Day 4
A Local Photography Walk by Dennis

Above: Photos around the Prince of Wales Lodge.

Above: The Prince of Wales Lodge.

Above: The Prince of Wales Lodge.

Above Left: A morning view of Middle Waterton Lake.

Above Right: A morning view of Waterton Park (Town) on Middle Waterton Lake.

Above: Artistic (ahem) photo shots of Middle Waterton Lake.

Above Left: Fox Glove Blooming and Budding.

Above Right: Cinquefoil (French: Five Pedal) more commonly known as Potentilla.

Above Left: Daisies or Yellow Button Daisies.

Above Right: Yellow Daisies.

Above: Wild Bergamot (http://www.albertawow.com/wildflowers/alberta_wildflowers.htm).

Above Left: Wild Bergamot.

Above Right: Rag Weed.

Above Left: White Yarrow.

Above Right: Called Purple Daisies but I think that they may be Purple Asters.

Above Left: These will become berries, probably Blueberries.

Above Right: These are Huckleberries or Saskatoon Berries.

All of these berries are Bear Attractor Foods.

Above Left: A beautiful topology map of the Waterton Lakes and area produced by the Great Northern Railway Company which was the long-ago owner of the lodges (one here in Canada and a few in the USA Park System [before National Parks existed]). We were located at the top or northern most lake.

Above Right: Geological violence happened up there (it was actually pushed up there epics ago), look at the vertical strata, that used to be ocean bottom once upon a time and now it has been rotated 90 degrees and pushed up way above the ocean floor.

Above Left: Viewing the Prince of Wales Lodge from the town of Waterton Park.

Above Right: Viewing the Middle Waterton Lake Boat Ferry and the Prince of Wales Lodge in the background. This is the same Ferry Boat that Terry would take for her Hike up to Crypt Lake.

Hike to Crypt Lake

Above: Terry was on this ferry boat, heading to the landing and trailhead for the hike up to Crypt Lake.

Wikipedia: "The Crypt Lake Hike was voted "Canada's Best Hike" in 1981. The hike is accessed via the local ferry service, and begins with a gradual climb through shaded forests. As visitors progress into the hanging valley, the forest begins to thin out, and the strenuous section of the hike begins. Immediately after Burnt Rock Falls, the hike steadily climbs up onto the open alpine mountain side. This section of the hike, offers views of the Crypt Valley as well as that of the cascading Crypt Falls. After hiking along the mountain side, hikers arrive at the Crypt Lake Campground. This camping area was provided for overnight backpackers and was equipped with an outhouse and fireplace. However, the campground is now permanently closed and is no longer equipped with a fireplace. After continuing over the alpine creek adjacent to the campground, hikers follow the trail towards the ledge and tunnel. The ledge is about 50 centimetres (20 in) wide, and continues over to a steel ladder and access to the tunnel. For nearly 30 metres (100 ft), hikers crawl through a natural mountain tunnel before arriving at the cable transverse. This section of the hike involves a scramble along a sheer cliff, with the assistance of a steel cable. After the scramble, the route passes through a shaded forest before arriving at Crypt Lake".

"The hike is a total of 17.2 kilometres (10.7 mi) round trip, with a gradual 700-metre (2,300 ft) elevation gain."

"The southern tip of Crypt Lake skirts Canada's international border with the United States, and the trail enters the United States for less than 50 metres (160 ft), meaning that hikers technically enter the United States illegally. However, there is no border-related signage or warnings, and no legal consequences for hikers, as entry any further into the United States at this location is impossible due to sheer mountain cliffs at the south end of the lake."

Above Left: The Crypt Trailhead sign.

Above Right: Terry on the Crypt Lake Trail (Photo by Daisy, Daisy and Terry paired-up as hiking companions). Waterton's Middle Lake in the background, they already hiked up the 'easy' leg.

Above: A view of Middle Waterton Lake.

Above Left: Berries (Bear-eats).

Above Right: Hanging Valley Falls.

Above Left: Terry at a stream crossing.

Above Right: The stream.

Above Left: Burnt Rock Falls.

Above Right: Terry and Burnt Rock Falls.

Above Left: Last look at Burnt Rock Falls.

Above Right: First peek at Crypt Lake Falls.

Above: Crypt Falls and Catchment Basin.

Above: Still climbing, Crypt Falls viewed from a higher altitude.

Above Left: White Alpine Flowers with a Black & White Butterfly.

Above Right: Last view of the Crypt Falls' Catchment Basin.

Above Left: Hiking just got tougher, there was a narrowing rock ledge, and that was the first glimpse of The Tunnel.

Above Right: Closer to The Tunnel.

Above Left: Now the Climbing Ladder is clearly visible.

Above Right: A look at the back trail and The Ledge.

Above Left: A back-view of the ledge with some hikers.

Above Right: Daisy was climbing the Ladder.

Above Left: A tricky descent just before The Ladder.

Above Right: Daisey was about to enter The Tunnel.

Above Left: Terry emerges from The Tunnel.

Above Right: The Cable Transverse and an overlook at the down-corner.

Above Left: Terry, climbing on the Transverse Cable.

Above Right: The rock wall inside Crypt Lake's mountain bowl.

Above Left: At first it looks like snow but this appears to be an outcrop of what might be white marble.

Above Right: The sign, in two languages, for Crypt Lake (at 1946 meters elevation).

Above Left: First view of Crypt Lake.

Above Right: View of Crypt Lake from the north shore.

Above: This is a slightly warped multi photo-stitched view of Crypt Lake (Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada).

The opposite end of the lake has about 60 meters of water and beachhead that are inside the United States of America and given the steep walls around the lake there is no displayed concern about 'illegally' entering the USA.

Above Left: Daisey on Crypt Lake.

Above Right: Terry Struck, dipping her toes in Crypt Lake (Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada; 31 July 2018).

Above: The challenges of a downhill Transverse.

Above Left: Overlooking a part of the Crypt Falls' Catchment Basin.

Above Right: The Trailhead sign, just before boarding the lake ferry.

Above: This was the Ferry Boat that brought Terry home from the Crypt Lake Hike.

This day was a non-bike adventure day. Terry took advantage of the Hike up to Crypt Lake which was voted in 1981 as the best hike in Canada. The Crypt Lake hike has a 700-meter / 2,300 ft elevation gain in a 5 mile / 8 kilometer distance. The hike included a 50c/20in wide segment of rock ledge for traversing, a ladder was required to get into and pass through The Tunnel, which was followed by another Transverse climb/descent on a ledge with a cable. The hike was quite challenging. Dennis (me) did some photo journalism (which led to this web page), a photography walk, some photo processing, and some electronic bill management (we had already been on the road for more than a week). On this same evening, we had a group dinner in a restaurant in the town of Waterton Park and it was magnificent with splendid company and delightful conversation. We were truly touring with travel experienced people.