Banff

Looking down on Banff Township from the hills above.

I think we may have found a place that's as pretty as New Zealand - the place that's always been the benchmark for all of our travels. The area in and around Banff and Jasper, and everything in between, has to rank at or near the top of any listings of the world's most beautiful places. We've enjoyed the week here very much and really hate to have to leave tomorrow to head on down the road to Calgary.

Our hikes here have truly been world class - spiced up with the occasional animal sighting - and the little township of Banff was a delight in itself. Not at all overrun with tourists as we had feared. It was an easy walk into town from our little self-catering cottage in one of the residential areas, and our week long stay permitted us to enjoy the place at our leisure rather than having to run around and squeeze everything in over the course of just a few days. Didn't even have to drive out of town for terrific hikes...just had to walk to the end of a block in virtually any direction and continue on into the hills. Just had to be alert about the bears!


Looking up the street from our cottage.



Pretty scenery everywhere.



Along one of our riverside walks.



A little further up the trail.



The Banff Springs Hotel - the grand old lady of the Bow River Valley. A gorgeous place but bring your wallet.



A moocher on the trail. You're not supposed to feed any of the wildlife but it's hard to resist these guys. We saw one at the Lake Agnes Tea House near Lake Louise the other day that was actually obese from chowing down on all of the tourist handouts. It was quite a sight...a fat chipmunk.

They apparently had a bumper crop of Buffalo Berries this year, which is one of the staples of the diet of both Black Bears and Grizzlies as they fatten up for the long winter ahead. Guess when they're actively gorging themselves they get pretty preoccupied and it's easy to startle them if you come upon them in the forest. Since the berries are abundant along the valley floor, ie along the hiking trails, you really have to be careful (and prepared) as you work your way along. Several popular hiking trails were closed completely due to bear activity, and many others were restricted to groups of 4 or more people - all of whom needed to be equipped with "bear bells" to alert the bears of your approach (and minimize the potential for a surprise encounter), and bear spray as a last safety resort. Nobody gets too excited about any of this - it's just the way it is if you live or travel in the wilderness. Just have to be properly prepared is all.



The Buffalo Berries were ripening all over the valley floor next to the trails.

They're serious about their bear advisories around here. Kept seeing these warning signs about every 1000 yards along the trail. Parks Canada has a terrific website that includes trail conditions and reports of bear activity that they update nearly every day. Several of the trails we wanted to hike were closed due to bear activity, and others had bear advisories (proceed at your own risk) posted. Noticed that there was even an entire valley near one of our hikes, stretching about 30 miles to the south and covering several hundred square miles, that was closed completely as a reserve for foraging animals. Along with the bears there are also wolves, coyotes, moose and elk in the forests here.

On one of our hikes we took an alternate route back towards our car and came upon this elk cow as we rounded a corner. Didn't seem too skittish even though we were making a lot of racket thanks to our bear bells. As we approached she just melted into the forest. As we passed we peaked through the foliage where she had disappeared and saw a second female along with a huge (I mean really magnificent) stag. Must have been at least a 16 pointer and stood about 6 feet at the shoulder...about 20 feet away from us. Fortunately it wasn't yet rutting season or we might have been at risk of a charge - they're pretty cantankerous when their blood is up - as numbers of tourists in Yellowstone find out every September when the normally docile herd that hangs out in the Mammoth area becomes very aggressive and the males do a lot of damage to passing vehicles (and occasionally their occupants). No problems this day however. Just couldn't get a photo thru the trees.

Leaving tomorrow morning for the short 90 minute drive out of the mountains to Calgary, where we'll be for just a couple of days.

Birthday Hike at Lake Louise

The view across Lake Louise from the Chateau.

We celebrated my birthday by driving about an hour north of Banff to Lake Louise - another stunning place in this magnificent area - to spend the day. Rather than driving up the Trans Canada highway with the rest of the tourists we opted to try an alternate route - the Bow River Parkway - which parallels the other road but is a two lane meander thru the forest. Whereas the main highway is usually clogged with bumper to bumper traffic transiting the corridor, with road construction delays added just to increase the fun factor, the Bow River route was almost deserted...had it almost to ourselves anyway, which made for a very pleasant and scenic 45 minute trip. Even saw some critters along the way - two huge Elk stags browsing along the side of the road.

Once at the Lake we walked around the Chateau Lake Louise - the big European style hotel that dominates the small village and which features prominently in all of the tourist brochures of the area. Really was a pretty place. Styled to evoke the image of a Scottish castle. And sitting right at the edge of the lake with views up to the distant glaciers...as you can see from the accompanying photos.





Another look from the grounds of the hotel.



Looking back at the hotel from the Shoreline Walk.

