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- Dzień 7
- poniedziałek, 1 sierpnia 2022 22:00
- 🌙 20 °C
- Wysokość: 33 m
KanadaVictory Square49°16’58” N 123°6’52” W
First day, First mountain

First full day off our new life, and it started with a mountain to climb - just a small one - Grouse Mountain. Most people take a cable car up, however there is a track called the Grouse Grind - 2.5km long, 800m elevation gain, 2830 stairs. So just a wee warm up for the months ahead of us. Took us 1 hr 8 mins to get up, and we will try and do this again when we are back in Vancouver to gage our fitness gain. At the top there was so much to see and do, apart from the view which was a bit hazy, there was a lumberjack show, a bird raptor show, a bear talk and awesome wood carvings. And the great thing was it was all free, even a free shuttle from downtown to get there. So an excellent day. Off to pick up camper tomorrow - wonder how it will be after 3 years storage🤔 Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 10
- czwartek, 4 sierpnia 2022 20:45
- ⛅ 14 °C
- Wysokość: 735 m
KanadaMineral Hill50°21’2” N 120°24’28” W
Preparing for the Road

Evening of Thursday 4th Aug. Not much happening the past few days, left Vancouver Tuesday morning to head to Langley to pick up the camper, about an hour on the train, and then another hour or so on bus then a 5 min walk for Doug while I waited on the side of the road with the bags. A short drive to Abbotsford to sort out changing of the registration which took a hr or 2. Wednesday was spent getting tyres, sim card for some WiFi, and seeing what we needed to get a bike rack on. A quote of $1700 for a tow hitch and bike rack sent Doug looking for other options. Firstly to Fraser RV, to see if they had other suggestion, but got sidetracked looking at new vans and trailers - certaintly nice but decided our oldie van would do us. They did suggest we try "Capt'n Crunch" who had a lot RVs getting crush and may have a tow hitch that would be suitable. We did find one still attached to a van so with only 10 minutes before closing made arrangements to come back the next morning. So another night spent in Abbotsford, this time ignored the NO overnight parking signs at Walmart because the trailer layby area behind it where we stayed the previous was pretty dodgy as a homeless camp and noisy right nxt to the highway. Had to purchase spanner, drills etc but DIY Doug got the tow hitch off, payed $100 and we were on our way heading north towards Kamloops. Stopped at Bridal Veil Falls on the way for a small walk and viewing before carrying on highway 1. Certainly exciting to be driving through mountains finally. Stopped at Stump lake about 30 minutes south of Kamloops for the nights. Battery was now charged for the drill so Doug fitted the tow hitch - I'm hoping he got those bolts done up tight 🤔, and I cooked dinner. A pleasant dip in the lake afterwards was a great way to finish the day. Tomorrow onwards to Kamloops to buy some bikes. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 11
- piątek, 5 sierpnia 2022 22:48
- 🌙 13 °C
- Wysokość: 489 m
KanadaStruthers Lakes51°0’40” N 120°13’6” W
Kamloops and Bikes

woke up, must admit late around 8.45 (oh the joys of no work and no alarm clock) with a sound outside. Doug out up and peered out to discover somehow someone had managed to backed down the small gap by the side of the van to the lake and unloaded his boat and was getting ready for some fishing. Doug went to say hi and apologise for blocking the boat ramp. Ended up having a long chat to the retired guy and found out the history of the lake - farmers made it a 100 or so yrs ago. Anyway after breakfast and a nice long swim headed into Kamloops. Came across a wonderful 2nd hand shop (thought of you sis) and spent longer than we planned in there and found more than what we needed to buy. It was then back to bike shopping. Ended up finding a 2nd hand sports shop - they had no suitable used bikes but did have reasonable new ones. So we got matching bikes, and a great 2nd hand bike rack for a cash deal of $1100 which we reckon was a good deal. The fulla's were really friendly and esp. Joel gave us a lot of places to visit etc. So then refuelling, re- gasing and more groceries headed north out of the city. It was getting late so about 8.30pm found a side road and a nice pullover spot to park up for the night, probably about 30 mins out of Kamloops. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 12
- sobota, 6 sierpnia 2022 21:56
- 🌙 15 °C
- Wysokość: 822 m
KanadaDawson Falls51°58’17” N 120°7’0” W
Wells Gray Provincial Park

yay our first park, now the trip is starting. Left our overnight stop on Orchard Lake rd - actually had quite a good view, and drove to Clearwater. After a little wander around the small farmers market, and a look at Dutch lake there was a panic about not finding the pipe for emptying the vans waste, thankfully a drive back to Kamloops was avoid by finding it in a different compartment an hour later . After a stop at the parks info centre and use of their free wifi, it was a 42 km drive into the park to nab us a site at the Pyramid campground. After a quick lunch (yum bread brought at farmers market), it was shoes on ready to explore. 16.5 km and 3.45 hrs later we returned to the camp after ticking off Dawson Falls, The Mushbowl and the south rim trail for viewing of Helmcken Falls. At 141 meter drop, Heimcken falls is the 4th largest in Canada, and it was certaintly an impressive site and very scary as this wasn't the main viewing side so there are no guard rails only a sheer drop to the river below, the stomach was definitely churning standing close to the edge. Also discovered why everyone complains about the mossies, they are bad😣 Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 13
- niedziela, 7 sierpnia 2022 21:05
- 🌙 20 °C
- Wysokość: 822 m
KanadaDawson Falls51°58’17” N 120°7’0” W
Wells Gray Day 2

