Bow Lake

Spring Scenes

Last weekend, I ventured out for a photo excursion with Stewart and Julia Hamilton and Bob Bear. We went up the Icefields Parkway to Bow Lake, our first stop for the day. The trip was timed to get pictures of this ever popular site, while the ice was thawing. This first photograph displays the transition of the lake from winter to summer.

I was surprised to see so much snow remaining on the mountains in this area. By comparison, we have very little snow remaining in the Canmore area, limited to a light mantle atop the surrounding peaks. Bow Lake is 116 km from Canmore and the lake surface is about 600 m higher. The summit of Crowfoot Mountain (right) is another 1,000 m higher than the lake, explaining the mountains’ wintry appearance.

This photograph offers a different perspective of the lake, looking westward to the Bow Glacier. Meltwater from this glacier feeds the lake which is the source of the Bow River. This river flows eastward providing water for the communities of Lake Louise, Banff and Canmore and the City of Calgary, The Bow ends at the confluence with the Oldman River in southern Alberta. These two rivers combine to create the South Saskatchewan River which ultimately flows into Hudson Bay.

This next scene captures part of the rugged face of Crowfoot Mountain, the primary peak bordering the lake.

This feat of Civil Engineering is located near the Bow Lake Lodge. It’s one of two bridges which span small creeks draining into Bow Lake. The bridge is part of the trail leading hikers to the base of the Bow Glacier, a distance of 4.4 km.

This scene was taken looking across the lake from its eastern shoreline. In the foreground is the flank of Crowfoot Mountain. Mount Jimmy Simpson is the mountain in the background.

Today’s last photograph features the Crowfoot Glacier, which flows down the mountain side, ultimately melting and draining into Bow Lake.

That wraps up today’s account of our recent trip to Bow Lake. We did travel beyond this location, visiting and photographing two other nearby lakes, Peyto Lake and Herbert Lake. They will be the subjects of a next blog post to follow shortly.