Chester Lake

Elevation: 2210 m
Elevation Gain: 350 m
Chester Lake is popular destination year-round. The lake takes its name from Mount Chester, which towers immediately above it. Like many of the surrounding peaks, Mount Chester was named for a WWI battle cruiser involved in the battle of Jutland.
My Ascents:
October 3 2021, January 2 2016
Trailhead: Chester Lake Trailhead
GPS Track: Chester Lake

On Sunday October 3, I awoke to the sound of Brianne’s alarm at 5:45 am. Sleeping-in is a mythical creature akin to unicorns and bigfoot in our house. It is talked about (albeit less frequently than unicorns 🦄) but never comes to manifest. On this day, our resident RN’s early start was related to yet another shift at the hospital. As Alberta’s healthcare system has crumbled under the weight of COVID’s, sadly predictable, 4th wave, Brianne (like other RNs) has found herself very busy. By comparison to these very real problems, my beauty sleep was insignificant collateral damage. As I rolled out of bed in search of caffeine, it occurred to me that I never object to waking up early for an alpine start. I, therefore, decided to turn this particular morning into one. The forecast suggested that we were about to be gifted with a fine fall Sunday so why waste it in the city? Afterall, October’s shortened days and colder temperatures typically mean that hiking season’s end is at hand. Carpe diem (even if it is short, cold and starts too early)!

With about an hour before the kids usually wake, I busied myself making lunches, collecting warm hiking gear and packing bags for an impromptu Daddy-Daughter (x 2) hike. Setting off in her scrubs, Brianne wished me luck (anyone with young kids knows why) and warned me against getting carried away. Uncharacteristically, I heeded her advice and decided that a return trip to popular Chester Lake was overdue. When the girls woke, I told them that we were going hiking (in the obnoxious, overly excited way that parents tell young kids what they’re about to do). In a few years, my girls will probably be too cool to hike with me but, for now (thank God), they still get excited for a day in the hills with Dad. 😊

After a Timbit-assisted 2-hour-drive, we reached Chester Lake’s expansive (and already very full) parking lot. It seems that I was not the only one hoping to sneak in another hike under (somewhat) sunny autumn skies!

LEFT: Mera and Penny compare grizzly and black bear pelts and claws at an interactive kiosk set up by Kananaskis. This pleasant experience set our day irrevocably down a bear-obsessed course. Indeed, both girls insisted that I teach them EVERYTHING I know about bears from that point forward and we discussed little else en route to the lake! 🐻
RIGHT: For the first time, both girls carried their own packs. In this regard, Mera’s (loaded with extra jackets, mitts and hats) proved more useful than Penny’s (which was borrowed from her 2020 Halloween costume 👩‍🚀 😂).

LEFT: Many people find the first, forested kilometers of the hike to Chester Lake dull but they’re clearly not taking advantage of the trail’s many “balance beams”…
RIGHT: After a slow-but-steady hour and a half of “bear talk” in the woods, we finally reached the scenic alpine environs at the foot of Mount Chester (prime grizzly habitat when there’s not 500 people hiking on a sunny Sunday).

Wonderful alpine views are the reason that Chester Lake is so popular. There aren’t many other hikes where so little effort is required to reach such wonderful scenery! Click to see larger.

LEFT and RIGHT: Larch season is the best season for hiking so I was thrilled to find that the deciduous conifers near Chester Lake were still sporting their golden fall needles! Come October, one solid gust of wind is usually all that it takes to completely denude them…

5-year-old Mera leads 4-year-old Penny through the alpine towards Chester Lake (which sits unseen in the basin behind the trees at right). By this stage of the hike, both girls were wearing their backpacks over their stomachs but I dared not question it because they were still moving at least! 🤷‍♂️

LEFT: No matter how keen they are to hike or discuss bears, there’s always time to stop and pet a soft, little larch tree.
RIGHT: Penny excitedly crosses Chester Lake’s outlet stream on a log bridge. Apart from larches and bear-talk, bridges were another highlight of the day for my girls.

What all the fuss is about. Chester Lake may be a bit crowded but it really is pretty (especially during larch season 😍)! Click to see larger.

LEFT: Contrasting conifers frame an outlier of Mount Galatea. Galatea is the highest peak in the Kananaskis Range and its actual summit is the snow-covered point at right.
RIGHT: Looking through lakeside larches towards nearby Gusty Peak.

A host of K-Country classic scrambles rise up beyond Chester Lake’s teal surface. Click to see larger.

LEFT: Mera enjoys a sunny seat for her lakeshore lunch.
RIGHT: The Fortress appears up-valley through a window in the woods.

Mount Chester towers above its larch-laden lakeshores.

A golden window up towards the interesting strata that make Mount Chester a really, really, ridiculously fun scramble.

LEFT: Two of my loves: Miss Mera and a golden larch tree.
RIGHT: What madness is this? After talking about bears so much on ascent, the girls lost their minds when I pointed out the ample grizzly diggings near the lake. 🤯

Speaking of madness… I guess family hiking photos are more fun on Daddy-Daughter days! 🤪

With lunches consumed and larches photographed (and petted), we began our descent inspired by the prospect of delicious Sunday dinner at Grandma’s!

Colorful meadows and mossy watering holes highlighted our view towards the British Military Group as we hiked back towards the larch-less forests lower down.

LEFT: My 2 little girls pose for a parting photo as we leave the alpine behind (until next time anyways). 😍
RIGHT: While our descent proved surprisingly speedy, we were delayed for some time by a large rock filled with fossil corrals. I guess the apple(s) don’t fall far from the tree… 😏

After I managed to pull Mera away from the fossil rock, we continued to make great time by playing “red light – green light” on descent (I just yelled “green light” over and over again and the kids ran lol 😂). A short time later, we found ourselves enjoying leftover Timbits at the car and, 2-hours after that, found ourselves enjoying a delicious Sunday dinner at Grandma’s.

Sleep is nice but days packed full of mountain memories are always better!