- Boat trip on Upper Waterton Lake to the starting point of the hike in Waterton Lakes National Park
- 5 hour hike up to Crypt Lake
- Visit the Princess of Wales Hotel
At 7.30 a.m. is day watch. We have breakfast and pack our backpacks for the upcoming hike to Crypt Lake. The weather is unfortunately not around 30 degrees as forecast, but rather cloudy and there is a kind of calm-before-the-storm mood. The boat starts at 9 a.m. and brings us and many other hikers to the starting point of the demanding trail. As soon as the boat docks, we start right away to escape the majority of the crowd. The path winds steeply up the mountain flank. Unfortunately the weather is getting worse and worse, yes it is starting to rain again. Again bear pukes and scratch marks can be seen, but this time nobody can be seen. Gradually the weather is getting better and the cloud cover is clearing. The final climb in particular is tough. First the terrain drops steeply right next to the path, then the path increasingly degenerates into a via ferrata with ladders and fixed ropes. Suddenly there is a narrow tunnel and then the path leads through deep snow. Finally, after a good 2.5 hours, we arrive at the lake, which is still mostly frozen. After all the exertion, it is definitely time to strengthen yourself. Little by little, many other hikers arrive. It surprises us that even families with small children have mastered this dangerous path.
After a little over an hour, we start the 2-hour descent. Meanwhile the sun is beating down from the sky, at least we are glad that we weren't confronted with such temperatures during the ascent. Down at the landing stage we bathe our feet in the icy lake and take a dip. Back in Waterton, we shower on the campground the night before. We visit the historic Prince of Wales Hotel in a magnificent location. Then we drive to the Crandell campsite. Here we are assigned a nice spot by the river. We cook and enjoy the warm summer evening by the fire.
