Mt. Louie, 1845 m, Grande Cache.

Mt. Louie is a popular objective near Grande Cache (Alberta). The altitude gain is about 800 meters over a distance of approximately 5 km. Our group made it (back and forth) in 7 hours, mostly because of the problems crossing streaks and muddy sections. Most people do the mountain in between 4.5 and 6 hours. For AllTrails description of the trail click here. 

As for the rest of the photostory I have a rare treat for you! The trip report was written by Boris Bokov, the Trip Leader, which I quote extensively (in italics), while my own comments are in regular font. 

July 2, 2022, Mt. Louie and Red Dot

We got lucky as it stopped raining yesterday. I knew it would be cloudy all day (thank you spotwx!), with low clouds lingering around 1700m. It meant that we wouldn't have any views. In some circumstances, this would be devastating, but things changed, and I accept nature decisions better than before. On the descent from the town towards Victor Lake, we could see the low clouds, which didn't intend to move up.

We met in Grande Cache Visitor Centre, as I hoped that Pam, Piotr and Mike, who arrived last night and haven't been to the town, could get some exciting insights. The Centre's staff was friendly and helpful yesterday and continued with excellent assistance.

After the visitor centre visit, we all collectively did a yoga session led by Bozena. It was refreshing for me to do (at least partially) yoga again. It's been so long I haven't been able to do it sequentially, with a complete number of poses.

After an obligatory team photo ...

From the left: Piotr, Ada, Dragan, Pam, Boris, Gosia, Mike, Barbara and Keith. 

... we started our Mt. Louie ascent at 10:22. Soon, we were on our way to the trailhead. 

I immediately knew that it would be muddy and super wet trails. I also thought we needed the luck to cross the Grande Cache - Victor lakes canal. Thankfully, the bridge was there, and we successfully navigated all the muddy obstacles leading to and from it.

I was even happier as I put my hiking boots on instead of the runners. Matt from the visitor centre said it would be super wet, and we listened.

I predicted we would need 6 hours for the trip, but I knew we would need more after some 10-15 minutes into the hike.

The rocky parts were slick and slippery, and I had already started preparing myself for the descent. We all had to pay attention to our footing, which was very tricky. It felt the safest walking in the mud.

Going down is still a challenge. It is easier for me to go up. I know the knee is strong, and I have an ACL and the meniscus is repaired, but I am still protecting it.

Piotr announced his return to the car some 40 minutes after the start. We encountered a fast stream that required a bit of jumping to cross. 

I didn't object to Piotr's decision and didn't want to convince him to continue. I did the same thing a couple of times. I do understand people who are wise to call it a day. 

However, the rest of the team thought differently. Mike told Piotr: "You didn't drive 10 hrs to quit now." Basia said she was sad. We quickly decided to build a "bridge." We found a log big enough to stay in the water and moved it to the middle of the stream. Piotr was able to cross it. I liked it, as it was a great example of teamwork.

In fact, I was ready to quit at this point. Hiking in wet boots is not my favorite. But then ... they built a "bridge" ... especially for me! I said to myself: "Now what? F! I gotta try it!" and it worked.

After this crossing, we finally started to gain some altitude. It was a steady advancement on the wet and slippery Mt. Louie trail. 

Pam, who hiked last time 20 years ago, was very impressive. She pushed, and I knew she would make it to the top. Dragan would spend the last third of the hike with her and encourage her to continue.

Mike was also impressive, as always. Despite his hip pain, he continued hiking up. Dragan and I commented that Mike was like a steam locomotive, slow but relentless. Mike always inspires me.

Piotr mentioned that he would likely turn back at some point with Mike, so we arranged that he sends a text to Dragan so that we know they are on their way back to the car. We had a situation again in which the need for radios was clear.  After I test the radios Brad got for me, I will get a couple more.

Piotr and Mike turned back, but Gosia, Basia, Ada, Keith, Dragan, Pam and I continued our Mt. Louie hike.

The trail was not too steep, so I was content with the descent. But I still haven't seen it all - there are always more challenging sections.

It was super wet and humid. A person could cut the wetness with a knife. We were literally in the clouds. All of us were soaked. Amazingly, there was no new rain. Only water drops we felt were coming from the trees. The high atmospheric pressure was squeezing and pushing down the clouds - above, the sky was blue and clear. If we were climbing the higher mountain (above 2700m), we would reach the sunshine. But it didn't matter. We all enjoyed it, and we all pushed to move up.

Ada was comfortable and looked strong. We both didn't know if she was recovered enough after the "BC cold," but I didn't see any signs of her struggling. 

Basia and Gosia were both very strong and efficient. Gosia led more than 2/3 of the way up, and her pace was perfect. Dragan was very light on his feet and appeared energetic and spiritful. Keith was powerful, too, spending most of his time in the front-runner's group.