I'm exhausted. There was about 25 km to the end of the park road from our campground, so we decided to bike it, exploring the places of interested on the way. We left around 9.30am and returned at 6.30pm. Covering about 50 km up and down unsealed road on the bike and about 20km on foot, all in 30+ heat. Stop at Ray's Farm (pioneer farm site) and continued on the trail to Mineral Spring and around Alice lake. Bailey's Chute, the final obstacle which they can't overcome in the Salmon's 600km migration back up river, so they float back to horseshoe bend (which we then stopped and looked at on the way back), spawn and die - we didn't see any. Then nearly at the end went up to Osprey Lookout, which wasn't much, but had lunch then made the mistake of carrying on to try and get to Easter Bluff (unusually shaped basalt columns) but after an hours walking decided to turn back, knowing we still had a long bike home. They are not very good on information such as time or distant on their signage, apart from the very popular walks. A short bike ride took us to Clearwater Lake, the end of the road. Water looked inviting so of came the shoes but a check of the temperature was enough not to bother getting the togs on - very cold. Then it was the long hot bike back. Doug's seat came loose making it more ardous for him, but we made it. And after nachos for dinner, its time for an earlyist (9pm) night. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 14
- poniedziałek, 8 sierpnia 2022 21:53
- 🌙 21 °C
- Wysokość: 455 m
KanadaBirch Island51°36’33” N 119°54’45” W
Day 3 in Wells Gray

Another busy day for our final day in Wells Gray Park. Started with a 6km bike to the North side of Helmcken Falls for a slightly different view. Then back to van, which was in Pyramid Mtn carpark next to campground, so I couldn't leave the park without climbing at least one mountain, so up we went. Actually it was a relatively easy one, starting with just over 2km flat through the bush before climbing and then only 300m altitude gain, and lots of gentle switchbacks to get there. Took us 1 hr 50 mins for the round trip. So then it was head back to the park entrance stopping at Moul Falls and Spahats Falls on the way. Moul Falls was a 6 km round walk, but the best thing about these falls is you could go around the back of them which was so refreshing because it was another well over 30°C day. Spahats Falls was another impressive falls with amazing canyon walls. They have quite good information panels on how they are formed from the volcano age 400,000 yrs ago, then glacier age I think 20,000 yrs ago. Keep thinking how interesting a geologist would find all this. Anyway back in Clearwater, a bit more restocking of fridge and cupboards, emptying van tanks and then headed north about 10mins, found a rest area to spend the night. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 15
- wtorek, 9 sierpnia 2022 20:05
- ☀️ 23 °C
- Wysokość: 771 m
KanadaPacksaddle Creek52°47’23” N 119°9’58” W
Valemount

Drove from our overnight stop to Valemount, getting here about 12.30 - did see our first black bear and 2 cubs crossing the highway right in front of us, however they were too fast for us to get out cameras out. First stop in Valemoumt, the information centre. WiFi didn't work, but got some maps for walks. Decided the Swift Creek Loop looked doable for the afternoon. The 9km loop took us 3hrs and 12.6 km to do, we did add on the Zen Garden Track (probably another 1.8 km) but also lost our walking track about 2 km from the end and walked an extra 2 ks weaving around a mountain bike track. We did have a dip in the stream at the bridge which was cold but doable, and very refreshing. Then it was time to go and find a spot for the night. Headed towards Kinbasket lake and found a gravel parking area just of the road. Hopefully quieter than last nights which was right next to the highway and just had a constant stream of trucks etc. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 16
- środa, 10 sierpnia 2022 12:37
- ☀️ 23 °C
- Wysokość: 1 520 m
KanadaValemount52°50’52” N 119°13’23” W
Mt McKirdy, Valemount

Today we decided to see if we could climb Mt McKirdy (2586m). A careful 5.5km drive up a forestry road brought us high above the town of Valemount, also the start of three - must be very long mtn bike downhill trails, and the trailhead for McKirdy Meadows and summit, and also an ideal parking spot to spend the night. So we started walking around 10.30am. Another hot sunny day. It was a fairly steady climb up to the meadows which was at about 2000m altitude (500m gain). After that it was alot of bouldering and some quite steep climbing and route finding. Never quite got to the summit due to time and energy, but stopped at the locally known sub peak called Carson's peak (2449m). I've certaintly not got my normal mtn legs or lungs and found it quite an effort. But was it worth it? The photos really don't capture the views, due to the sun and haze, but the feeling of being surround by mountains is just so beautiful, and when walking down and through the meadow part, I felt like Maria Van Trapp in Sound of Music, "the hills were alive". Also spotted a chipmunk, who posed for Doug and skiied and slided down some snow . Just before the meadows on the way up there was a track and sign for a cabin and stream, on the way down we saw that it was only 450m, so decided to check out an canadian hut. Met a friendly local guy and a french girl staying there so had a pleasant 15 mins or so chatting to them before carrying on. Got back to van about 7 pm and had a well deserved can of pepsi. Stats for the walk are: 15.60 km, 5hr55 active time, 1275 elevation gain, and 2 tired bodies. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 18
- piątek, 12 sierpnia 2022 23:09
- 🌙 19 °C
- Wysokość: 1 006 m
KanadaSnaring River53°1’2” N 118°5’12” W
Little Lost lake, Mt Robson and more

