The weather had been perfect thusfar. A few showers but mostly sun and in the high 50s. Today was a chill day. We decided to spend the day in Banff, walking around the town. Grabbed coffee at local café and drove the Lake Minnewanka Scenic Drive.
We stopped along the way at a trailhead. It looked like a decent trail up to a cirque. I did not know what a cirque was at the time. I saw an older lady in the parking lot and drove over to her to ask if the cirque trail was difficult. She looked at me and my Asian passenger and said, “You want to hike up to the cirque (glacier)?...maybe there is a flatter trail you can try.” I thought, just because I got this Asian girl with me, please don’t treat me with such disrespect! We took her advice and drove back into town after laying eyes on a few bighorn sheep.
I saw a few art pieces to add to my files of “Art Projects” I might take a go at.
We also got the low down on “The Boss” He is a bear that has been adopted by the area. Bars are named for him, shirts have been printed. Stories of how he survived a train accident. A damaged ear from a jettisoned tag. He was now in his 20s and is bigger than life. Pisinee, as you know from earlier blogs, is obsessed with bears. Even though she has now seen a few, each trip becomes a disappointment if a bear is not found. With only a couple hundred in this stretch if the Rockies, our odds were stacked against us, but I would do my best.
After walking Banff we headed along the river and up the Fairmont Hotel.
This is a pretty swanky lodging. Nothing I would spend money on but enjoy walking the grounds to see how the other 1% live.
We closed the day by walking through the town of Canmore. As I mentioned, a little less pretentious than Banff, but they are on their way! We had dinner at a outdoor brewery along the main street. We walked through town. I walked into a gallery and saw this couple buying this painting of a Bald Eagle
Who buys this, and where to you put it. It is too bad that any American patriotic symbol is suddenly off limits for anyone but the right. No more Bald Eagles, American Flags, or…well that’s pretty much it really, flags and birds.
The next day we drove over to Kootenay National Park just across the border into British Colombia to do the Stanley Glacier Trail.
Pisinee was a little tired of hikes by this point. I have captured a couple shots to convey the sentiment
At this point she rated the hike 3.5 stars out of 4. Fortunately by the top it went back up to 4.
We worked our way up the left side of the valley always with our eye on the glacier in the distance.
The final push through 3 snow patches went smooth. This came with great relief as the drop down the hill was serious if Pisinee slipped.
Now to hike down the opposite side
The next day we checked out of the house and planned to drive our way up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. The Icefields Parkway is one of the most scenic drives in the World. I was just happy it was not raining. We made multiple stops along the way: Bow Lake, Peyto Lake, Saskatchewan River Crossing, Parker Ridge, Wilcox Pass, Columbia Icefield Viewpoint, Stutfield Glacier Viewpoint, Sunwapta falls and Athabasca Falls.
When we got to Colombia Icefield Pisinee finally got her bear. I tried to get her to get out of the car for a better view, but she didn’t fall for it.
We did one more hike just outside of Jasper, End of the World, to get a view of the town from above.
We checked into our hotel, The Astoria. It was a far cry from the lavishness of the Canmore exchange we just left. I paid $300/night for a glorified Hostel. But that was $100 cheaper than the next best option.
In the lobby I saw a framed picture of the hike I did last time I was up here.
The trail was a 29 mile multi-day hike that I ended up doing in 1 day with a full pack. It was one of the hardest hikes I ever did. To remind myself of my ability to do hard things I have worn a metal bracelet with the coordinates of the highest point on the trail. Doing hard physical things is one thing, but the harder task is doing hard things that challenge the mind and emotions. Working a tasking job for 30 years to provide for a family; Being kind to people you don’t agree with. These are also hard things just as noble, if not more so than going on an adventure.
After I finished that hike I made it back into town in time to get a blueberry/vanilla ale at the Jasper Brewing Company. Pisinee and I went back to relive it.
The next morning before driving out the the Skyline trailhead, we had an amazing breakfast at Ottos. We even repeated it the following day before leaving town
We drove out to Maligne lake. Here is the start of the Skyline Trail
Instead, we opted for a much shorter Moose Lake Loop
On the way back to Jasper we stopped to take pictures of elk along the road. Some people drove their camper right up next to the animals. Pisinee proceeded to yell at the husband, indicating he was too close. He got out of the car and came at our car. This was not what I was looking for. I asked him to please return to his vehicle. I was trying to come up with a good insult and the best I could come up with was labelling him a Trump Supporter. He was from Eastern Europe so I don’t think he really knew what I was talking about, but Pisinee was amused at all of it.
We stopped at Pyramid beach before shutting it down for the night
Saw the exact same motorcycle I own back home in downtown.
The next morning we made our way back down The Icefields Parkway
We stopped in downtown Calgary for dinner. I got a picture of this huge bunny. I thought someone lost their pet rabbit. Back home the cottontails are small and eat grass, this one was the size of dog and eats tree branches
The trip worked out perfectly. Its rare to return to a place for the second time and still get as much pleasure.
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” — T.S. Eliot
Until Next Time,
Darren
