Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Banff Part 3 - Two-Jack Lake

This is the third and final chapter of my trip to Banff.  It was the day we had to return the rental kayak, so we decided to get one more trip in while we still could.  Two-Jack Lake was a good choice, since it was close by, and we could drive right up to the water.  That was a nice bonus after hauling the boats around so far at Lake Louise the day before.

Two-Jack Lake is found at the south end of Lake Minnewanka, right on the other side of the dam.  It is a much smaller lake, but still has a rich green color to it, and many mountains surrounding it.  There is also a large campground on one side.

When we got there, the water was mirror calm, and there were very few people around.  It was also a very smokey day, thanks to the fires burning in BC, so we didn't get a very good view of the surrounding scenery, but it did have a kind of misty/eerie feeling to it.

The view from shore where we started out.
The lake was very calm and peaceful.  We paddled towards the eastern end of the lake, along the shore near the campground.

The water was also very clear.  This is a little bay near the campground.

 
Pretty trees!


We turned around, and headed towards the west end of the lake, towards the dam.  There were so many pretty flowers and plants grwoing from the rocks.

And of course, there has to be a stump or 2...
....And a beauty floating in the lake!
The smoke eventually started to lift, and blue sky was almost visible.  The sun was shining up there somewhere!
Pretty views of the shoreline near the dam.

And the dam itself.  On the other side of this dam is Lake Minnewanka.
You can see the clouds in this one.  The smoke was deffinitely clearing up.
We spotted a young sheep on the dam, who seemed very interested in getting into that restricted area.  It did eventually wander back into the woods, but not before posing for a nice photo.  :)

It was time to head back to the picnic site.  The rental kayak was due back in Kananaskis in a few hours, and our arms were sore from all the paddling we had done in the last 3 days, but it was all well worth it.  Banff is a very beautiful place, and I hope to see more of it one day.