Our dear friend Margaret has a unique skill. Whenever she comes up, we see lots of wildlife—without fail. This time was no different, just, um...better.

The visit began with a good old-fashioned Caleigh—full of bagpipes, dancing, and whiskey. For the three of us, it has become a tradition.  

The next few days were all about hiking—our first being Larch Valley Trail at Moraine Lake. This trail is considered moderate up to the beginning of the Sentinel Pass trail, logging around 7 miles (11 km) and 1850 feet (565 m) in elevation.

Moraine Lake is best accessed by shuttle—unless you want to take your chances for a limited parking spot. It was easy to reserve, inexpensive and took the worry out of being unable to visit one of the most spectacular landmarks in Banff National Park.

Upon arrival, we immediately climbed up to the epic Moraine Lake viewpoint. As always, we found it magical and surreal. 

The Larch Valley Trail is a cardio workout—steep switchbacks weaving through a lush forest. The incline lessened somewhat following the junction to Eifell Lake and continued through stands of larches to a clearing.

It was an excellent spot (among many) to take a break and a breather.

Dave, Margaret, and I hiked beyond the timberline to panoramic views of the ten peaks.

As we closed in on our turnaround (lunch) point, shedded layers of clothing quickly found their way back on. 

Let the excitement begin. A couple told us that there was a mother grizzly and her cub spotted on the col ahead of us. Argh. “Wait—Mama’s moving—looks like they’re heading to the lake,” said another hiker.

We glanced down towards the small patch of water below us. The bears were frolicking away.

Relieved that we knew their location, we parked our packs to relax and enjoy a well-deserved lunch. About 20 minutes later, we rechecked the lake—no bear in sight. Dave thought they were likely headed down toward one of the multiple ponds scattered throughout the valley. Margaret and I felt comfortable with that explanation. We moved on.

As we walked along with Dave ahead of us, Margaret and I approached a small group of hikers just off the trail. “There’s a bear just off the trail,” they said, pointing across the way.

“Where?”

“There!”

Unfortunately, Dave kept walking forward until someone else pulled him aside, gesturing towards a tree. For some weird reason, Margaret and I didn’t want to raise our voices. No one did. We just wanted to creep out of there as fast as we could.

Mom was 75 yards away, deftly camouflaged in the shade of a pine tree. We’d hoped that baby was behind mom, but no one offered to check that out. She looked up—then, thankfully, ignored us.

The journey down was full of conversation. The grizzly was so difficult to spot that we wondered how many times we’d passed a bear without noticing.

The thought still haunts me. :)