Thursday 11th and Friday 12th. I am going to have to start putting the days because not finding reliable wifi to download the footprints very often. Thursday morning after driving down from our high park up spot and finding the supermarket in Valemount doesn't open until midday we left town heading north. Stopped at Rearguard Falls, again an almighty powerful falls that defeats the salmon on their 1200km migration up river, from the pacific ocean Then we thought we would do an easy 1,7 km one way walk to Little Lost Lake, just to have an easy day after yesterday's big climb to Carson's Peak. It was fairly easy and a pleasant lake, so we carried on and walked around it also. On the way back to the van there was a track signposted as waterfall going of it. BUT When I'm I going to learn - it was only 1 km walk but a steep 230 m elevation gain (tough for me on yesterday's tired legs) and then not a very exciting waterfall after all that. We then carry on to Mt Robson Provincial Park (at 3954m this is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies). We decided to stay at the campground there so we could do the Overlander lookout trail in the morning (plus we finally had time and energy for Doug to get his haircut). So today (Friday) we headed up to the lookout 3.3 km, 335 m elevation gain. It was a steady climb, but not really a better view of the mountain than what you got at the visitors center. It was then onwards towards Jasper. Stopped at Moose lake for some lunch. There was a park ranger there with a monocular trained over the other side of the lake. A grizzly had taken down a moose 3 days ago and took it down to the lake's edge to bury in the sand to hide the scent from other bears, and had stayed guard since, so that was pretty cool to watch him. Then the water tempted us in for a swim, initially cold but soon became refreshing. A lovely young Toronto couple Victoria and Robert who are bikepacking from Calgary to Vancouver stopped for a swim, and we ended up spending quite a while talking to them and exchanging addresses. We eventually got lunch, then carried on to Jasper - crossing into Alberta for the first time. Had a quick look around the town, and since all the campsites around Jasper - 1376 sites were full drove north 17 km to the overflow campground. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 20
- niedziela, 14 sierpnia 2022 22:56
- 🌙 16 °C
- Wysokość: 1 064 m
KanadaJasper52°50’48” N 118°4’57” W
Jasper and Maligne Valley

Sat 13th and Sun 14th.
Saturday was a quiet day, we were both tired and getting irritable so it was get laundry done - yay clean clothes, however major panic when getting back to van to realized no wallet and must have left it at the Laundromat, rushed back to find it had been handed in - whew!!! Then decided to use some of our mobile data, as we had barely used any yet, so got bills from home payed, and booked our flight for leg 2 - Vancouver to Santiago Chile on 31st October. Then a drive out to Pyramid lake, for lunch, snoozing, reading and an easy stroll around Pyramid Island. It was then back to the overflow campground for the night. Bit cooler temperature overnight so woke up this morning rearing to go. Today was exploring the Maligne Valley. Firstly the Canyon. This was pretty spectacular, watching the effect the water has as it goes down the Canyon. I also bought Bryce a tour here when he came over 4 or 5 years ago, so was great to see where he went, although his was in the middle of winter so I would imagine look quite different to what we saw today. We then drove further into the valley, stopping at Medicine Lake, the karst geology out here was impressive (actually Rob I've got no idea what karst is but the cliffs, hills, mountains or whatever they were, were impressive looking and the book said it was karst geology so I'm presuming it's them. Then it was onto Maligne Lake, and a hike up Bald Hills. I really enjoyed this walk, finding it a bit easier up the hill today. The views were amazing, and also very excitingly we saw our first marmot up the top, and more chipmunks and another rodent creature - not sure what it is yet. On the way back near the bottom we took the track for the Moose Lake loop. And at the lake, came across a Moose swimming from one side of the lake to the other. It was quite a distance away, but could see with full camera zoom. Stats for the hike including Moose Lake loop are: 15.34km, 3:20 active time, 727 m elevation gain. We managed to get a site at Whistlers campground, just outside Jasper, for tonight and tomorrow, so proper shower yay Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 21
- poniedziałek, 15 sierpnia 2022 18:28
- ⛅ 25 °C
- Wysokość: 1 057 m
KanadaJasper52°50’51” N 118°4’51” W
Whistlers Mtn Jasper

Mon 15th Aug. Today it was a climb up Whistlers Mtn. Most people take the skytram (gondola) up, but when you are on a budget, $57.30 each can't be justified so hiking it is, and since we were staying at the campground decided to walk from there (an extra 3 or so kms). It was a good climb up, and once you get to the skytram terminal, you join all those who took the easy way up, to walk the final 1.1 km, 150 m elevation gain to get to the summit, which offers 360° views of the Athabasca Valley and surrounding peaks. Reading the information panels at the top we found out what we were calling chipmunks are actually red ground squirrels, and the other rodent creatures we see are pikas. On the way down, we spotted another marmot, we also read up top that they eat for 4 months over summer and sleep for 8 months - what a life. Stats for hike are: 21.07 km, active time 5hr35, elevation gain 1420 m. With the money we saved we decided to treat ourselves to pizza in town for dinner, since we had to go in and fill up the van with petrol for starting the drive south down the Icefield parkway tomorrow- apparently one of the most scenic drives in the world. The petrol in Jasper is about 50 cents per litre cheaper than the last petrol station we filled up at - must be the difference between B.C. and Alberta, because I wouldn't have thought Jasper would be cheap otherwise. Czytaj więcej

