Hike Into Willmore Wilderness Part Three

Monday morning greeted us to clear blue skies and our main goal of the day was to hike up to an unnamed lake on the ridge line above our camp. I taped up my blistered foot with some gauze and duct tape and put on a fresh pair of thick socks over top a pair of lighter ones. We would be leaving our gear at camp and travelling with light packs with only a few essentials (rain gear, snacks, water, first aid etc.).
The trail was well used by both humans and horses and the climb took us about an hour through the trees. There were countless varieties of mushrooms along the way and I took a lot of pictures. I am really interested in plant identification but I am only just getting into it. As far as mushrooms go I know absolutely nothing. I never even realized how many varieties there were until this trip! There were many I have never seen before.

We eventually broke out of the trees on to a plateau that looked toward the scree slope descending from Cathedral Mountain. From this angle we got our first glimpse of the lake that was down in a valley. There was a stream flowing over a waterfall that descended toward the lake. We skirted the ridge line that rose between the slope down to the lake on one side and on the other an alpine meadow stretched toward the base of the scree slope. We stopped to drink out of the creek and eat some food all the while taking in the magnificent view of Cathedral Mountain. In front of us the lake stretched and beyond that were more mountains in the distance.
One of the things I like to do after a good hike is lay down in the grass and let the sun beat down on me. This inevitably leads to the nap monster creeping up and so I took the opportunity to doze for a little bit.

The wind started to get a little cool so I decided to go for a walk. I followed the ridge line up for a while to get some better angles of the the lake and the valley. We had toyed with the idea of hiking down to the lake but I wasn't too keen on the idea as my foot was still a little tender. I was quite happy to take in the views. From my vantage point I could look back across the meadow toward the foot of Cathedral Mountain. A person could follow that along and get right to the base no problem. At least that's how it looked. Experience tells me that some of those easy looking routes are not so easy once you start trying to actually do them.I scanned the mountainsides looking for signs of mountain goats or big horns but saw nothing. A few falling rocks attracted my attention but nothing came of it. I did see a marmot running about on the slopes.

Dark clouds started coming over the mountain top so I made my way back to where Harold was still dozing and suggested we should head back before getting caught in the rain. Just then thunder boomed around us again. We made our way back down to camp. The rain never came until about 7 when another terrific storm blew in, this one more intense than the night before and a little hail mixed in.
Looking back I think this day hike was the highlight of the week. It was a pleasant hike and the views from the top were just reward for the effort put in. It just goes to show that: Yes, places such as Jasper and Banff offer fantastic scenery but there are so many places with equally stunning vistas.
You just have to be willing to look for them!