I experienced a quite interesting encounter somewhere in the middle of the mountain. I met a person who worked with me at the City of Edmonton. We stopped, established eye contact, and he said: "You remember me"? I replied: "Of course, I remember you, Andres Dorado." The world is really a tiny place. I would never imagine seeing Andres again, especially not on Mt. Louie on this super wet day. We said we would connect soon.

Mt. Louie is not a challenging mountain. It is a bit steep the last quarter. The vertical ascent is ~800, and the distance is 5.7 km one way. I felt great mainly because I didn't have any knee problems. We reached the summit in 3.5 hrs. We spent around 30 minutes on the summit. We had lunch, enjoyed the view, and took a team photo by the Passport Box. 

In absence of Mike it was Boris' turn ...

... to strike a few macho, sexy poses!

They seem to have a rather lousy pizza on top of Mt. Louie ...

... luckily, Keith was able to wash it down with Pilsner!

It was a great day, as five team members bagged their first Grande Cache Passport to the Peak's summit. There are "only" twenty to go :) For Ada and me, the journey continues.

Of course, I knew this wasn't the end, as the descent was coming. I had some minor concerns about rocky areas that looked dangerous as they were slippery and wet.

The descent was faster than I expected. I was the last to leave the summit with Dragan, and we often stopped chatting in our mother tongue. He was helpful and caring, as he would navigate the best descent line so that I didn't have to deal with more challenges than I needed.

However, some strange things started to happen on the descent. It seems Pam, not without certain help from Barbara, ... impregnated Dragan!

We needed less than 3 hrs to get to the parking. It was a great time, as we've been through quite a few obstacles, especially on the flats, after "our bridge." The water levels were super high, and we had to navigate a muddy maze. It was fun, though. In normal conditions, we would be just walking, but now, we had to keep our feet dry.

Currying this extra weight, Gaggi tanked in the mud a couple of times! This is what is known as "practical love!"

Ultimately, it took us 7:07 hrs to climb Mt. Louie's summit and return. On our descent, we met a young girl who was going up. We met her again, at the parking. She said she did it in 4:04 hrs. We smiled about it, as it was quite an achievement. But we didn't come here to race or to break records. We wanted to create connections with nature, mountains, and each other.

We also had an obligatory beer in the parking - oh, that beer tasted so good!

Free of all the weight and stress, Gaggi entertained the group with some really "tall tales!"

I only wished Mike and Piotr were with us at the top, as they always add and project completeness to all activities. And of course, they are fun and all of us can learn from them.

Returning earlier to our motel, with Mike we enjoyed refreshing naps. Barbara teased us later that during this trip we spent more time in bed (not counting the night) than on the trail! This may not be far from the truth! What can you do? Age!

The team had supper at Dragon Palace, the Chinese restaurant located just by Acorn motel. We ordered quite a lot of food. Mike, Gosia, and Basia decided to be adventurous and ordered shared food with Ada and me. Others opted for their own meal. I think that in the end, everyone was full and happy. I was.

During the supper, Gosia demonstrated her jewelry. However, we all know that the one real jewel ... is she!

We all met later at the Visitor Centre gazebo. Other ladies, Bożena, Grażyna and Ela, joined us. We almost had a full-blown party. 

It was a great evening of talking, singing, eating, and drinking. It was amazing to listen and sing all the songs and hear all the jokes.

I felt good. I was calm and content. I also thought that I immersed myself "properly" in the overall process of being present. I was aware of my knee, but I was not fearful. I pushed where I needed to push. I didn't feel any pain in the knee, nor did I feel any difference between my knees. It seems that after 10 months, I can add more "spice" to future activities. I certainly know that I will be careful and wise forever. 

The knee and everything that came with it have taught me more about patience, consistency, compassion, calmness, and acceptance.

I know that I will still sway out of it, but I also know that I will be able to get back to my "red dot.".

The next while the Bosnians challenged themselves to white water rafting ...

... which must have been exciting ...

... but judging from Gaggi's face expression ...

... not entirely pleasant experience ...

... with Mike we went to see the famous Sulphur Gates. 

A truly remarkable place!

We also visited the famous Split Rock, which we entered promptly. Mike was saying that the place was reminding him of something, but he couldn't put his finger on it. 

Because we engaged in conversation with some friendly French Canadians from Montreal ...

 ... we were late to the morning yoga at the Labyrinth Park. 

This however allowed us to appreciate the advantages of yoga from "certain perspective."

Mike got so inspired by those yoga asanas that he stroke 30 push ups to contain himself! 

After the yoga the ladies were buzzing with new, positive energy and Mike, naturally, tried to steal as much of it as he could. 

All the participants seemed to be satisfied with their Grande Cache experiences. What we really liked that it was much less crowdy than Jasper or Banff on Canada Day long weekend. I think next year we'll also go to Grande Cache! 

Great thanks to Boris and Ada for permission to use their photos. 

The photostory by: 

Boris Bokov

and

Piotr Rajski