September '06 Newsletter - Trip #1

Canadian Rockies Van (7/15/06-7/23/06)
Reported by Scott McCollough, edited by Bob and Susan

When I got to the meeting point at a downtown hostel, several of the gang were already there and the rest arrived shortly. Bob and Suzy arrived about 8:45 AM with an eight-passenger rental van and their camper-shelled Toyota Tundra towing a closed in trailer for our baggage. First stopping at a Safeway to purchase some drinks, we quickly left Calgary behind and headed for Banff. Bob was fairly concerned about weekend campground traffic but we arrived early and found campsites at a campground about 15 miles beyond Banff. After eating lunch there we took a very short drive to Johnston Canyon for a 4-mile loop hike up a narrow gorge to some beautiful waterfalls. The water was crystal blue and the weather wonderful - sunny and warm but not hot. Unfortunately, many others were doing the same hike. After finishing it we went into Banff townsite for some tourist shopping. Returning to our camp, the night's cook team served up some yummy fire-baked salmon. While preparing dinner, we discovered one of the few disadvantages of Banff valley, frequent noisy trains. A cheery fire promoted some to be involved in late evening conversations, while others being first-day tired, drifted off to bed.

The camp started stirring about 6:45 AM. The cook team, Jim and Lynn, overslept and were late. Not having the luxury of a Dutch oven, Susan came up with a novel way of preparing omelets while Bob cooked the bacon on the griddle. The eggs were scrambled in Ziploc bags with whatever fixings you wished in your omelet and the bags were then placed into boiling water. The results were very good. Bob decided it was best to keep our campsite for one more day despite the night trains; so we loaded into the van and my pickup and headed out for a day touring Kootenay National Park.

The first stop was to be at Marble Canyon, but unfortunately it was closed due to the 2003 forest fire in the area. The bridges were damaged and concern about falling dead trees and snags caused trail closure. We continued on to Paint Pots, cold springs that bring up iron rich mud that was once mined for ochre, used for paint by Indians and settlers in the area. We continued up the trail through a beautiful forest with many wildflowers - including a couple of small yellow columbine. When it became obvious we weren't going to get great views without investing a lot of time and effort, we returned to the parking lot for lunch and continued on to Radium Hot Springs. For awhile there were burnt trees on both sides of the road rising up to the mountain ridges, which seemed to indicate how hot the 2003 fire had been. The mountains are spectacular with rugged, raw limestone peaks and sheer cliffs! Everyone spent about an hour soaking in one of the two pools at Radium Hot Springs. One was at 84 degrees, the other at 100 degrees - both pleasant. A much smaller spa-sized pool was being continuously filled with stream water. Those who tried it said it was a numbing experience, very cold. Jon, Dave and I went directly back to camp afterwards, while the others stopped at Stanley Creek for another short hike to survey the many wildflowers. Our group enjoyed another excellent day with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-70s.

I heard only one train last night. We had oatmeal for breakfast, broke camp and headed for Yoho National Park. We gassed up at the Lake Louise junction - $101! After the liters and gallons conversion plus the money exchange rate, gas was costing over $4.00 US/gallon. We stopped at the Yoho visitor center, then immediately looked for a campsite at Monarch campground. As soon as we turned off the main highway we were subjected to a parks pass checkpoint. We then set up our tents, only to have an anal ranger instruct us to move two of them. By the way, have I mentioned the new camp was across the valley from the main railroad line over Kicking Horse Pass?

We packed lunches and headed for the O'Hara Lake trailhead. On the way up to the Pass we stopped and looked at the spiral tunnel viewpoint - two spiral railroad tunnels are in the valley here. We knew we were going to have to walk up to Lake O'Hara, as they limit access by only allowing a couple of busloads up each day. These are mostly filled with campers, backcountry hikers, and resort facility users. 20 spots are held for everyone else who would like to visit. At the trailhead, we learned a bridge was washed out on the trail. It was suggested by a resort employee that we should just walk up the mile or so shorter road, a 6.8-mile hike. The view was a stunning glacial cirque holding a turquoise blue lake. Some of our group had enough zip left to take one of the many trails around the lake. We caught the bus back to the trailhead and returned to our campsite. Judy had stayed behind and had the privilege of visiting with a black bear for about an hour. That night some of us put together a song (Dave kept rolling his eyes) to celebrate Bob and Suzy's 19th wedding anniversary.

