Day 1: Bow Lake - Bow Hut
Meet us at our office in Canmore at 8:00am for introductions, trip review and equipment issue / check. After packing up, it's an hour and a half drive north to Bow Lake where we commence the hike to Bow Hut.

We start on the "tourist trail" which follows the Bow Lake shoreline to the head of this turquoise coloured lake then up the river flats beyond. The "tourist trail" experience finishes partway up a steep trail next to a small but spectacular gorge the river has cut into the limestone. Here the gorge is bridged by a gargantuan boulder which we use to gain the other side where the mountaineer's trail starts.

This trail leads us past old moraines then up through the forest until we pass the treeline where it opens out into a massive alpine cirque surrounded by peaks and glaciers. We hike on a rough trail through the rocky flats until a final ascent brings us to the Bow Hut which is located at 2350m on a shoulder adjacent to the snout of the Bow Glacier.

The Hut has magnificent views of the surrounding peaks and glaciers as well as back down the canyon to the main valley. On a clear night, the sky is filled with stars.

This will take us between 3 and 5 hours. Distance 6km, elevation gain 550m.

Day 2: Bow Hut - Peyto Hut
We get up early to make the most of what will be a spectacular day as we cross the Icefields to Peyto Hut.

The Bow Glacier is the source of the Bow River which flows down valley through Lake Louise, Banff, Canmore and finally out onto the plains past Calgary to eventually join the south Saskatchewan River.

Today we climb its gentle slopes below the impressive crag of Mt. St. Nick  to top out on the flat expanse of the Wapta Icefield. After a side trip to flat-topped Polaris Peak from where we can enjoy an expansive panorama with peaks in every direction, we continue west to where the Peyto Glacier drops gradually away. Peyto Hut being is on a bench inside the sweeping turn the Glacier takes as it drops now to the north. This is a fantastic spot, in every direction are glaciated peaks and colors in shades of rock and ice.

Hiking on the glacier we will be wearing a harness and be roped together for maximum safety. The glacier, like those everywhere, has many crevasses and whilst most are easily seen and avoided, we take maximum precautions. Your guide is certified, trained and very experienced on glacier terrain. We will also wear crampons (spikes that fit onto the soles of our boots) to give us firm traction on the ice. The glacial surface is not very steep. Walking with the crampons on is very easy. This will take between 4 and 6 hours. Distance 6km. Elevation gain 550m, loss 460m. Additional hiking may be available depending upon conditions.

Day 3: Peyto Hut - Peyto Lake
It's mostly down hill today as we drop back down to the Glacier from the Hut and follow it almost to its snout. Hiking on mostly white ice we pass mill holes down which glacier streams drop noisily into the bowels of the ice. We will see how glaciers preserve elements of the past, the exposed ice being hundreds of years old and bringing not only rocks to the surface but also spruce needles and twigs from long ago fires and the occasional bird or rodent long ago caught on the ice by early winter snows. It is usually hard to visualize the effects of global warming, not so on the Peyto Glacier which is in full retreat. Your guide will show you where the glacier only recently was! You will leave the glacier with a deep respect and appreciation for the frozen alpine environment.

We leave the Glacier just before the snout and descent a short distance on old moraines to a rather ramshackle research station from which research on glacial retreat is carried out. From here we traverse to the top of the lateral moraine which descends into the lower valley. If we have the energy we can take a side trip to Cauldron Lake which occupies an adjacent hanging basin. With it's still black waters surrounded by tundra, rock and ice it is at the same time serene and wild!

Back to the main trail we now start down the moraine wall track which leads us down into the lower valley to the raging torrent issuing from the Peyto Glacier now far above (in 2010 the bridge was washed out so we may have to cross the river in our boots). We follow river flats and a bit of forest until we reach the gravel flats above Peyto Lake. One of the signature lakes of the Canadian Rockies with its beautiful turquoise waters, Peyto Lake marks the end of our traverse. From its shores we hike up through mature forest to where we suddenly emerge once more on a "tourist trail" it being the paved path taken by thousands of tourists as they hike to look over Peyto Lake. They will undoubtedly be envious of what you just experienced.

From here we return to Banff and Canmore to head off on our own trails.