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Canadian Rockies

July - August 2024
A 18-day adventure by Martha Read more
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  • Martha SleutelCanadian Rockies
    Day 1

    Arriving Calgary - Good, Bad, Ugly

    July 21 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

    The Good - Smooth, easy flight, arrived on time. Flew through Customs in less than 10 minutes!

    The Bad - The rental car line had at least 75 people in a long line in the warm, un-air conditioned room. (Photo doesn't show how the line snakes back and forth 4 times.) It took 2 and 1/2 hours to get a car. Yikes!

    The Ugly - This morning (0445), a confluence of events conspired to create chaos. I'd had a touchy tummy for a few days, and, of course, my GI system got rowdy just as our Uber driver arrived 15 minutes early! Despite early morning darkness, rain, and being rushed, I congratulated myself on having everything totally packed and organized the night before, and being perfectly on time to the airport. At our gate, I realized I'd left my tablet plugged in at my bedside at home! 😭

    Allow me to whine. Aghhh! I had books loaded to read and I need the bigger screen to edit photos. Now, instead of a keyboard, I am pecking letter by letter at a snail's pace! (A 1st world problem, I know!)

    The good news is we'll be in scenic mountains tomorrow!    Read more

  • Martha SleutelCanadian Rockies
    2
    Day 2

    Banff Day 1

    July 22 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    Easy, quick drive to Banff, but we arrived WAY too early to check into our condo. Banff has a ski/tourist/mountain town vibe with lots of restaurants, shops, and LOTS of traffic. (And pedestrians and cyclists!)

    Charlie had a list of easy hikes for us, so we started on his list! The first one, Fenland trail, wound through forests and along the lovely 40 Mile Creek. Afterwards, picnic tables next to the stream beckoned, so we ate lunch there.

    The next hike, Marsh Lake, was a 2 mile loop along hot springs, forests, and the very green (glacial) Bow River. Unfortunately, much of the trail was also used by horses 😮‍💨 🐎 We trudged around piles of manure and endured voracious mosquitoes. Delightful 60-70 degrees this morning morphed into 90 + degrees in the afternoon. Our very next stop was to buy bug spray!

    Still killing time before check-in, we went to the historic Banff Springs Hotel (looks like a massive castle). Originally built by a railroad magnate in the 1880s, it was rebuilt in the 1920s and renovated in 2001.

    Now, we are in our wonderful condo! Time to relax!    Read more

  • Martha SleutelCanadian Rockies
    Day 3

    Banff, Day 2 - Part 1 (Hike #1)

    July 23 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    Starting our first hike at 8 am, we had the trail to ourselves. We initially skirted the forested bank of Lake Minnewanka. The weather and views were glorious. After crossing a bridge, the now cliffside trail meandered through forests high above the Cascade River. At the end, the trail descended to the river, allowing us to explore the rocky bank.

    On our return, as we neared the lake where we started, we saw throngs of people, just headed out. And busses arriving to the parking lot! Glad we were leaving!    Read more

  • Martha SleutelCanadian Rockies
    2
    Day 3

    Banff, Day 2, Part 2 (Hike # 2)

    July 23 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    After a picnic lunch on the bank of Johnson Lake, we began the loop trail around the lake. Crowds of people were sunbathing and swimming at the beach area near the parking lot. Fortunately, few were on the loop trail around the lake. See pics below.

    Background - Our condo is part of a "resort" complex that seems a bit old and tired. (Our accommodations are perfect, tho). As part of this "resort", there is an indoor pool area with large hot tub area, kiddy pool, and 2 massive water slides (all indoors!).

    Returning from our hikes hot and tired, we thought we'd check out the pool area. NO ONE was there - yay! And, the C02 levels were very low - double yay! Bottom line, we had a refreshing fun time! What an unexpected perk!

    Noteworthy issue - Since arrival in Canada 3 days ago, we've noticed the skies are very hazy - from numerous wildfires West of us.

    Today, Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper are evacuated, with all reservations canceled until 8/6. BUMMER! We have reservations 7/28 -7/31. Charlie, the trip organizer, is scrambling to sort out alternatives!    Read more

  • Martha SleutelCanadian Rockies
    Day 4

    Banff, Day 3

    July 24 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

  • Martha SleutelCanadian Rockies
    212
    Day 5

    Leaving Banff, Arriving Lake Louise

    July 25 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    This morning, wildfire smoke hung in the air over Banff - first time we have smelled smoke, and strongly.

