Lake Maligne

Maligne in French means wicked. However, the view is certainly not wicked. It is a magnificent lake with glacier capped mountains surrounding it. It also has small islands. One of the islands is Spirit Island. You probably seen some of the photographs in Quebec and Ontario. Spirit Island is near the end of Maligne Lake. People who have visited Spirit Island call it the meeting place of the Gods.

Lake Maligne is pronounced as Mal-LEEN. This lake has a guided cruise from one end to the other end. The tour guide explains the history, culture, and geology of the lake. When the boat reaches Spirit Island, the tour guide gives everybody on the boat ten minutes to take pictures. You can either hike up and get a broader view of the end of the lake or you can make a left turn when you get off the boat. The narrow trail gives you a lower perspective of the nearby islands.

The tour guide shows his or her audience the old forest fire on the right hand side of the lake. He said that the mountain ecosystem on the right side is healthier than the mountain on the left because the sunlight can penetrate the forest floor. Since the mountain on the left hand side has not had a fire for 200 years, the trees are so dense that the sunlight cannot reach the forest floor. Therefore, many trees on that side of the lake are dying. Animals have to get to a higher altitude in order to survive.

Some of the animal sightings include grizzly bears and black bears. The difference of these two bears are simple. Grizzly Bears have a huge hump on their backs. That hump is pure muscle because they have to be able to swim from one side of the lake to the other side. Grizzly Bears also have claws while the Black Bear does not.