PodróżnikYou guys are legends with all these mountains you are climbing xx beautiful photos. Need more of you Vicki 😊

Podróżniku guys r going u to be SO buff! (U r about an hour from where Lynn used to live btw). We drove that road in 2010. Really loving yr animal photos😁 Visiting a huge complex of beaver dams in Albertaa just before nightfall when they were out and about remains an all-time travel highlight for me. Keep an eye out...
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- Dzień 22
- wtorek, 16 sierpnia 2022 20:29
- ⛅ 13 °C
- Wysokość: 1 949 m
KanadaSunwapta Lake52°13’14” N 117°13’46” W
Icefields Parkway

Tue 16th Aug. Well the drive down from Jasper to the Icefield Centre lived up to its reputation, therefore lots of scenery shots in the photos. Started with a pleasant 4.6 km loop track around the "Valley of the Five Lakes" - the clearness and turquoise colour in these lakes was amazing. Next stop down the highway was Athabasca Falls, another powerful falls. What was interesting with these falls was some time ago they changed channels, so you get to walk where they use to flow. Stopped at Goats and Glaciers lookout but could not see any goats. Next was Sunwapta Falls, there was the top Falls then walked 1.4km down to 3 lower Falls. I'm actually getting a bit over waterfalls at the moment, been so many over the last week. There was one more further down the road - Tangle Falls which was a nice gentle one. And now it is the Glaciers time. First was Stutfield Glacier, and across the road from the Icefield Centre where we are staying the night is the Athabasca Glacier, which we will walk to the toe of tomorrow. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 23
- środa, 17 sierpnia 2022 16:47
- ☀️ 19 °C
- Wysokość: 2 019 m
KanadaParker Ridge52°11’30” N 117°6’56” W
Glaciers on the Icefields Parkway

Wed 17th Aug. Well we finally got to use our duvet that we brought in Kamloops last night, temperature got down to 5°C, however the day has just been stunning. Firstly we hiked across the road to do the Forefield Trail which lead onto the "Toe of the Athabasca Glacier". It certainly sad to see how much these great rivers of ice are retreating. There were bus loads of people going onto the Glacier to do ice walks, we will hopefully do this in Alaska. Doug then enjoyed his first coffee since leaving NZ, at the highest Starbucks in Canada, at the Icefield centre which is at about 2000 m altitude. We then drove a couple of kms down the road for our second hike, The Wilcox Pass. This took us up and back towards the Icefield Centre, so we were looking towards the Athabasca Glacier again. A good trail. Stats are: 9.36 km, 2 hrs 8 minutes active, and 476 m elevation gain. After a sandwich for lunch it was onto the next hike, 6 km down the road. The Parker Ridge trail, this was a steep track with switchbacks to the top, which then flatten off and could walk along for views of the Saskatchewan Glacier. Hike stats are: 6.69 km, 1hr31 active, 341 m elevation gain. It was then carry on south down the Icefield Parkway admiring the mountain views a long the way. Stopped at what we thought was the Bridal Veil Falls, there was a rocky track about 300m along a river to where we thought the falls were, on the way there a couple walking back told us you couldn't get to the falls unless you clambered up and around a rock face. Anyway we got talking to this couple from San Diego, the gentleman initially said he was 31 - on questioning his age he revealed it was 92, (his partner looked about 25 yrs younger) and he is still getting out and about in the outdoors. We decided to do this trip now while our bodies were still able - maybe we still have 30+ years of adventure left in us - let's hope. Anyway we didn't see the falls and carried on to our campsite for the night at Waterfowl Lake. This is a first come campground and we thought we were out of luck but managed to find probably the second to last site. The lake as we drove passed it on the road looked so inviting and even at 6.30pm it was very warm and sunny, so it was togs on and down for a quick dip because the water was not so warm. On the way back to the van we were stopped by a Belgium guy at one of the campsite asking if we would verify he was at this campsite as he was going for a Guiness World record for the fast time to handpedal bike from Anchorage to Mexico. That's what is so neat about traveling you meet some amazing people. Anyway Doug suggested we start recording our daily steps, so today's is 36189 / 37814 (Doug's/Vicki's) Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 24
- czwartek, 18 sierpnia 2022 20:44
- ⛅ 22 °C
- Wysokość: 1 514 m
KanadaKingfisher Lake51°24’26” N 116°10’1” W
Last 60 kms of the Icefield Parkway

