On the drive out, the Morley Flats were enveloped in fog below Scott Lake Hill. The fog was banked up in big billowy mounds at the foot of Mt. Yamnuska. Spectacular!
We hit the trail shortly after 9:00 am. The trail is an old fire road, but is nicer hiking than most fire roads: there is no gravel. It is more like a deluxe 2-lane hiking trail. About 45 minutes along the trail, there are hoodoos on the low side of the trail, where a steep clay bank is eroding down to the river. We saw five mountain goats there, including at least one kid.
After about 3 hours of hiking, and a first lunch stop, we reached the McArthur Creek Warden's Cabin, which has an awesome view of Mt. Goodsir, towering more than 7,000 feet above.
Beyond the cabin, we went a couple of kilometres on single-lane trail to Ottertail Falls. This waterfall is a beautiful 3-tier fall (top tier on photo below), with spectacular undercut whirlpools cut into the sides of the canyon.
We got our obligatory bushwhack when the (different) trail we tried to follow back to the cabin petered out.
After a second lunch on the picnic table in front of the warden's cabin, we hiked back out on the fire road, reaching the car at about 7:00 pm.
Flora:Wood lillies, common butterwort, Indian paintbrush, strawberry flowers, calypso orchids, ladyslippers.
Fauna:A spruce grouse (second photo) sitting motionless right on the trail, with four teeny-tiny chicks hiding under her skirt, and a fifth in the bushes. A family of mountain goats. Lots and lots of bear scat, some of it alarmingly fresh.