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October 16 Water of the SpiritsSecond Annual Thanksgiving Hike
Present: Keith, Curtis, Rene, Kirstin, Hugh, Lindy
We decided that this year we would choose a hike without too much rise in elevation, after last year's Thanksgiving Burstall Pass hike was mostly through deep snow. The high point of this year's hike was unanimously (I assume) the rock-skipping session. Lake Minnewanka offers an exciting selection of skipping stones of all sizes. The lake was perfectly calm, just right for skipping. The only one who disagreed was a duck swimming nearby.
After lunch at the rocky beach, Rene and Curtis decided to separate from the group and take a "potentially more direct" route back, by following the shoreline. This might have been a much shorter trip, even in spite of the hazardous loose rocks, had the bridge over Stewart Canyon been built about one kilometer further downriver, close to the lake. We followed the river up through trees that would make for great paintball and got to the bridge just as the rest of the group finished crossing.
Although we were certainly in bear country, and constantly stepping in fresh bear droppings, the only wildlife we saw was under 10 kg in mass. Still the day was a spectacular, sunny autum Sunday, and we all got to wear our el paca hats, which are over 9 billion times wamer than wool! Kirstin only pretended to be a monkey twice, and I only wandered off once. Another successful Thanksgiving hike.
On the way home (well actually, in the opposite direction) we stopped in Banff, where I ordered one heck of a good chocolate milk shake. It's possible that some other food was eaten too, but all I remember is that milk shake.
History of the Lake
Lake Minnewanka ("Water of the Spirits") is the longest and second deepest lake in the Rockies. The water used to be much lower on the lake and Stewart Canyon used to be much deeper, but hydroelectric dams now control the level. The most recent dam was built in 1941 and flooded the previous dams, which were built in 1912 and 1922. A small resort village built in 1888 was also submerged and is popular among divers and trout.
The lake also achieved fame in the film Son of Lassie, which was the first full colour film shot in the Rockies, and featured nearly every photo-worthy viewpoint in the tourbook. In the film's most dramatic scence, Lassie and the main character leap from the Stewart Canyon bridge amid a hail of Nazi bullets, proving that it is safe to jump into the canyon.
Lake Minnewanka existed 100,000 years ago but not as it appears today. It was part of a chain of lakes fed by the Bow River, rather than the glacial Cascade River which feeds it today. About 25,000 years ago the whole valley would have been under hundreds of metres of glacier, and stayed that way until about 10,000 years ago when the Ice Age ended. The glaciers that feed it now are remnants from the receding Ice Age, as are almost all glaciers in North America.
 1902, before any dams raised the water level.
 Sept, 2005 - The water level had dropped so that we could walk to that island this year. |
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