We departed from the Maligne Lake warden station heading toward the summit of Bald Hills, 1500+ feet above us. Alan's tip to place the heel of your boot on a rock, reducing the distance your calf has to stretch going uphill, made the ascent less tiring. Along the way we ate wild strawberries and shared the trail with a grouse, her chicks and parties on horseback. Vegetation thinned out and its' character changed as we passed into the sub-alpine forest, finally disappearing altogether above the tree line.