View from the Prince of Wales

The view that breaks my heart. So beautiful.

Last weekend it was +30C in the mountains, and that automatically calls for a beach day…  at Bertha bay, that is.

To get to the calm, secluded cove, it’s a short (30 min) hike from the townsite. First, find this trailhead: (it’s near Cameron Falls). To ward off bears, dress like a hippie mountain climber. Bears hate that kind of thing.

The hike itself is a little steep and rocky in some parts, but the effort is worth it. See for yourself:

We had the beach to ourselves for the entire day!

By the time we reached Bertha bay, it was sweltering, humid and smoky from multiple Montana forest fires.  We decided to brave the icy waters and take a quick dip. The anticipation leading up to jumping in was terrifying – it’s that cold! Court was angry with me because I kept running up and down the dock instead of jumping in. After convincing myself I wasn’t going to die from hypothermia, I went for it!

Glacier lakes are so cold they burn! If that makes any sense? Court made me jump three times because he didn’t get a good shot the first two times. In return, I made him jump nineteen times. Jerk.

After I was airlifted by Stars air ambulance back to the shore to dry off, we had lunch, dozed and took a few more mini-dips in the late afternoon sun.

This squirrel made me laugh – he seems like an old soul. It sat there for the longest time watching the sun  set behind the mountains.

If you don’t feel like walking back to the townsite, convince your spouse to walk back along the beach. There are plenty of cliffs, but don’t worry, while your spouse is trying not to fall to their death, a boat will come along and pick you up. Court thought he could walk along the shoreline, (now it was my turn to be angry) and while I was standing on the shore like a helpless female, a guy in a speedboat picked me up! Yes!  We decided to be good samaritans and pick Court up.

After nearly being stranded like castaways, we were hungry. Court and I agreed we needed (gourmet) hot dogs from Wieners of Waterton.  I asked for the ‘healthiest’ hot dog on the menu – a locally made lean beef dog on a fresh baked bun, loaded with toppings. I ruined my hot dog with too many toppings: stone ground mustard, red onions, jalapeños, sauerkraut, relish and a giant pickle. They even have potato chip toppings!
The best part of WOW are the sweet potato fries, seasoned with coarse sea salt and served fresh out of the fryer. Plus your choice of dipping sauce. (Rosemary parmesan is my favourite)

We felt a little guilty for not eating any veggies (first world problems) so we headed over to Trappers and ordered ONE side salad and two beers.  I think they were furious with us. I blamed it on Court and told the server he’s on a strict diet.