Thursday 18th Aug. Well today was about the Lakes. First stop was Peyto Lake, it was beautiful, but too crowded with people jostling for the best selfie position, so a quick photo and then continue on the trail up to Bow Summit, it was a fairly steady climb up but nothing really wow at the top, so headed down. Stats are: 5.51 km, active 1:15, elevation gain 295 m. Next was Bow Lake, and this was a double wow for me. The lake was gorgeous, the colour, the stillness - got some great reflection photos. We did the hike to Bow Glacier Falls and this was right up there as my favorite hike so far - maybe because it was mostly flat, but the first part was walking along the lake it was just so calm and serene. Then a bit of a uphill over and past a small canyon, then following the river up to the base of the waterfall. From the lake you could see the Glacier above the falls, but as you got closer it went out of view. On the way back, we could not resist diving into the clear bright blue water of the lake, it was very brief, as this is fed straight from the Glacier so as you can imagine a bit numbing even in 30°C heat. Stats are: 8.27 km, 2:08, elevation gain 246 m. It was then the last 37 kms on the Icefield Parkway to Lake Louise where we got one night at the campground. We got the bikes off for a short 2 km ride into the village. Firstly, information centre for hiking maps and wifi and then a few grocery restocking. So a fairly easy day today. Steps are 25323 / 26260 Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 25
- piątek, 19 sierpnia 2022 10:08
- ⛅ 18 °C
- Wysokość: 1 510 m
KanadaTakakkaw Falls51°29’51” N 116°29’3” W
Lake Louise

Fri 19th Aug. I do not recommend the Lake Louise campground, the train track runs right alongside it, and there is a couple of road crossings so they give nice long blows on the horn. After the 11pm train I gave up and got my earplugs in. Then it was an early start, first time using the alarm, got up at 5.50am so we could get a park at Lake Louise, These fill up really fast, then they close the road - when we drove past about 6.10 the Moraine Lake road was already closed. But it was nice to see the sun rise on Lake Louise, and again some great reflection photos. We then headed of for the Plain of Six Glaciers hike, this started along side the lake then headed up the valley where you're surround by peaks and Glaciers, and a Swiss build tea house (build in 1920). When returning back along the same path we heard two avalanches. We then took a turning to head to "Big Beehive" which gave a nice view over Lake Louise. While there we discovered "The Devil's Thumb", a large rock plinth towering above the summit of the beehive, and could just make out people on top. We talked to some people about going up, some had tried but turned around with the narrow steep track, we ummed and ahhed but always up for a challenge thought we would check it out. It wasn't too bad, a bit of scrambling up a very steep dusty section was the worst, but had a track for most of it, and the views were worth it. After getting down it was onwards to Lake Agnes. It was interesting how the two lakes were such different colors. Louise was a cloudy pale blue, whereas Agnes was clearer and a darker turquoise - both very pretty Lakes. Then it was downhill, back to the start by the Château Louise, a very large grand hotel on the lake front. As we were passing, a wedding was about to begin, so along with hundreds of other tourists we watched over the fence for the bride to arrive - very beautiful, although I wouldn't had liked to been the men sweltering in their suits. Stats for hike: 19.21 km, 5:27, elevation gain 1053 m. We then headed back to village to the shop to get a few supplies because decided it made more sense to go to Yoho N.P before Banff. The first two campgrounds in the park were full, and on the map there was another one up the valley by Takakkaw Falls, which was also where the hike we wanted to do started from, so we carried on hoping they had a site, however when we got there found out it was only for tents, so we are taking a risk and staying in the carpark for the night. After dinner we went for a small walk to check out the 254 m Takakkaw Falls. Steps Dougs 39850. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 26
- sobota, 20 sierpnia 2022 13:48
- ⛅ 24 °C
- Wysokość: 1 510 m
KanadaTakakkaw Falls51°29’55” N 116°29’8” W
Yoho National Park

Sat 20th Aug. We survive the night without any taps on the door to move us on so that was good. We got away at 8 am on our Iceline trek via Little Yoho (8 am Alberta time - Yoho is actually in BC but since we are heading back to Alberta thought it would be easier just to keep to Alberta time - BC is an hour earlier). I had read the Iceline trek was one of the best day hikes in the rockies and it didn't disappoint. The description in the guide said "Spectacular signature hike: Glaciers, rock staircases and Alpine Meadows" and it certainly was all that and more. It started with a nice flat trail following the Yoho River, a couple of short side excursions took you to Point Lace waterfall and Duchovny Lake which was showing the effects of a dry summer. On the way we saw a small cat size animal in the trees, Doug managed to get a quick snap of it but it wasn't very clear, however a bit later in our walk we came across 2 Park rangers and asked them so we now know it is a Pine Martin (unsure of spelling but it is in the weasel family). We then got to the Laughing Falls, and after that the track started going up, It wasn't to bad of a climb, actually that's what we both liked about this hike, the climbs weren't to long or steep and then there was a lot of flat and underlating terrain. It was also very popular with trail runners and there were lots out running it today, however going in the opposite direction to us. Anyway it was nice walking through forested valley, about 10 kms in we came to an alpine hut, had a peep inside and ended up having a nice long conversation with a retired scientist who loved NZ and had done several trips to Antarctica. Not long after leaving the hut the landscape really changed and became really barren and rocky, yet you were walking alongside glaciers, lakes and waterfalls - really did feel like on another planet, I feel the photos didn't really capture how immense it felt. Then we started heading down. Took another track that went to Yoho lake, a pretty little lake, where we met a nice young couple, a doctor and teacher, who are spending around 6 months in Australia and 6 months back home in Canada, but also have spent a lot of time in the Yukon so was telling us about places to go there. Then it was the final 3 or 4 kms downhill to the van, during which we even had to pull out the raincoats for the first time, as a shower went through for about 10 minutes. There was rain overnight, and the morning was quite cloudy, the sun came out hot in the afternoon before clouding over again, but on a whole the day was a lot cooler than it has been, probably in early 20s. An excellent day, and we are risking another night staying in the carpark. Hike stats are: 26,24 km, 6:44 active time, elevation gain 974 m. Steps 41465 / 42218 Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 27
- niedziela, 21 sierpnia 2022 19:24
- 🌧 18 °C
- Wysokość: 1 290 m
KanadaPigeon Creek51°2’32” N 115°16’3” W
Yoho to Banff

