My last vacation adventure was a hike to Upper Rowe Lake in Waterton. Ryan was working so I packed up my adventure pal Rocky and we headed out to Waterton. I almost didn’t go because the wind was so bad but I figured in the treeline I would be protected.

This hike logged in at 8.18 miles and took 3:23 to complete. This included snack and water breaks, mind you, I was cruising on the way up because Rocky was pulling on the leash and helping me along.

Right into the trail head is a little trail to your left that takes you to the river. Rocky and I made a bathroom stop there and back as there were quite a few people on the trail that day. The red rock was beautiful and the little waterfalls stunning. In the future, I could see myself going and hiking along the river rather than on the trail.

Up, up we went and Rocky pulled me along peeing on a tree every 20 metres or so.

I love how his legs are splayed out in this pic

The climb actually wasn’t very steep and I would suggest this to beginner hikers as it’s a very slight incline.

At one point we came upon an area that had obviously been hit by an avalanche one winter. The trees were all broken leading down the one area. It’s crazy to see that and think about the force of an avalanche.

Broken down trees, but Parks cleared the trail!

There were several creeks with beams set up over them to cross. I tried to get Rocky to walk, but he preferred to plough through the creeks.

At one point in the hike we hit open terrain and the views were stunning! The wind was also howling and made my sweat cold.

About 6.5 miles in you hit a cross where you can head to Lower Rowe Lake or continue to Rowe Meadow and Upper Rowe Lake. The climb is again not very steep to Rowe Meadow and I passed several families with little children on their way to the meadow.

How can I describe Rowe Meadow? The views are STUNNING! I was a little disappointed as there was no bear grass. I’ve seen pictures of folks in the meadow surrounded with bear grass so I need to research the time of year to catch that.

After the meadow, you come to a cross roads where you can head to Upper Rowe Lake in only 1.2 km or do a much longer hike to Lone Lake or even Red Rock!

What I didn’t count on was how STEEP that 1.2 km was! That goodness I had Rocky pulling me up but even then I still had to stop often to catch my breath. I also came across bear scat on the trail and it was only a day or so old. So I started chatting away to Rocky the rest of the walk to make noise, just in case.

We finally reached Upper Rowe Lake and the wind was HOWLING

Rocky went for a swim and I tried to sit by the lake and enjoy my Vega Bar but the wind was so cold and strong that I had to get the heck out of there.

Pretty swimming spot but I can only imagine how cold that water was!

After a few mere minutes Rocky and I headed back down to Rowe meadow.

I sat by the creek in the meadow and finished my snack and Rocky and I headed back down to the car.

Going uphill with a dog that pulls is awesome, but going downhill? Not so much! I kept yelling at him to walk and he would for a few steps and then start trotting along again. It hammered my knees. Any hikers with dogs have this issue and can offer advice?

When we got back to the car I couldn’t believe how shaky I was. I needed a good meal and Rocky needed a major nap. But all in all, it was a great hike and it felt amazing to be back where I belong, in the mountains.

Below are a few more pics: