Hiking the Sunshine Meadows

Last Sunday we were granted two tickets to hike the Sunshine Meadows in one of my favorite ski resorts in Alberta, Sunshine Village. The Meadows are accessible from the parking lot of the base station by bus which takes you up to Sunshine Village (you can also hike up the mountain for 2h). The meadows are located on the backside of Standish Mountain and it is just a 2km hike up the Strawberry lift  and you are reaching the beautiful Rock Isle Lake (left on Panorama). After resting there and marveling at the golden larches, which peaked this time of the year, we took a 5 km loop leading us to the Larix (middle lake) and Grizzly Lake (right side).

The loop is simply stunning, small rivers, waterfalls, wetlands and alpine meadows lead you to the Larix Lake, which itself is super clear and blue waters. On the shores least chipmunks were collecting food and on the meadows grey jays were flying around us. The Grizzly Lake is flat and remote. A steeper trail leads you back to the Rock Isle Lake and from there we climbed the Standish Viewpoint from were I took this panoramic shot (composed of 32 single pics and 19000x5000 pixels). Above the rocky island in the first lake and between the two peaks in the foreground you can see the Peak of Mt. Assiniboine, the Matterhorn of the Canadian Rockies. 
From the viewpoint you can take a loop through alpine meadows back to Sunshine Village, or take the trail you came, as we did. Christine and I had a lot of fun out there and both came to the resume that this is indeed one of the best hikes in the high alpine Rockies. Thanks again Sunshine Village for that awesome day.

I hope the pictures transport the beauty of that place and hiking there around noon it was tough to shoot with the bright sun. I really love my gradient ND Filter for that, as I can reduce the exposure of the bright sky and maintain an even histogram that way. 

Leave comments and critique if you like!