Swiss Family Robinson
29 Jul
Hannah demonstrates her "jazz hands" on the trail to Lake Agnes
I get very annoyed with magazine editors who run teasers like, “The Top 10 secret hiking spots, or secret small towns, or secret erogenous zones, or some such nonsense.”
I mean, c’mon, do we have to advertise the best places to the whole world? Why can’t some things remain undiscovered?
So, it’s with some regret that I will announce my new favorite hiking trail. Though it’s really no secret. Lots of people visit it already. Just don’t tell anyone else, will you?
Last Friday we hiked to the teahouse at Lake Agnes, a beautiful glacial lake in the Canadian Rockies. The teahouse has no running water or electricity and all of its goods are brought in by foot, or horseback. It even has its own facebook page (so it’s not too secret). To get there, you hike about 3.4 kilometers from Lake Louise in Banff National Park. That’s the only clue I’m giving. You’ll just have to be adventurous and find it on your own from there.
Lake Agnes teahouse
Anyway, my sister Laura planned the hike and though Doug and I dragged behind a little bit, she and Hannah patiently waited for us to make it to the teahouse.
When we arrived, I was stunned by the selection. They don’t serve just any old tea. We chose Adams Peak Rare White Tea because Laura insisted that having Earl Gray would be a little like going to a specialty ice cream shop and ordering Vanilla. Point taken.
The Teahouse menu
Our waiter sold us on the tea when he explained that it is one of the few teas to be harvested above 8,000 feet on “a mountain sacred to almost all of the world’s religions” with a peak called “the footprint of Buddha.” Well … this tea must be tried. It was delicate and flavorful, just like my lemon poppyseed cake, and it gave me some extra oomph in my step as we climbed the next 2 kilometers to the peak of the Beehive for a spectacular view of the Canadian Rockies.
At the Beehive summit
On the drive back, we passed by Canmore, where Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt used to share a home. It was at this moment in the drive that Hannah turned and repeated a question to me that she overheard two other women puzzling over. It was a question so complex and concerning that I’m not sure it will ever be answered to anyone’s satisfaction.
She looked over at me in the car and said, “Why do you think Jennifer Aniston can’t keep a boyfriend?”
And so it is that I leave you with that little brain puzzler of a question, to be discussed over a pot of sacred tea in the heights of the Rocky Mountains. Truly, the answer may be the world’s final hidden secret.
Thanks for the secret! For years, I’ve heard stories about the glories of Banff, but haven’t been there. Now, I need to make plans. And now I have the tea house to visit! Once, we did get as far as Waterton, though! That was fantastic.
Below is a link to my secret to the world, which isn’t a secret, either. We went there in 1981, and I just checked to see whether it was still open, because I heard it might be closed. We hiked there in 1981 and had a fabulous time, even though I nearly froze to death at night. You sleep in bunk beds with strangers in the room, if you wait too long to get a reservation! Granite Park Chalet in Glacier National Park. http://www.graniteparkchalet.com
Thanks for the secret! I’ve hiked to the Chalet a few times and it’s fabulous, but I’ve never stayed there so thanks for the review. I’ll have to try it sometime.
Janelle
Okay, I’d make the hike if I had a cuppa and some cake waiting. Love the teapot with the sunflowers too. Maybe Jennifer needs to hike up there and have her tea leaves read to answer this burning question.
Good point! Maybe she should! Janelle
What about the Biene Schtuckt? I am still here, dreaming of the teahouse with the one great German delicacy on my mind.
Love,
MJ
Well … I’ve been missing you at writer’s group meetings, but let’s try for a salute to Oktoberfest with some Biene Schtuckt.
I just came back from a road trip to some of the places you mentioned here: Banff and Lake Louise. We were planning to hike up to the Tea House at Lake Louise but decided to drive straight to the Icefield. I wish I could have more time so we could hike and explore in more details… and savor the exotic varieties of teas. But we took to the road instead and savored the views from ‘the most beautiful highway in the world.’ Just posted about this. Also, thanks for the tidbit about Canmore… I never knew the celebrity connection there!
Wow, it looks beautiful there. I’ve always thought about going to Lake Agnes and now this has persuaded me!
Great pics.