Tea House Challenge
Lake Louise, Alberta
August 24, 2019
I don't remember how I discovered the tea house hikes at Lake Louise but am so happy I did. My husband and I set off early in the morning not knowing what the day would bring. Neither of us has hiked before and we were both excited and nervous. Due to the many unknowns, our game plan was to make it to the Plain of Six Glaciers tea house and then determine if we would hike to the Lake Angus tea house. We originally did not commit to the teahouse challenge.
The hike to the Plain of Six Glaciers was wonderful. I was completely astonished with the both the views I was seeing and at the fact that I was actually hiking. We had hiked above the clouds that were gathering between the mountains! The trail to the tea house was extremely well marked, well-worn, and quite easy. We made it to the tea house with no issues. It was the best feeling! The Plain of Six Glaciers tea house is 5.6 kms from the trail head with an elevation gain of 359 m. There was an additional trail past the tea house that took us to a lookout with a better view of the glaciers. It was quite windy at the lookout but completely worth going the additional couple of kms.
We were feeling so great, we decided to complete the tea house challenge and head for the Lake Agnus tea house. We didn't know it at the time but we just added another 521 m of elevation gain to our hike. The direction we travelled was literally uphill both ways. The tea houses are connected via the Highland Trail and it was definitely scarier for me then the Plain of Six Glaciers portion of the hike. It was on this hike that I learned I was actually afraid of being on an edge as opposed to being afraid of heights, like I initially thought. Being high on a mountain was not an issue for me but being at the edge of the trail with a steep drop-off below was terrifying. We were getting pretty tired during this portion of the hike but eager to make it to the next tea house and option for very few breaks. Due to my fatigue, the distance felt longer.
Lake Agnus was stunning!
We took a longer break here just so we could admire the view.
The trail from Lake Agnus back down to Lake Louise was very steep and wrecked my already tired legs. I had yet to learn the value of hiking poles. In hindsight, it would have been best to hike to the Lake Agnus tea house first and then head to the Plain of Six Glaciers tea house second. The route would have been easier and I would have been less tired.
We were staying at The Moose in Banff and had the longest nap of life when got back to our room. After the much deserved nap, we we to the Elk & Oarsman for a celebratory dinner and drinks. I was already itching to go on the next hike.
Total distance: 19 kilometers
Total elevation gain: 985 meters
Overall, this was a great first hike. The trail was busy and easy to navigate with food and drink available at both tea houses. I would recommend planning ahead to ensure you know how many kilometres you will be walking and the elevation gain you will be encountering. The elevation gain was the hardest part of this experience.
