Winter has arrived to the Canadian Rockies, bringing snow and colder temperatures. It was just few weeks ago we were having a great fall hiking season. One of the highlight from this fall was the Paradise Valley hike. With an early start, the temperature was close to freezing, moving fast kept the body nice and warm. The goal was to make it to the Giant Steps before the sun reached bottom of the valley, I wanted to explore the steps and take long exposure images, direct sunlight on the water would have made things little more challenging. With some side exploring, it ended up being a 25k day. To and back from the steps, the views were amazing, the snow capped peaks, juvenile Common Goldeneyes in the lake, the fall colours, pikas getting ready for the winter ..... you get the idea. In the end I got the pictures and another chance at exploring the mountains my favourite way, on my two feet.
Giant Steps
It was good to get back to the back of Paradise Valley to go see and take pictures of the Giant Steps. I was there before the sunlight touched the area, to take long exposures. For next year, the plan is to get there during the early summer snowmelt, the falls would be great with even more water making its way down.
