First snowy hike of the season

It was meant to be the first snowshoe of the season, but there wasn't enough snow and what was there was pretty packed down. Because we meant to snowshoe we picked a pretty short trail to get the kids used to their new, larger snowshoes. Johnson Lake was beautiful, as pretty much everything in Banff is, with picture perfect photo ops right off the parking lot - things we keep in mind in case people are able to travel in the next 2 years and either or both of our mothers visit.

The trail is flat, just circling the lake. The ice was tempting to the kids, although it was clearly not strong enough and the entire center was still liquid. There were minor snowbanking moments, really just getting used to the way we hike in the winter. Some complaining of course, but even that felt perfunctory and not really heartfelt. It was a perfect day, blue skied and crisp - a perfect antidote to the gray relentless snowing of the last week.

The exciting wildlife sighting today was a fox!

After the loop, we popped over to Two Jack Lake where the kids hung out in the car, eating their lunch and trying not to bug each other too much, while Terry and I wandered a bit along its shores.