Sun 21st Aug. Doug is broken, his lower back has finally said enough. And we have ran out of water in the van, so time to move on. Doug dosed up on volterin and we headed down the Yoho valley road to the bottom, where we did a short walk (or more little a hobble for Doug) called a "Walk in the Past" which led to an abandoned steam locomotive. Driving up the Kicking Horse Pass we stopped and read and saw the spiral tunnels they built back in 1907 to make it easier for the trains to navigate the "Big Hill". While we were there a train heading down came pass the viewpoint went into the tunnel (of the lower spiral) came out and down underneath the tunnel, and the train was so long you could see it on three different parts of the track (trees blocked most of the view so I don't think the photos will show much) - very interesting though. Carry on to Banff, stopped at the information centre by the train station to get campground information, decided probably best to try out Canmore way as there were a few first come campgrounds. The first one was all full, so carried on about 10 minutes past Canmore to the Three Sisters campground and found a site, however at $31 for no facilities apart from toilets we thought quite expensive but decided to stay and have a restful afternoon. The weather hasn't been the best with rain and thunderstorms so a good chance to catch up on my Find Penguins posts. We also enjoyed a shared can of "D'ont Poke the Bear" berry cider to celebrate 3 weeks of Canada (first lot of alcohol). Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 28
- poniedziałek, 22 sierpnia 2022 21:35
- 🌧 17 °C
- Wysokość: 1 301 m
KanadaHarvie Heights51°6’20” N 115°21’56” W
Canmore

Mon 22nd Aug. Doug is still broken, but moving a bit better with the volterins in his system, but we still had another easy day. Drove into Canmore in the morning and got a site at Wapiti campground which is at the start of the town. The information centre was also right next door, so went over and booked the next three nights in a Banff campground - organized! The local Ammonite Factory gives free interpretive tours at midday so we rushed to get to that. It was really fascinating learning about the origins of this gemstone, there is an UTube clip called Alberta Fossil Family if anyone is interested. And I may have succumb to purchasing a small momento of this national gem of Canada After that it was a large grocery restocking at Safeways, with even a few treats thrown in. By this stage Doug was suffering so back to campground for a late lunch, laundry and for Doug to have a rest. I took the opportunity to do some exploring on the bike. Not long after I left, thunder started, and a few drops of rain, I decided to risk it and carry-on, hoping Doug would wake up and get the washing in if it did start to rain. I did about 2.5 hrs of biking around the trails of Canmore all the while had thunder rumbling but the rain only really started about 15 min from getting back. Met a lady who was saying at the Nordic Centre here, they store snow under sawdust for the whole of summer, so come Nov 1st the cross country skiing always opens, which seems quite amazing the snow lasts - I tried to find the sawdust heap but didn't and it was then it started to rain so thought I better get back. Step count D 5868, V 13234. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 29
- wtorek, 23 sierpnia 2022 21:05
- 🌧 14 °C
- Wysokość: 1 460 m
KanadaTwo Jack Lake51°13’44” N 115°30’53” W
Banff

Tue 23rd Aug. Another day exploring by myself, while Doug takes it easy with his bad back. Walked into Canmore town centre from the campground, while Doug was using the WiFi at the information centre next door. Was planning on going to the museum and geo-science centre however when I got there found out its only open Thursday to Monday, bugger - they could put that in their ad. Oh well back to meet Doug, then drive through to Banff where we are staying for the next 3 nights. We parked near the town centre, and had some lunch, and then I got out to start exploring Banff. After a walk around the main street, I headed up Tunnel Mountain, a 2km, 200m climb up to the summit for views across the town, Bow Valley and Mount Rundle. After that walked out to the Cave and Basin National Historic site, however had only 20 mins before it closed, and had to pay a $8 entry so decided to leave that for another day - did have a walk around the boardwalk, which went to the upper spring. On the way back into town had a wander around the Cascades of Time gardens. Luckily took the bus out to the campground at Two Jack Lake because it was about a 15 minute drive out of Banff, would had been a long walk, as it was, getting off the bus at the campground entrance too our site must have been about 1.5 kms, I think I will be getting the bike into action tomorrow. Doug didn't spend the afternoon resting but biked to Johnson Lake, about 5 kms from campground and walked the 2.8 km loop around the lake, hopefully on the mend. Steps: Vicki 33728. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 30
- środa, 24 sierpnia 2022 22:04
- ⛅ 13 °C
- Wysokość: 1 460 m
KanadaTwo Jack Lake51°13’44” N 115°30’53” W
Banff Day 2

