Little Beehive, Big Beehive And Devils Thumb

BOU AVENUE
Little Beehive, Big Beehive And Devils Thumb

On 16 October 2022, Zosia Zgolak and I ascended Little Beehive, Big Beehive, and Devils Thumb in the Lake Louise area of Alberta's Banff National Park. We normally avoid hiking at Lake Louise in summer and fall because of overcrowding and parking difficulties, but after staying the previous night at the local hostel, we wanted to take advantage of the short drive and the first weekend of free parking in the off-season. The unusually pleasant weather was also a big determining factor for braving the still-crowded trails in the area. As such, this felt more like a visit to an amusement park than a true wilderness adventure.

From Chateau Lake Louise, Zosia and I followed the pavement along the shoreline briefly before branching off on the signed trail to Lake Agnes. Not surprisingly, the trail was very busy, but almost everyone we encountered was courteous and pleasant. At Mirror Lake, we took a right turn, and shortly after, we took another right turn onto a shortcut trail which leads to an intersection with the trail between Lake Agnes and Little Beehive. Turning right again, we hiked past the turnoff to Mount St. Piran and subsequently reached the top of unofficially-named Little Beehive. We briefly poked around the concrete foundations of a former fire lookout building here before hiking back along the same trail and proceeding to Lake Agnes.

	This is the classic view of Lake Louise with Mount Lefroy and Mount Victoria at the back of the valley.
	Morning sunlight illuminates Big Beehive (left) and Little Beehive (far right) as Zosia starts up the trail to Lake Agnes.
	Big Beehive towers over Mirror Lake.
	Here is another perspective of Big Beehive from further up the trail to Lake Agnes. Devils Thumb is also visible to the right.

And Lefroy is the fairest of them all!

The precipitous east face of Big Beehive is more evident from this angle. Devils Thumb also looks prominent at upper right while Haddo Peak, Mount Aberdeen, and Mount Lefroy fill out the background.

	A prescribed burn near Chateau Lake Louise creates a lot of smoke over the area.
	Sonny arrives at a former fire lookout site near the high point of Little Beehive (2235 metres). Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

The teahouse was already closed for the season when Zosia and I arrived at the east end of Lake Agnes. From there, we hiked along the north shore and circled around the west end of the lake before climbing up a series of switchbacks to the saddle separating Devils Thumb and Big Beehive (officially named The Beehive on topographical maps). Turning left at the saddle, we walked over a bit of undulating terrain to reach an interpretive gazebo near the east end of Big Beehive. Because it was a bit crowded there, we backtracked to the high point of Big Beehive before stopping for a short break.

	The waters of Lake Agnes are amazingly still. Devils Thumb is at left while Mount Whyte is at right.
	Zosia hikes along the north shore of Lake Agnes. The trail leading to the saddle (far left) between Big Beehive and Devils Thumb can be seen on the far side of the lake.
	Zosia hikes up the trail on the west side of Lake Agnes.
	Here is a look back eastward across Lake Agnes.
	Zosia ascends the trail underneath Devils Thumb (centre).
	An interpretive gazebo (2264 metres) is situated near the east end of Big Beehive.

When we resumed hiking, Zosia and I returned to the saddle and continued straight on a narrower unofficial trail. Not far from the saddle, we had to scramble up a short and mildly exposed step before traversing westward on an airy ledge under the south-facing cliffs of Devils Thumb. Past the cliffs, the trail turns right (north) up a broad but steep gully. Some sections of trail here are very loose and heavily eroded, and although there really is not any exposure, some care and attention are required to minimize slips and rockfall. Upon reaching a col at the top of the gully, we turned eastward and made short work of the remaining easy scramble up limestone blocks to the top of Devils Thumb.

After stopping for an extended break, Zosia and I carefully descended to the col and down the steep gully before traversing once again under the cliffs of Devils Thumb. We had no trouble descending the mildly exposed step, and upon returning to the official trails at the saddle, we turned right (south) to take a connector down to the Lake Louise Highline Trail. At the intersection with the Highline Trail, we turned left and hiked back to Mirror Lake to complete a loop. For the return to Chateau Lake Louise, we took an alternate descent along a horse trail likely used for hauling provisions to the teahouse. The horse trail is slightly shorter than the usual approach, and although there was a fair bit of horse dung to tiptoe around, the solitude here was rather refreshing after rubbing elbows with so many other hikers all day. The trail actually led us through a prescribed burn that was taking place just behind the hotel, but the workers there did not seem to care about us traipsing through the area. What business was it of theirs if we wished to self-immolate? Ironically, hiking through horse dung and burning forest was kind of an ugly end to an otherwise beautiful day spent in one of the world's premiere outdoor settings.

	Some hikers can be seen at the very top of Devils Thumb (upper right) in this view from the true high point of Big Beehive (2280 metres).
	Zosia waits for another group of hikers to descend a short but mildly exposed step along the trail to Devils Thumb.

Zosia actually coaxed a Utah couple here to keep going after one of them considered turning around!

Mount Lefroy and Mount Victoria provide a stunning backdrop for an airy traverse below the south-facing cliffs of Devils Thumb.

	Zosia climbs up a broad and steep gully leading to a high col.
	From the high col, Zosia pushes up the final easy section before the top of Devils Thumb.

Try not to drop your car keys here!

Some of the cracks amidst the limestone rocks near the top are quite deep.

	Sonny and Zosia had a helluva fun time climbing up Devils Thumb (2464 metres).
	Mount Whyte and Mount Niblock dominate the view to the west.
	Directly north is Mount St. Piran.

Best view of the day.

The top of Devils Thumb grants a commanding view of Little Beehive (left), Big Beehive (centre) and Lake Louise as well as lots of familiar peaks across the eastern horizon.

	In this aerial view from the Highline Trail, several people can be seen strolling along the western shores of Lake Louise. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Here is another view of Lake Louise from the Highline Trail. Visible across the distant horizon are Redoubt Mountain, Unity Peak, and Lipalian Mountain.
	Zosia takes a horse trail back to Chateau Lake Louise.
	Total Distance: 14.7 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 7 hours 9 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 1017 metres GPX Data