As usual we had our hiking gear and decided to wander up the shoreline trail to Lake Agnes about 1,000 ft. above Lake Louise, where they have a tea house - a very European thing that I've only seen before in Germany or Switzerland. After an hour's slog uphill it was neat to emerge onto another beautiful vista and to be able to sit down and enjoy a hot beverage and a snack. Since the trail we hiked is the only way in or out, supplies have to be brought in every few days by horseback...a mini pack train.


Heading up to Lake Agnes.



Rita at Lake Agnes on a pretty day.



The view from the trail. Makes Lake Louise look like the world's largest lap pool, doesn't it?

After a short rest we opted to continue via a connector trail that eventually brought us to another tea house located further in the back country - in an area called the Plain of the Six Glaciers. Another scenic hike up into a secluded valley. Stopped there for lunch and to rest our weary legs before the trek back down the hill. I was a bit taken aback at the thought of paying $8.00 for a peanut butter & jelly sandwich...until I saw the sandwich. Made with hikers (and calories) in mind, it was made of home made brown bread sliced extra thick and then slathered with the PB and J. God it was good - and probably would have fed a family of four for about 3 days. Wandered around the vicinity for a half hour or so - just marveling at the views of all the glacial peaks around us - and then headed home just as the "afternoon rush" seemed to be arriving. I was frankly surprised at how many people were arriving - it was a good 4 mile hike to get there after all - and at how poorly prepared most seemed to be. Inadequate footwear, no rain gear or warm clothes, etc. It was as if they started out on the shoreline trail in front of the hotel, which is quite easy and totally flat, and then just decided to go for it apparently believing that the rest of the hike was the same grade as the first mile. Anyway, we saw some sorry looking touristas that half looked like they might have to be helicoptered out once they finally arrived at the tea house.


Nearing the end of the trail.



And finally, the view from the end of the valley. There really were 6 glaciers in the little amphitheater around us.

Drove back to Banff along the same parkway that we came up on. Really relaxing, and always with the chance to see wildlife grazing next to the road.

Don't really have anything significant or profound to say about turning 64. The only thing to be said in favor of getting older, once you've reached a certain age, is that it sure beats the alternative.

I'm reminded of a quote attributed to Babe Ruth, who said that he knew it was time to retire from baseball when all of the baselines started to seem as if they were running uphill. I'm starting to know how he felt.

A few more days here in Banff before we head to Calgary.

Columbia Icefield

Wilcox Pass Hike

The drive to Banff was a little showery as we kept trying to outrun a cold front that was right behind us the whole way - and were successful for the most part. About an hour from Jasper we stopped in at the Columbia Ice Field Visitor Center - located at the toe of the Athabasca glacier and in an area at the summit of the pass where about 5 huge glaciers collectively form the headwaters of the various rivers that flow north, west, and east from this spot - the triple continental divide. Another beautiful place in the Canadian rockies.

Just beyond the center was the trailhead for the Wilcox Pass hike - advertised as one of the prettiest in the area, and so it proved to be. We laced up our boots and hiked the first half of it to the top of the pass. Didn't have time to do the whole thing but the part we saw was truly amazing. The trail wound its way up thru a nice little alpine forest before it emerged onto an elevated "bench" at the 8,000 ft level, then gradually continued uphill with spectacular views of the glaciers off to the left and what appeared to be open tundra off to our right all the way to the base of the surrounding mountains. Finally stopped near the top when we saw a group of bighorn sheep grazing in the meadow just ahead of us...not more than 30 yards away. One was a big ram with huge horns, accompanied by one female and what appeared to be a juvenile male.

As we sat down to rest and have a drink the female started walking straight towards us, coming within 10 feet of our position on the rocks. Turned out she was making her way to another herd of about 8 individuals that we hadn't noticed before, but which was just below us in the meadow. I commented that it was a great photo op, only to be told by my hiking companion (who shall remain nameless) than she had left the camera in the car!

So... the photos below are a few that I gleaned from other web pages - they're not ours. They do accurately show what we saw, however.


We actually saw 3 separate herds of Bighorns in the immediate vicinity...probably about 20 animals. It was pretty apparent that they were well acclimated to the presence of humans - not skittish at all.



Lots of panoramas like this.



And this was the view of the Athabasca glacier from near the top of the pass.



And lots of these guys milling around. It was really an idyllic scene. Even thought we may have seen some caribou off in the distance at the base of the hills.