    Before leaving, we stopped at Banff Cave and Basin Historic site. At one time there was a hotel, bath house, and large swimming pool (thermal mineral water, now covered). The area smells strongly of sulfur, and the hot mineral water seeps from the entire hillside, making pools, marshes, and streams. There are several holes in the ground/caves with mineral pools. The photos show the biggest one, and the one that we could enter. The signs say the hot mineral water is (slightly) radioactive, and people drank it for their health!

    Enroute to Lake Louise, the sky became even smokier, then it began to rain. The rain slowed to a drizzle, then stopped, allowing us to hike the trail to Silverton Waterfall (up, up, and up). Part of the trail was perilous, just 12-18" wide with a steep slope. I was happy to be past that point!    Read more

  • Martha SleutelCanadian Rockies
    Day 6

    Moraine Lake & Lake Louise

    July 26 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 37 °F

    Moraine Lake and Lake Louise (the Lake, not the city) are top destinations within the national park. Shuttles to both lakes are by advance reservation. Our reservation was for 07-08.

    When we packed for this trip, 14-day weather forecasts showed highs of 70-95. As a result, I did not pack a coat. The forecast was correct until today. As we waited for the shuttle, it was 40 degrees, windy, and drizzly. I wore many layers, and my raincoat, and stayed cold most of the day. Thankfully, the drizzle stopped and the temp "soared" to 51 by mid-day.

    We hiked along Moraine Lake first, and quickly returned to take refuge in a warm shuttle to Lake Louise. We strolled along that lake to the end, and continued up the forested canyon. We saw signs for the Plain of 5 Glaciers, and decided to keep on to see what views we might see (we knew we weren't going to the end - 9 miles). We stopped where we could see 3 glaciers and that was far enough.

    Side note: At the stream end of the lake, as I was taking a lake picture, I felt something crawling up my pant leg. I squawked and jumped, disturbing a ground squirrel that was wanting me to feed him!    Read more

  • Martha SleutelCanadian Rockies
    2
    Day 7

    Icefields Parkway

    July 27 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

    Today started like yesterday - drizzly and cold. We had a leisurely, unscheduled day to just drive up the highway toward the road closure due to fires at Jasper (45 miles). The rain stopped and the skies cleared by afternoon - yay!

    This road is (aptly) called Icefields Parkway due to the many glaciers on the towering mountains.

    We stopped at several glacier lakes, some the color of pool water. Glacial silt refracting light causes the almost unnatural blue-green color.

    This area reminds me of Alaska - weather, glaciers, mountains - but also how wild and remote this wilderness is. Outside of our tiny town, there are no stores, restaurants, gas stations, or CP service.    Read more

  • Martha SleutelCanadian Rockies
    22
    Day 8–12

    Yoho National Park

    July 28 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Our first stop this morning was Takakkaw Falls, the 2nd tallest waterfall in Canada. After that, we explored some sights in the Yoho River Valley, including the confluence of 2 rivers, the Yoho and the Kicking Horse. You can see the color difference between them. The more rock flour from glaciers, the muddier the water looks.

    After a picnic lunch, we embarked on our last hike, to Ross Lake. I had run out of steam before we started, and considering how gorgeous previous lakes had been, this lake was "meh". Charlie said that it wasn't worth the effort to get there. At the lake, we met 3 lively teachers from CA, and really enjoyed chatting with them.    Read more

  • Martha SleutelCanadian Rockies
    Day 9

    Lake Louise and Laundry

    July 29 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    We were supposed to be in Jasper today (and for 3 more days), but wildfires canceled that. We designated today a day to relax. We took the shuttle to Lake Louise again, and just strolled around. There is smoke in the air that we can smell, and views are hazy.

    Back at the hotel, we did laundry and some organizing. A steady afternoon drizzle kept us lazy. Charlie walked the trail along the river outside our hotel in the gray late afternoon mist. I was happy to skip another walk. My feet and joints were thrilled at the reprieve today!!!!    Read more

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