Wed 24th Aug. Back out exploring together today. Headed off on our bikes into Banff, about 12.5 kms. We were heading to do the 4.8 km trail - Surprise Corner to Hoodoos, but on the way found the farmers market was on so had a look at that, and splashed out on some really cool leggings (my thighs must be getting thinner, I don't normally like tights on me) and a beanie. Anyway eventually carried on our bike quest, got to Surprise Corner which has a nice view of the large Banff Springs Hotel across the river, and got onto the trail. It wasn't the easiest trail, and at times had to push the bikes but made it to the Voodoos, not that there were many to see. Then carry on single track around the Tunnel Bench loop, this was quite good riding, however at times did get quite close to the edge. When the track crossed over the Tunnel Mountain road we took that down so we could head back out to our campsite. We stopped and had a look at Cascade Ponds on the way, and then found an "easy" 4.3 km track from the ponds to Johnson Lake so thought that might be a good option rather than the road. Easy tracks are defined as suitable for all cyclists, including those with little or no experience, flat to gentle rolling with no obstacles, little or no elevation gain. And as you may guess it was not any of these things - initially a steep push up a hill, then a very rooty rocky knarly track, at the Johnson Lake end it did improve. Anyway we eventually got back to the van for a late lunch, then it started to rain so we decided not to go out again, even though the rain didn't last long, but started planning what to do the next couple of days. However that might all change now because as Doug was sitting here, biting his fingernails, an "oh shit", and a rush to the mirror showed the reason - his top front tooth crown had come away so tomorrow will now be spent trying to get a dentist appointment somewhere. Until then it will be closed mouth smiles for photos. Steps Vicki's 14198 Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 31
- czwartek, 25 sierpnia 2022 17:17
- ⛅ 21 °C
- Wysokość: 1 402 m
KanadaBow River51°10’40” N 115°34’20” W
Banff Day 3 - C-Level Cirque

Thur 25th Aug. Nice having a few days in one place and Doug is enjoying having a break from driving. The campground we are staying at is north east of Banff and on a loop road, with Lake Minnewanka at the top of the loop, so this morning we got on the bikes and headed anti clockwise past the lake and to the trailhead for C-Level Cirque. This was about 7km ride. We then did the hike up to the glacially carved cirque, hiking past historic foundations and vents from the abandoned Bankhead mining operation. The walk was all in trees until the top where it just open up to the cirque - a half open steep sided hollow caused by Glacier erosion. There were lots of pika, squirrels and one marmot up top. Hike stats: 8.56 km, 1:56, Elevation gain 516m. And then biked back to the camp for lunch. We then ummmed and ahhed whether to bike or bus into Banff. Bus won - just, as we only made it to the bus stop in time, with Doug quickly ditching the bikes which we rode up from the campersite on in the trees on the roadside. We located a dentist to go too, and Doug was able to be seen with only a 45 min wait. So I went for a stroll down the Bow River walkway to the falls, which was very pleasant. Doug spent a hour and half at the dentist and came out with several options. After talking to his dentist back in Whakatane decided to go for the more permanent option which is removing what remains of the original tooth and getting a pin put in, this they can do in about 2 weeks time, it means heading to Calgary next week for a jaw x-ray and having a temporary tooth on a plate until we can get back at the end of May 2023 for the crown to be fitted (takes 3 month before the crown will be ready and we will already be Chile by then). At Cad $5500, a very expensive souvenir from Canada, I said you need to at least get the Canadian flag 🇨🇦 or maple leaf🍁 printed on the tooth. And it means spending a lot longer around Banff than we intended, but its certainly one of the better places to be stuck in. After that caught the bus back to the campground, got dinner and the bikes loaded for an early start to try and get a site at Castle Mountain Campground which is a first come first serve campground, 32 km North West of Banff. Steps D 20375 / V 27242 Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 32
- piątek, 26 sierpnia 2022 17:53
- ⛅ 20 °C
- Wysokość: 1 457 m
KanadaTunnel Mountain51°11’14” N 115°32’41” W
Banff Day 4 - Sulphur Mountain

Fri 26th Aug. Well our plan to head out to Castle Mountain, got changed as we saw the weather forecast for today - showers developing and rain for tomorrow, so thought tomorrow would be a good museum day and Doug had to go and see the dentist again today to confirm what he wanted done so was probably better to stay closer to Banff, so was lucky to get a site at Tunnel Mountain Campground for the next 2 nights. So we headed into Banff, got the dentist sorted, and an appointment for Monday in Calgary for the x-ray. Back to the information centre for WiFi, and some googling what to do in Calgary - not much. It was now midday and the weather was looking okay so had a look at suitable hikes and decided we would do Sulphur Mountain. This is the Mountain that the Banff gondola goes up ($65 each for gondola). It was a good track, steady uphill with switchbacks, average % grade was about 12%. Once at the top the views over Banff and surrounding mountains were very good, there was also a further 0.5 km boardwalk along the Ridge ending at Sanson Peak, altitude 2277m which was the Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station National Historic Site and the 1903 weather observatory. As we headed back to the trail to start the walk down, looking to the west and the sky had turned quite black, so we decided to jog down and hopefully beat the rain. About 2.3 km from the end I felt the first drops, pace increase but not enough and it was soon pouring down with thunder and lightning. Doug was well ahead but he also didn't get back in time. Hike stats: 10.33 km, 1 hr 39 total active, 1hr 07 to the top , elevation gain 641 m. It was then head to the campground and spend the rest of the afternoon/evening just chilling. Steps D 20768. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 33
- sobota, 27 sierpnia 2022 20:57
- ⛅ 10 °C
- Wysokość: 1 457 m
KanadaTunnel Mountain51°11’14” N 115°32’41” W
Banff Day 5 - Wet and Cooler