Since we still had a couple of hours of driving ahead of us to get to Banff we turned around at this point and started heading back to the car. Turned out to be good timing. Just after we reversed course we heard the rumble of distant thunder as the front started approaching rapidly from the north. Since the absolute last place you want to be in a thunderstorm is on an exposed ridge we high-stepped it down the hill...reaching the car about 5 minutes before the thing broke over our heads. Drove out of the rain after about 10 miles and finally reached Banff around 5 PM where it was sunny and hot (about 80 deg). The front passed over last night and it got down to the 30's. Forecast is for showers with highs in the 50's for the next few days. We're hoping for a break so we can head back up to Lake Louise for some more pretty day hikes.

A Last Look

We're outta here in the morning for the short 3 hour drive down the Ice Fields Parkway to Banff. Had another pretty day today...warmed up to almost 80. Here are a few more pictures of one of the most beautiful places we've seen on our travels.


Lots of sun and no wind in the early AM made for some crystal-clear reflections on one of the high lakes.



Another look at Medicine Lake from our lunch spot. Hard to believe this will be an open meadow in another month.



A couple of looks at Maligne Lake...above & below. The 25 mile drive up the canyon to get here has to be ranked among the most scenic on earth.






The road to the lake passes thru a lot of habitat for assorted creatures large & small. These Big Horn sheep (females with young ones) were just grazing by the side of the road...and of course stopping traffic as they browsed.

Saw another Black Bear crossing the road ahead of us on this drive, but we were too slow on the trigger and he (or she) was well into the woods before we could retrieve the camera.

Looking forward to Banff. The weather is forecast to turn showery tomorrow but we have our waterproofs and are hoping for the best.

More Jasper

Another pretty day here. Went on a fairly leisurely walk around 5 lakes - all of which are fed by glacial runoff and drain from one to the next in sequence down the length of the valley. As was the case in New Zealand the glacial ice-melt turns the water amazing shades of aquamarine. As each lake drains into the next I guess there's a natural filtering process taking place because there are subtle changes in the coloration of each of the lakes in turn... going from almost lime green to blue-tinged aqua in the course of about 3 miles. Tried to capture it in some photos but with only limited success. The sun wouldn't cooperate and shooting with overcast skies didn't quite do it. Nevertheless you can get some idea I think. Although the impression from the photos is that the water is milky, fact is that the waters are crystal clear. Would be a great place to snorkel if you could keep from freezing.


This whole lake was essentially the same color as you see in the shallows around the edges.






The Athabasca River heading north to the Arctic Ocean. Guess if you dropped a note in a bottle you could send a message to an Eskimo.

Later we drove over to the Maligne River Canyon in another section of the Park. The lake to the right of the photo below is called Medicine Lake. It's huge, but every year in September the glacial melt that feeds it dries up and the whole lake disappears. The Indians who lived in the area didn't quite know what to make of that and assumed that some sort of supernatural force must be at work for a perfectly good lake to completely disappear - hence the name "Medicine" Lake.

It was about 25 miles to the end of the access road and all of it was posted as habitat and crossings for Caribou, Big Horn Sheep, and other assorted creatures. Saw the Hoary Marmot below just driving by in the car. Also saw several Caribou does browsing in the meadows. Apparently Jasper is home to the southernmost herd of Caribou in North America.

Also spotted a coyote as he crossed the road a little ahead of us.




Maligne Lake at the end of the long drive.


Even the sky seems to be magical here. Saw this lenticular cloud formation as we were heading home late in the afternoon. Almost looks like the Mother Ship is hovering overhead doesn't it?


One more full day here tomorrow before we head for Banff on Thursday. If our legs hold out we plan on hiking in another section of this beautiful National Park.

Jasper

Rita at a glacial lake full of icebergs.

Our first full day in Jasper didn't disappoint. The sun finally made an appearance so we headed out for a couple of light-duty hikes in the mountains. The first was up to a feature call Mt. Edith Cavell. The scenery was really spectacular - I mean jaw-dropping spectacular even by Yellowstone standards. The trail took us past this little lake formed by glacial ice-melt. You can see the face of the glacier behind Rita, along with the icebergs floating in the lake as the glacier continues to "calve". It was really an amazing sight, especially with the sun on the glacier later in the morning. Even heard the groaning and cracking as pieces of the thing separated and fell into the lake. Amazing.



Looking the other way - down the valley from the glacier.



Another look




And another. Could have shot up a whole flash drive it was so pretty.

The hike took us up to a high mountain meadow full of wildflowers. Saw a big fat Hoary Marmot grazing in the grass right next to us on the trail, along with several Pikas - little beasties about the size of chipmunks that I guess are related to rabbits. They make a little chirping sound as you pass.



Athabasca Falls. A nice photo stop just down the road from the glacier that also had some pretty riverside walks.


