Waterton camp - That time we bravely ran away...

This past month we were able to camp in Waterton as per our summer tradition.
I LOVE this time with my family.

I think we have gotten pretty good at setting up great campsites and this year we even brought our bikes along!  (Biking in Waterton is more fun than I ever thought it would be.)

We arrived on Thursday night and on Friday decided to hike to Bertha Lake.  John and I have done this hike a couple of times and have wanted to bring our kids up.   It always surprises me how much more challenging it really is.   Am I getting old?  (Don't answer that;)

It was super fascinating to see the forest as it has recovered from the Kenow Wildfire a couple of years back.  Still so much damage, but there is beauty in the recovery too.  

We reached the lake just after noon.   I was delighted to find my favorite wildflower (spotted Saxifrage) in its usual place among the rocks.  The only place I have ever seen this flower is up along Bertha lake and I LOVE it!  It is tiny and unassuming, but so spectacularly beautiful.

John and the kids fished for a bit.  They were having a bit of luck too, with John, Jess, Sam, and Nate all catching something within a ten minute period!   The fishing came to an abrupt halt however when we looked off to the head of the lake and saw a crazy fog barreling in towards us.

One minute we are looking at this....

...90 seconds later, THIS is what is racing towards us!

The speed in which the clouds came racing in to cover the lake, the rate at which the temperature dropped, and the fact that none of us were prepared with jackets, rain gear or hats, had us shaking in our canvas running shoes!   We packed up as fast as we could and ran around that lake.

We started our descent just as the rain began to pour.

Ever hiked DOWN a mountain in the pouring rain?
We can now say that we have!

It was wet.  A tad slippery.  And thanks to our lack of preparation - definitely chilly!

We got back to the town site around 4 and headed straight for the pool/hot tub/sauna at the local lodge.  While we tried to warm up we stared out the window and watched the rain pour down.  Not a single one of us wanted to return to our campsite.

We've camped in the rain before, but every hoodie we had was wet, our shoes were soaked, and we were still chilled to the bone.  It was time to admit defeat.  When we had determined we were sufficiently warm, we headed back to the campground and packed up, slightly disappointed that we were leaving a whole day early BUT appeased by the promise of a warm fire, a movie and pizza delivery at home.

So...that was our Waterton Camping Adventure of 2019.
Is it me, or are we getting old?

...Don't answer that!