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| Moraine Larch Valley Sentinel Pass, AB | | -
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| | Moraine Larch Valley Sentinel Pass, AB | | | |
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Moraine Larch Valley Sentinel Pass, AB
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| Hiking | 8.20 Miles |
2,400 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.20 Miles | 5 Hrs 10 Mns | | 2.09 mph |
| 2,400 ft AEG | 1 Hour 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Days 4! We'd had 3 days of gorgeous weather since we got there after weeks of foul weathers the locals had had. We were thankful! We started from the Moraine Lake parking lot, which was getting full as we pulled in. A lot of times during the year, Parks Canada require hikers to travel in groups of minimum of 4 because of bear activities in Larch Valley. $5,000 fine if you get caught not observing this rule. Good thing on this particular day, it was "recommended", but not "mandatory".
The climbing of the switchbacks started right away after we left Moraine Lake into the wooded areas. I had to applaud the trail constructions - most trails were cut great! Very pleasant to be on. It was a lot less popular hike, perhaps it had to do with us not starting too late too. Only a few people on the trail as we were going up. We enjoyed the solitude, which doesn't come easily in these areas in Canada. We counted the Ten Peaks in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, admired the larch trees, and watched ground squirrels and marmots popping all around us while we took a short snack break just above Larch Valley. It must be great colors in the fall in this area when the larch needles turn golden and red before they fall. I could see why grizzly bears would like this valley too 
There was a long snow bank to traverse during the climb up Sentinel Pass, but it wasn't bad. The views on top of the pass were grand, looking back toward Valley of the Ten Peaks and looking forward toward the Paradise Valley. We hung out on the pass for a long while and headed back down before the weather started to roll in. Once we were off the pass, after our lunch, thunder storms and hail came, which thankfully were not long lived. On our way down, we saw more people heading up the trail in the rain. Once we got back to Moraine Lake, we got on the "Rock Pile" among hundreds of other tourists and took some obligatory photos of Moraine Lake, which looked incredible.
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