Don't make me choose a favorite hike in the Cottonwood Canyons—I can't do it. Red Pine Lake was a favorite from several summers ago with Laura and Audrey, the best adventure crew. These photos have me longing for summer sunshine, mountain air, and the smell of sunscreen (I suppose I could have two out of three of those things if I picked up skiing, but... I'll pass. I'm the Lara Jean Covey of the group, who would spend ski trip doing Korean sheet masks instead of the titular activity—doing activities that could clearly result in broken limbs are strictly on my list of personal Don'ts).

Lake Moraine is arguably one of the most spectacularly beautiful places I have ever beheld with my own two eyes. The lake itself is enormous, but backed by forests and mountains, its surroundings almost play an illusion on its true size and scale. Even with photos, it is difficult to get a grasp on its relative size.

My photos of the lake originate from three separate occasions to its shores on two different days, representing two mornings and one midday. We visited Lake Moraine briefly in the early morning towards the beginning of our stay in Banff. This first visit, in particular, was when I had Coleridge playing through my mind and the lake was glassy and still.

The other visits occurred in bookend fashion before and after a morning hike which originated at the lakeshore but took off in the opposite direction. Upon arrival, we walked the shores again before setting off on our hike. Upon our return to the trailhead, the lake had taken on an entirely different aspect, its color all the more saturated and vibrant (I would not have thought it possible!). We scrambled up some rocks and boulders at its far end for a birds-eye vantage point and it is these views of the lake which are forever instilled in my mind's eye.

While planning our trip, I had looked up kayak rentals at several locations in both Jasper and Banff, so we could make an informed decision as to where we chose to go kayaking. In the end, we chose Maligne Lake in Jasper, which boasted the most cost-effective rentals and equally beautiful scenery. On another visit, I would strongly consider having rented our kayaks (or more accurately, canoes, à la the above photo) at Lake Moraine, simply for the excuse to spend more time there.

These colors!!

I've been trying to figure out what causes the difference in lake color (besides mineral content/glacial silt) as the very same body of water looks entirely different just days apart. I suspect that it may be in part due to the cloud cover—in the photo above, you can see the overcast sky and I suspect the lake thus takes on more of the colors reflected in its immediate surroundings—in this case, green forests. In the two photos below, the skies are clear, lending more blue tones to the watery depths. I think the overall vibrancy is a result of the glacial runoff, but the sky seems to account for some extent of the color formula at play here.

On our first visit to Lake Moraine, these frequent glimpses through breaks in the trees never ceased to draw exclamations of awe from us—that and the barely ruffled reflections of the neighboring mountain peaks.

At the far end of the lake, water flowed into the lake from other sources which created small islands of trees and dry ground. From afar, we didn't even realize this was the lake's source, but closeup, individual trees and root formations were much more spread out. It was unlike anything I have ever seen and so much water rushed through at every moment.

Without seeing some of the earlier photos, I would be inclined to doubt the veracity of the two immediately above—they seem fake!?! But if you look closely at the bottom right of the photo directly above, you can catch the slightest glimpse of the lake's surface in motion. Lake Moraine—too beautiful to be real, and yet it is. <3