The song went:

Any trail you can hike, I can hike faster
I can hike any trail faster than you
No you can't
     Yes I can
     No you can't
     Yes I can, yes I can, YES I CAN
I can lead a trip anywhere, and not get lost
You're the boss
Yeah, where are we?
         Any road you can drive, I can drive better
I can drive any road better than you
No you can't
     Yes I can
     No you can't
     Yes I can, yes I can, YES I CAN
Can you bake a pie?
No, Costco can try
Rats, neither can I
. . . . . .

After which Dave sang "I Won't Send Roses", and we then presented them with 19 candy dots that Lynn had donated from her personal candy stash. The weather today was a bit unsettled, some dark clouds, with spits of rain. In the early morning it rained just enough to get the tents wet.

Since we didn't have to rush off to find another campsite, we awakened about 7:00 AM. Jon and Steve made French toast for breakfast, but we still broke camp and were on the road by 9:00 AM. Went up Highway 1 to Natural Bridge, where the minty green water swirled into a hole. We continued on to Emerald Lake where most did a hike around the lake. One side was semi-arid and the other a lush rain forest - very diverse, simply gorgeous. There were many unique flowers in the meadows, with huckleberries all along the trail. The lake stilled to the point we had unbelievable reflections, until Jon walked into the water for a better picture. We continued on to Takakkaw Falls - massive amounts of water shooting down - had lunch there and stopped at another outstanding viewpoint of the spiral railroad tunnels. There were no trains to watch, but definitely a place to see. After picking up Bob's truck and trailer, we returned to Lake Louise junction and into Banff NP. An hour or so later, we found Waterfowl campground, claimed three sites, and headed back to Bow Lake and Peyto Lake overlooks - many wildflowers. Viewed from above, the water was emerald green and the remains of a glacier could be seen up the valley. The dinner that night was spaghetti and meatballs. For the meatballs Dave and I had to squeeze sausage out of the casing - Judy helped, but sliced the casing instead of squeezing her sausage. The weather today was partly cloudy and cool.

We left camp at 8:30 AM, much too early for Bob, and stopped at a couple sites, including Mistaya Canyon, along the way to the Columbia Icefield. The plan was to reach the visitor center early so we could make whatever arrangements were necessary. Susan ran in to get tickets while Bob drove us out to the foot of the glacier. Everyone took a short hike on the ice before returning to the Icefield center for lunch. Bob and Suzy had tickets ready for us on the 1:00 PM snow coach. While waiting for our bus we saw a spectacular rainbow halo, with a second ring, around the sun - beautiful. We got half way up the glacier with in a huge 50 passenger tank-like coach. On a steep decent, the driver asked us to wave enthusiastically to the coaches going up. When the first one's response was lukewarm, he commented about that one being a load of penguins - it was full of Menonites! As we were wondering if descriptions like that were politically correct in Canada, Suzy suggested we moon the next one - but of course we didn't. Afterwards we continued to the Wapiti campground in Jasper National Park and set up camp. With not much time left, we popped into the Township of Jasper for an hour and returned to the campground for dinner. Weather was pretty cold this morning, 35 degrees, in the low 60s around the Icefield and in the high 70s in the Jasper area.

