The original impetus for our Rockies trip was to visit a couple we had met on a cruise ten years ago. Like us, they were focused on travel and very early retirement. They are from Atlanta, but have a rental property near Banff, and had planned to spend a month there enjoying the Rockies in the falls. Fortunately for us, they invited us to spend a couple of days with them. We had a wonderful time trading tips on the ins and outs of frugal living, investment strategy, and traveling cheaply.
The rain finally relented, and we set off for an awesome hike near Moraine Lake (another bright blue glacial lake), through Larch Valley. “The Larch”, besides being the punchline of a Monty Python skit, is also a deciduous pine tree – ie it loses its needles in the winter. And, up in the mountains in mid-September, the larches turn bright yellow before they drop their needles. We had a 10+km hike on the Larch Valley trail, with sweeping views of golden trees, topped by a row of 10 mountain peaks. It had snowed the night before – first time this season – so we were treated to bright white peaks.
It was a (here’s that phrase again) a stunningly beautiful hike, the best of the whole trip. Check out the slide show below.
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