. Revisiting Radium at the beginning of a dawning spring was so wonderful, especially after our glorious icy snowy New Year’s retreat experience.
We decided to take a quick meander down to Sinclair Falls on the Juniper trail. Do you recall my photo of the frozen goose? This is the same magical place that that picture was taken. But I tell you, with a newly emerging season, the falls takes on a different persona. Remnants of ice and slushy snow remained, but the green of the moss and catapulting river revealed a totally different world. Again, I took my time, photographing every step along the way. To my surprise, slaDE had crossed the raging river (via a rather small but solidly place tree branch between the banks) and was exploring the falls up close and personal. I admired him from afar, until slaDE beckoned for me to join him. Well, you could say that I was rather reluctant to cross that tiny pole on my lonesome. I’m a scare-dy cat, truly! But being the gentleman that he is, he re-crossed and guided me gently across the itty bitty bridge to the other side. My heart was racing as the water surged dangerously close beneath us. But as he noted, the view was spectacular and well-worth the risk of passage.
The cascading Falls roared in our ears … and to my delight, we took plenty of stunning pictures, including a couple on timer (I was rather skittish leaving our new camera self-perched on a slippery sloping rock, without a tripod). We look like such a happy content couple! I’m grateful that in reality, that is what we are :).
Next stop, revisiting Radium Hot Springs hot pools. Again, a totally different experience. This time the ‘cool pool’ was open (but to slaDE~s consternation, the diving board was still tucked away). And no longer did ice cling to every available crevice. Green green everywhere with sunny rocky overhangs blending into the background. What a wonderful way to spend 3 hours on a Sunday afternoon.