August 7, 2016

Mountain height:  2466 m
Elevation gain:     720 m
Ascent time:        2:15

Descent time:     1:30

Solo scramble.

If you are metaphorically interested to see how far you can stretch a buck (actually, let’s go with a twoonie, in honour of Canada’s coolest coin), a trip up Devil’s Thumb is the way to go! Less than 3 hours of hiking will net you multiple views of some of Alberta’s most colourful lakes, striking mountains and wildest scenery. It’s the “best deal in town”.

Lake Louise has always a tourist hotspot in the mountains, but I was still surprised to see the Chateau parking lot almost completely full by 9 am. Clearly this area definitely favours the early riser!

After wading through the hordes of visitors around Lake Louise, I started up the easy trail to Agnes Lake. Having not seen visited the shores of Agnes for several years, the return was the wonderfully nostalgic.

Next, to Big Beehive, another easy and tremendously scenic hike – at least to get there. Unfortunately the view from Big Beehive is always bit of a disappointment, due to the fact that you cannot see the full view of the lakes (Louise and Agnes). To remedy that shortcoming, Devil’s Thumb steps up to the plate – and delivers a grand-slam home run (end of corny metaphors!!)

A terrific trail led all the way to the summit, with only a few moves of scrambling. The dirt slope to the col, however, was quite steep. Along the route, views of Mount Whyte (Devil’s Thumb is merely the east end of Whyte) were awesome, as were those of mounts Victoria and Lefroy. The summit view was likewise awe-inspiring. Don’t stop there however. A few metres farther east brings you to a wild drop-off and the best view of the day, as the lakes whose shores you have visited earlier in the trip now come into full view. The contrasting colours hues of the lakes were stunning.

I was soon joined by three young women, who only had to say “Hello”, before I recognized their strong London accents (my cousins on my Dad’s side all still reside in that great city). The trio were super friendly, as we chatted about little England and BIG Canada! Of course, we naturally had to point out Mount Victoria, named in honour of England’s famous monarch and Lake Louise, after Victoria’s fourth daughter.

For descent, I was curious to see if going straight down the ridge was possible. Of course, the first part wasn’t – as stated, it’s a straight drop down! However, the once around that little inconvenience I was able to downclimb the ridge with only one minor detour. Were I to repeat the trip, I would go up this route and down the easier, trail route.

Another outstanding trip!       

Lake Agnes, Devil's Thumb and Mount Whyte

Mounts Whyte and Niblock (right)

Niblock, St. Piran and Lake Agnes

Cool terrain before the summit cairn

Looking back to Mount Whyte (right)

At the beginning of the trip, the cloud layer covered the entire valley

Fellow Brits Mel, Hanna and Izzy at the summit

Looking back up some of the descent route I took