Jord's Hiking Blog: Saint Piran / Devil's Thumb

Dist: 17km Elev: 1300m Summit: 8691' Time: 5.5h Difficulty: 4/5

Blue skies and a very supportive wife had me out the door bright and early for a solo day in the Lake Louise region, known for world-class beauty but a place I had never visited due to the infamous mobs and hours-long shuttle queues. One silver lining of a global pandemic: less international tourism to contend with for introverted local weekend-warriors like me.

I arrived at the rapidly-filling Lake Louise parking lot around 8:30am, easily finding a spot. I then set a brisk pace towards the Lake Agnes tea house, stopping for a few pictures along the way at Mirror Lake. Arriving sooner than expected I realized there would be more time to explore than initially thought. A quick look at my GPS and some crude mental math later, I excitedly devised a new itinerary: a circuit including both summits I had been waffling between for the day's objective.

As expected, crowds were inversely proportionate to distance/elevation from the parking lot and by the time I started the ascent for Mt. Saint Piran I was completely alone until meeting a couple relaxing at the top. Summit views were spectacular in all directions, particularly towards the monstrous peaks to the southwest. After snapping a few too many photos I finally forced myself to put down the camera and soak in the truly awe-inspiring scenery.

From the St. Piran summit, in the spirit of adventure and time efficiency, I opted to try descending on a less popular route along the southwest side of the mountain that (supposedly) connected with the trail for Devil's Thumb, my original and next objective. This trail was somewhat vague and often quite steep and loose, but took me exactly where I wanted to go. From the far side of Lake Agnes a series of steep switchbacks then brought me to the Big Beehive/ Devil's Thumb junction. Thoughts about sore muscles were quickly put in perspective by numerous parents trekking up the same path with children on their backs.

From the junction, the route to Devil's thumb was a bit more technical than the one to St. Piran and required occasional hands-on scrambling to traverse a few minor rocky ledges. Nothing dangerous but apparently enough to deter many casual hikers - the route became fairly quiet once again until reaching the summit. Views from this top were stunning, particularly of the spire-like Mt Whyte towering to the west and the unique two-lakes panorama of Agnes and Louise to the east. There were slightly more people on this summit, but still no more than a dozen total during my stay. Again, I took time to mindfully indulge my senses before beginning the return descent.

Reaching the Big Beehive/Devil's Thumb junction, I decided the reward-to-effort ratio of a quick visit to the popular Big Beehive lookout was simply too high to turn down. So off I went to the third "summit" of the day. All in this detour took only about 15 extra minutes and was absolutely worth it for the classic view of Lake Louise.

Grateful for the rewarding and unexpectedly extensive tour of the area, I began my return journey towards the car using section of the Highline trail to complete the loop. I passed hundreds of other hikers of all varieties, each seemingly enjoying the opportunity to immerse themselves in the beauty of this incredible place. I now understand the global appeal. I covered a lot of ground but hope to return another day for further exploration!