Fall travels - part 4b (Banff)

Following our Yoho hike, Carrie and I met up with Lily and her grandparents, who were on their way from Vernon with the fifth wheel. We made our way to Banff and set up camp. (By which I mean we opened the camper door. Pretty much anyway. There's something to be said for RVing!)

As we arrived at the RV camp we saw our first real wildlife.

Our time in Banff was relaxing. We all fit in the camper at night so no tenting was necessary (and not allowed, I think, to prevent being eaten alive in your sleep).

Comfy quarters.

I forget if that site had a power hookup (it did have water/sewer) but in the morning we'd wake up to 10 or 15 degrees in the RV, and somehow it got me up early every day, before everyone else. I'd bundle up, grab my camera, and head out to find me some wildlife shots. Alas, that approach never succeeded, but I did run into a sunrise once. Totally worth it!

Psalm 65:8

The weather mostly cooperated, so we explored the area a bit. Surprisingly busy at this time of year (end of September).

Roadside scenery

More roadside scenery. This one caused a slight traffic jam.

Our beautiful little showoff.

All that's missing is yodelling... and goats.

Fairmont has some sweet spots for hotels. This one's in Banff.

One day trip we made was to Lake Louise. It was a weekend and there were about a million people in the area. We spent a ridiculous amount of time circling the parking lot looking for a spot to park. If it was just me I wouldn't have bothered. Perhaps fortunately, less cool heads prevailed.

It certainly is picturesque.

Another Fairmont. Thank the railroad companies for these well-placed digs.

Walking with grandpa.

Later when it was a little less busy, we ventured to Moraine Lake, an equally pretty setting.

The girls climbed a big rock pile beside the lake. Also beside the lake, lots of driftwood...

View from the pile.

Very heartening: obey or be eaten.

Another trip was to Johnston Canyon to see some waterfalls and whatnot.

Don't look down. And, uh, trust the engineers.

Dad gets a break.

Waterfall spotted. It was really more about the walk.

This photogenic raven got an inordinate amount of attention from tourists.

 After three days in Banff, it was time move on. We hit the road, taking the Icefields Parkway from Banff National Park to Jasper National Park. A scenic drive through the Rockies, this route provides great views of glaciers and mountains... if conditions are right.

Conditions were right.

Hilda Peak & Glacier

We stopped at Athabasca Glacier, which is a big fat tourist trap. Nice, but a trap. The huge interpretive centre was overrun by tourists, mostly Asian. They get shipped here by the busload, and then they happily stand in long lines to buy expensive tickets for a glacier tour in a six-wheeled coach bus. At least they don't skimp on spending once they've made their way here! Fascinating money-maker, this operation. I cannot imagine being here in the middle of summer, especially next year when access to national parks is free.

Athabasca Glacier, receding rapidly. That's okay, my freezer still makes ice!

A few of the buses.

Six-wheeled monsters out on the glacier.

Fall travels - part 4a (BC)

Two days after returning from a back-country canoe trip with the guys, I went away with my own little family for a change. We were off to BC! I hadn't been for two years, though the girls went twice last year.

We flew into Kelowna and stayed with the in-laws for a day. Then Carrie and I left Lily behind with them and headed off in our rental car to Yoho National Park, which is in BC and neighbours Alberta's Banff park. We had a two-night back-country hike planned, starting with a four-hour drive to Field, BC. As we approached the town of Golden on the way, I reminded myself that we should gas up, since we might not make it to Field otherwise.

Well, of course I forgot, and almost halfway to Field I suddenly remembered. Cars these days have fancy computers that guess your remaining range; I consulted that, and it didn't look promising. But we carried on, and fortunately made it to the gas station at Field with officially 12km left in the tank. No problem!

Next to the gas station was the visitor centre, where we'd go to buy our overnight hiking passes. So we went there next, and the time was 4:02pm. Or so we thought. Some jokers in their wisdom decided at some point in history to make alllll of BC one time zone... except a tiny little section right around here. So it was 5:02. And the visitor centre closed at 5. Sucky for us.

Not giving up entirely, we heading to the entrance to our trailhead. After much discussion, pleading, gesticulating and whatnot, the attendant, who didn't have the right passes to sell us, finally sold us some unrelated passes for the right price and scribbled our intended purchase on them. So we finally drove to the trailhead (Takkakaw Falls), albeit it fairly late.

The water was very green.

It took a little over an hour to reach our first campsite at Laughing Falls, where we set up, had a quick meal, and settled into a warm tent while it proceeded to freeze outside.

Our tent got a good layer of sleet that night but we stayed warm and dry. We left our stuff for the time being and headed out for a day trip to Twin Falls, taking the Yoho Trail there and the Marpole Lake Trail back. This took a few hours, after which we were back at the site to break camp.

Waking/warming up with our morning tea.

Twin Falls aren't twinned at all at this time of the year. I want my money back.

A park warden came by and was satisfied with our made-up permits. Which is fortunate, because fines for not having the right permits run in the thousands of dollars. The attendant had even said it would be highly unlikely for us to run into a warden, but we insisted being diligent when it comes to obeying park rules.

After packing up we headed to our next stop at the Little Yoho campground. It wasn't a rough trek but did involve a bit a climbing. The worst part in all this was that we hadn't seen any good mountain views yet, having been stuck in valleys and trees our first two days.

Day three started out cold.

Hail to the chef!

After packing up again, we headed off to find the Iceline Trail, which was the whole point of this excursion. It would take us above the tree line and (hopefully) reward us with some magnificent views of the surrounding mountain ranges.

The weather was amazing, and we were not disappointed that day.

Hey, I was there too.

Looking down at the valley sure beats walking in it.

We made it back to the car without incident, having covered between 28 and 30 km (depending which map you believe) during our stay. Then we were off to find Lily and her minders, who were on their way to Banff to meet us for some more civilized camping.

Fall travels - part 3 (canoe trip)

About a day and a half after returning from Iceland, I headed out on my second annual Algonquin Park canoe trip. I didn't bother to blog about it last year, since nobody needed to know that I totally fell into the river on my last day, just before emerging from the wilderness. And then arrived home to a locked house, resulting in a successful break-in (not my first, right Marian?).

So this year four guys headed out into the wild, knowing we might never return. We had opted for a small lake with two campsites on it, one extra portage farther out than last year's destination.

Picked up some rental canoes on the way.

And they're off!

Can we canoe this

"Man, this is SO easy!" (Yay for ultralight kevlar canoes.)

Look ma, no hands!

Ugh, break time! Shoulders get killed with a pack that doesn't like a canoe on it.

Official portage garb: crocs!

Made it! (Five portages?) The weather was lovely; we even went swimming.

We banished the snorers to behind a downed tree.

Our fearless head chef. He takes food seriously: steak on day one.

Our fire chief.

Early morning ride.

Day one gave us nice weather. Day two, however, was lousy. After a foggy hour or two in the early morning, it started to rain. And rain some more. And it didn't stop all day. We headed out to explore, and most of us got rather wet.

"We shall blaze a path through yon thicket."

Die-hard fisherguy. Caught nothing, unlike last year (I remember deep-fried awesomeness!)

Tarped kitchen. Our site came with two handy makeshift tables.

Somehow we kept our fire going through the worst downpours.

Our evening reward for the day's sloshing.

A rest and a quick dip.

Day three was nice again, and we had a pleasant enough trip out. It's always a lot of work, but always rewarding. I think next year, since I'll be forty, during the portages the guys will carry me litter-style in a canoe, as befits my station.