• Martha SleutelCanadian RockiesMartha Sleutel
    Charlie on the trail, surrounded by a blanket of yellow flowers
    At the mountain overlook. Top of the trail, but a steep tricky descent after this.Rocky cliff with mossA meadow of fireweed at the bottomView of Rock Isle Lake, Laryx Lake, Grizzly Lake and mountainsR.I. Lake and Grizzly LakeAnother view of R.I. LakeRock Isle Lake, carved by glaciersCharlie and me on the trailThese were like hot pink/red Indian PaintbrushesViewpoint narrated by New Zealander!

    Banff, Day 3

    July 24, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    For our last day in the Banff area, we embarked on Upper Stony Mountain Trail, a 2.7 mile loop up and up and up through lovely forests to a view of Cascade Mountain and the Bow Valley. This one did me in! (I don't deal well with a 1000 foot elevation gain and a 20-30% grade). So done. But it was only 1100!

    Next on Charlie's list was
    Sunshine Village, a ski area with gondolas and chair lifts up to alpine lakes and meadows. What a pleasant surprise! And my kinda hiking (riding uphill)!

    We took a long gondola up to the village, then a chair lift higher up, so we could stroll downhill back to the gondola and back down. 😀 Perfect! But, no one told us there was this "little" uphill section (a mile or so) where we crossed the continental divide at 7,200 feet. (Charlie commented that we hiked from Alberta to British Columbia and back by crossing the Continental Divide 🤣🤣🤣)!

    Regardless of my feet protesting, the alpine views were stunning. The photos and video are from The Rock Isle Lake viewpoint, and around part of the lake. For the video, a park worker from New Zealand narrated the view. I could have stayed here all day and come back for more.    Read more