Sat 27 Aug. We were expecting it to be raining when we woke this morning however it was quite fine, so we decided to walk into town. As we got down the hill, we could see black clouds, and only minutes away from the main street it started pouring. So we slowly made our way down, checking out a few shops on the way. It was about midday when we got near the museum so decided to get some lunch first. There was a Korean street food shop that had some good choices and fairly reasonable price so we tried that and was very happy with the food. We then looked around the museum which is the oldest natural history museum of Canada, dating from 1903 and houses exhibits of taxidermy mounted specimens of animals, plants and minerals associated with Banff National Park. The rain had stopped when we came out so we decided to walk the 4 - 5 km uphill to the hotsprings, and had a lovely hour soaking in the 40°C thermal waters, with light drizzle, and imagining being in the pool with snow on the mountains surrounding it - hopefully we might get to experience that next year when we come back for Doug's dentist appointment. It was then the long walk back down, through the town and up the hill on the other side back to the campground. Steps: D 20407 / V 20418 Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 34
- niedziela, 28 sierpnia 2022 18:50
- ☀️ 18 °C
- Wysokość: 1 300 m
KanadaSeebe51°5’57” N 115°0’55” W
Banff Day 6 - Sunshine Village

Sun 28th Aug. Excitement we saw our first fox today,but more on that later. Decided to do a walk before heading to Calgary. Chose Bourgeau Lake / Harvey Pass, which was west of Banff, the wrong way really but oh well, there wasn't really anything east. However when we got there the small parking area was full, so heading back to Banff decided to try the walks at the ski village of Sunshine. To access the walks, there is a $59 gondola ride or for the more budget conscious like us, a 5.1 km hike up to the village, the hike was not bad, there was a bit of a trail, crisscrossing a dried riverbed, towards the top we lost the trail so carried walking on the access road. When we first got the Banff hiking guide I didn't really take note of the walks up Sunshine mainly because they were classed as easy, but I am so please we went. We combined quite a few loops, the first one went by Rock Isle lake, it was just so picturesque, apparently a popular spot for artists. But it was at this stage we realized it is time to start packing the thermals, gloves, and hat - the wind chill was so cold, about 7°C, we had left the van in shorts and singlet but had windbreaker jackets luckily. Apparently this area is covered in snow up to 3 m deep for 10 months a year. We then carried on and did the Grizzly/Laryx Lakes loop, then headed up to the Standish Viewing Deck, this had a great view of the three lakes we just walked around, and the mountains behind. You actually cross the Continental Divide on these tracks, so some of the walk is in Alberta and some in British Columbia. From the viewing deck you could carry on and take the chairlift back down to the village, but we backtracked and took the Twin Cairns to Monarch Lookout Trail. It was after the lookout heading back to the village, I saw an animal sitting on the track about 50 m ahead, I stupidly said to Doug in a loud voice "what's that", so therefore it became aware of us and scarped. It was a red fox and we didn't get a chance to get a decent photo, but It was great watching it as it took a large arc to avoid us. We then carried on to the village, and started contemplating the 5.1 km walk back down, when I noticed there was no ticket check to get on the gondola and since it was 5pm we decided to take the easy option. So after a 20 minute gondola ride - it was the longest gondola we have ever done - we were back at the carpark, and heading east to Calgary. Hike stats: 16.61 km, 3 hr 55 active time, altitude gain 923 m, highest altitude 2375 m. We have stopped for the night at the Stoney Nakoda Resort and Casino carpark. Steps D 27494 / V 28322. Czytaj więcej
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- Dzień 35
- poniedziałek, 29 sierpnia 2022 20:42
- 🌙 21 °C
- Wysokość: 677 m
KanadaBritannia Youngstown53°32’53” N 113°35’49” W
Calgary

Mon 29th Aug. It was into the concrete jungle of Calgary today. Found where Doug had to go for his jaw x-ray (east side) and then headed into the city centre to check out an Outdoors shop to see if they had the tent we wanted. We were really wanting a bikepacking version, but no one seem to have these anymore so settled for the standard backpacking one. It was then back for Doug's 10 minute appointment. With that done, started heading west again, stopped at a mall just before we exited the city to get some sleeping mats at Atmosphere outdoor shop as they had 25% off them. So now we are all set for South America, gear wise. Got back to Banff around 7pm and staying in the carpark at the Bourgeau Lake trailhead - this is the hike we were hoping to do yesterday. Anyway it is right next to the highway so I think it will be earplugs tonight. Our lowest step count to date: D 6160 / V 4480. Czytaj więcej
Podróżnik
Awesome work, couldn’t have been jet lagged 😄