For breakfast, we cooked bag-omelets again. On the road by 9:30 AM, we took a short drive south to Mount Edith Cavell, which featured a scenic lake at the foot of a glacier, with lots of wind-blown calved ice floating in it. The next stop, after getting gas in the town of Jasper, was lunch at the Maligne Canyon trailhead, then a hike along the canyon. This started as a very deep slot canyon with water flowing far below and eventually became a fairly wide river when the canyon opened up. That afternoon we visited Miette Hot Springs for an hour-long soak - saw big horn sheep, grouse, elk, and some deer on the drive out. The pools were smallish, but the water was warm and the views beautiful - the valley walls were sheer granite on one side. We were able to arrive late back in the town of Jasper as we were doing dinner in town that evening. We broke up and some went to the Jasper Brew Pub, which had excellent buffalo burgers. Others had a bit more formal dinner at Earls, followed by more shopping. The RCMP were out in their red uniforms for us photo crazy tourists. Judy had her photo taken with one. Somehow, without a key, Bob and Suzy deposited several bags of ice into the coolers in the back of my truck. It's another mystery! The weather was stunning today - crystal clear and in the 80s.

We were on the road by 8:30 AM, headed for the Jasper Tram. The couple thousand feet ascent was wonderful and after hiking another six hundred vertical feet up the mountain there were unrivaled views, including our only sighting of the highest peak, Mt. Robson. A helicopter flew in below us, and someone got out, dragged something wrapped in blue up a hill, then the helicopter picked him and the blue object up. The people at the tram said it was a tarp - awfully expensive rescue for a tarp. It was kind of weird watching a helicopter from above. Later, at Athabasca Falls, a ranger said it was probably a body. Athabasca Falls is a powerful waterfall into a narrow slot canyon, unfortunately lots of tourists. After a short drive we reached Sunwapta Falls for lunch. We stopped on the highway to view and photograph a large herd of mountain goats. As we reached our campground at Waterfowl Lakes, Dave saw a bear near the entrance. It was hot today - mid 80s.

We had a break-away breakfast this morning, power flakes, canned fruit and drinks. With quite a few miles to drive, our gear was loaded and we were underway before 8:00 AM. We motored south through Lake Louise to the lake parking lot, which was just beginning to fill. Lake Louise is in a big cirque, with beautiful azure water, and a large modern hotel on the shore. While Bob and Suzy went to locate campsites, the rest of us began a hike to the Lake Agnes teahouse. The teahouse is a small cabin at the head of a valley, with a beautiful little alpine lake and a cascading waterfall. When we returned to the hotel and Lake Louise it became obvious the visitation was going to be overwhelming that day. One by one we gathered near the rental car until 1:00 PM when Bob and Suzy arrived. Dave was a little late, having gone a bit far for his hike. The next stop was Moraine Lake where the number of cars was unbelievable. We were directed to park on the shoulder of the road and walked a half-mile or so to the lakeside parking lot. I left early with Suzanne and Judy, grabbed a shower and relaxed in camp. The others hiked a bit at the lake and returned an hour or so later. Several went to the ranger show at the amphitheater, but found it best suited for children. The weather was hot and clear all day.

We left camp about 8:30 AM, headed for the Banff Gondola, which took us quickly to the summit. The elevation gain wasn't as great as the one in Jasper. Upon reaching the top, we walked along boardwalks to a historic weather station that was being reconstructed. The valleys below were hazy, but it was clear and warm on the mountain. Returning to the cars, we quickly drove to the Cave and Basin National Historic site, where we toured the old bathhouse and grounds. The town of Banff was so congested with tourist traffic that day it was impossible to find a place to park, especially near a picnic table. Even the city park was a zoo, the good weather brought all the locals out. We went through town in total confusion, momentarily losing each other and not knowing how we were going to reconnect. Eventually reunited, we found a picnic table near the highway for lunch. Afterwards we drove two hours back to Calgary and the Youth Hostel where we said our goodbyes. It was hot again, but clouded up in the early evening with some thundershowers when we were all safely in our hotel rooms.

Participants: Lynn Aldrich, Susan Groth, Steve Guhin, Suzanne Hamilton, Dave Kehs, Jim Laskowski, Bob Marley, Scott McCollough, Judy Stanley, & Jon Trahan.

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