Your "Factoid of the Day" is that the Athabasca River that you see in the photo above continues north until it eventually empties into the Arctic Ocean, which means that we aren't just at the continental divide but apparently at the only place on earth where there's a "triple" divide...where rivers separate to flow west to the Pacific, east to the Atlantic, and north to the Arctic. Bet you won't see that on Jeopardy any time soon.


Here's a video to give you an idea of the panorama at the glacier.

Side Trips Enroute to Jasper

A last look at Hudson Bay mountain from our cottage as we were leaving.

Our last day in Smithers we took a side trip to the little town of Telkwa, which was located about 10 miles south of us along the Fraser river. There was as easy forest walk to the site of the old town of Aldermere - the first town in the area but which was pulled down in 1915 to make way for Telkwa, which was better located on the river and thus a better artery for trade. Not much to see except for markers showing where on the old wagon road (now the hiking trail) the various homes and buildings were located. It was a very pretty walk, although as usual around here there were signs warning of bear activity...in this case sightings of a mother black bear and her cub.



It's official - we're in the middle of nowhere.


Part of the riverfront walking track

As we were returning along the path we saw a couple of local girls running towards us. They stopped, out of breath, to talk to us and said they had just seen the two bears emerging onto the pathway a little way ahead. Struck us as odd that a couple of locals would have done exactly what they tell you not to do if you see bears on foot - which is to run. Apparently it triggers a predatory instinct and they will chase you thinking that you must be something good to eat, even the otherwise harmless black bears (unless they have cubs in tow in which case all bets are off).

Anyway, after hearing their story (they really did seem to be spooked) we pressed on (it was the only way back to our car), but made lots of noise to alert any critters of our approach and kept a close eye out for any movement. Never saw or heard anything except some fresh scat, but I guess these sorts of incidents aren't at all unusual around here.
The cascade coming down from the glacier.



On the Yellowhead Highway coming into Jasper. Pretty, eh?

After 10 days of sunny weather our luck ran out today as we drove from Prince George to Jasper - rained the whole way - although it looks like it's starting to clear up as I write this from our B&B. Supposed to be sunny for a few days before turning rainy again just about the time we leave here for Banff. Looking forward to exploring this beautiful area over the course of the next few days.

Guess there some pretty major forest fires raging just to the north and southwest of us. The whole drive yesterday from Smithers to Prince George was in thick smoke. No active fires near us but apparently they had to close a couple of roads for a day or two last week. The smoke was so thick in places that it obscured the nearby mountains and reduced visibility to barely a mile or so. Made for some tough driving the last two days. Hopefully the sun will reappear tomorrow.

Smithers, BC

The view from the back porch of our self-catering cottage on Lake Kathlyn. Can see the glacier on Hudson Bay Peak. Not sure how it got the name, since Hudson's Bay is about 2000 miles away, but there it is.

We really enjoyed our 3 night stopover in Smithers. The town sits in a pretty little valley in the middle of north-central BC with typically gorgeous Provincial Parks all around, plus glacial lakes dotting the landscape - too many to count or keep track of.

Decided to go on one serious hike up into the hills our second day. Not too steep going uphill by Columbia River Gorge standards, and when it leveled off in a pretty little mountain pass we felt as if we were back in the highlands of Scotland. Hiked down the other side of the pass until we came to a couple of alpine lakes where we had lunch.



Looking back down the trail towards Hudson Bay Peak.


Stopped along the trail to figure out what was whistling at us. Turned out to be a colony of rock marmots who were alerting each other of our passing. Couldn't get too close - they were pretty skittish.









Heading down to our lunch spot. We were a little worried about bears - there were both Black Bears & Grizzlies in the area - but never saw any on the trip up or back...much to our relief. I had picked up some bear spray a couple of years ago before a trip to Glacier & Yellowstone, and carry it with me whenever we head out. It's nasty stuff - industrial strength pepper spray basically. Had some blow back on me once while doing a test firing in Yellowstone and it felt like someone had thrown acid on my arm.



The place we stopped for lunch. As you can see from some of the previous photos it was bundle-up weather for part of the hike. The wind was whipping thru the pass we had to traverse and it was plenty cold at our altitude of around 3500 ft....and it was the middle of August.

As you can probably tell we've been having a great trip so far. The scenery is everything we imagined it would be. BC reminds us of the best aspects of Scotland, Ireland and New Zealand. If anything there are fewer people here than we encountered on our NZ trip. Even driving on the highway brings back memories of our trip there, when we'd go for 15 or 20 minutes before seeing another vehicle. This part of Canada really has a "back of beyond" feel to it, which makes the experience that much more enjoyable.

Heading for Prince George today, which is just a stopover on the way to Jasper National Park. Hard to believe that the "real" beautiful scenery is still supposed to be ahead of us.