High Tea

For our last day in Banff, we had tea at one of the most unique locations, the Lake Agnes Tea House. This tea house is unique because it is along Lake Agnes, which is accessible via a 2.2 mile (3.5 kilometer) hike up from Lake Louise. The tea house was built as a refuge for hikers in 1901 and has been serving tea since 1905! They serve a variety of loose leaf teas as well as sandwiches, soup, and some baked goods. All of the food is brought up by the employees who have to hike up the trail every morning. The water comes from Lake Agnes, a glacier fed lake.

The hike was not technical, but it was strenuous since it is entirely uphill. We started at Lake Louise at 5680 feet (1730 m) elevation. The tea house is at 7005 feet (2135 m) elevation. The initial section along Lake Louise was flat, so when the climb started, it was hard work. It was a bit humbling being passed by a pregnant lady as well as several moms and dads with small children in carriers. There was another couple that we kept leap frogging on the way up. They were slightly faster than us, but needed more breaks. We were good to pace each other.

Along the way we saw nice views of Lake Louise from above as well as some waterfalls. About a half mile (800 m) from the tea house was Mirror Lake, which was a nice place for a break. We saw several people dipping their toes into the lake, which looked nice. At Mirror Lake, there was a great view of a hill called the Beehive.

The last section from Mirror Lake to Agnes Lake was short but steep and a bit more technical due to rocks. There was still a bit of ice on Agnes Lake, along with a pretty waterfall. We heard that there was ice on other trails beyond Agnes Lake.

It took about 20 minutes to get a table at the tea house. We read the wait can be upwards of an hour at times. There were two lines, one for take away and one for sitting down. We figured that we worked hard enough that we deserved a table. We shared a pot of tea and each had a tuna sandwich and a dessert. We traded tables when another couple left, so we got a window seat with a view and nicer chairs. As we left, we offered the nice table to another group.

The way down was more crowded than the way up. A lot of people got a later start, including several large groups. Towards the end, we were seeing people who were ill-prepared for the hike - people who didn’t pack water, who were not dressed correctly, or who just couldn’t handle the elevation. We took about 3.5 hours round trip hiking time, which was about the estimated time per AllTrails.

Once we got back, we decided to stop back at Morant's Curve to see if we could get a picture with a train this time. We were not under a time constraint, so we decided to wait until the train came. We just missed a train, which was good for parking but not for timing the train.

In Denali, the ranger told us that the Native Americans believed that you should not use the name of the animal when making noise because it might conjure that animal. So say "Hey there" instead of "Hey bear". Greg tried to test this by saying “Hey train!” Apparently this doesn’t work for inanimate objects. We waited about 35 minutes for the next train to come. Well, Greg waited 35 minutes; Amy gave up after 20 and relaxed inside the RV. Once Greg got the shot, we had to wait because we were blocked in by a tour group.

Between Morant’s Curve and our campground, we saw a couple groups of cars parked on the side of the road - always a good sign of wildlife. There were two groups of Elk, but they were not in a good spot for photos. And no bears today.