Road Trip Daily

The Skytram near Jasper Town carried me up 1000 meters to the near-top of Whistlers mountain (named for the whistle call of marmots).  I then hiked to the summit 150 meters up further but then struck off down the other side toward Indian Ridge.  I passed through the wet valley and ascended the ridge on the left, making the my way up quickly, with the only challenge being a scramble detour to avoid snow, up loose rock to the left of the peak.  The view was great in every direction but I especially loved the mountains to the south, with Mount Edith Cavell as a main actress.  As I slowly tramped along the wide ridgetop, sharp arete mountain ridges to the south and the snowy cone of Mount Robson, tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies, far in the distance, came into view.  Arriving at the far right ridge peak after an hour or so, I began my descent, following the guidebook instruction to "walk down the shale slopes to the stream ."  About a quarter of the way dow...

Parker Ridge is the northernmost trail in Banff Park and the views of the Saskatchewan Glacier are up close and personal. The pre global warming--human Industrial Age length of the glacier is clearly visible in grey. I sat and pondered life-nature-being-joy.  After hiking along Parker Ridge north toward Mount Athabasca, I drove up the road a bit to the Wilcox Pass trail, one of the famous Jasper Park trails. Like the Helen Lake trail yesterday, you climb to the hidden valley and are quickly greeted with vistas of the icy mountains, glaciers, Icefields and green-blue valleys. The Columbia Icefield, a high alpine valley set between a half dozen towering mountains and filled with ice 600 feet thick in spots, was the star of the vista.  I hiked to Wilcox Pass and then turned left toward the Icefield and famous Athabasca Glacier, where you can ride a special truck up and walk on the glacier. Once at the far ridge, I hiked toward Mount Wilcox, enjoying the views and peace of this wo...

OMG Canada.  Today was my favorite day. The climb to Cirque Peak started with a lovely hike to Helen Lake, climbing quickly at the start but then gently roaming on the backside of the valley, above tree line and with views south to infinity. I made it quickly to the lake then continued on the trail to Dolomite Pass, scrambling on top of the ridge beyond Helen Lake.  My destination : Once on top of the ridge (above my head), I hiked around another lake and up the sandy right side of Cirque Peak, following the route picture from the scramble guide. I eventually made it to a snowbank at the crest of the upper ridge.  I figured walking below the snowbank to the nose would be safer for me with little snow experience, but I saw old steps cut up the near-vertical snowbank and I decided to go for it.  Kicking steps with my right then left foot then propelling my hiking poles right then left deep in the snow above, I inched my way up a snow wall, keeping three solid contact p...

The crown jewel of the Canadian Rockies, Lake Louise feels extra-planetary with her cobalt blue waters and in-your-face Victoria glacier in the background.  A Chateau sits at her front and tourists abound by the shore and in canoes. The lake color comes alive when viewed from a higher point... See pic 2. Mount Fairview sits 3300 feet above the lake and benefits from a well-trodden trail to nearby Saddleback Pass and then steeply to Fairview summit.  The climb up was grueling but the views started within thirty minutes and kept getting better as I climbed. There were six of us at the summit, making it a party! Despite the rainy and overcast weather, I proceeded on, after descending from Mount Fairview, to Morraine Lake, another cobalt blue lake with fortress mountains on high alert.  Finally, I drove north on the Icefields Parkway, the 150 mile long highway connecting Banff and Jasper parks, and home to the largest Icefields south of the arctic.  I stopped at a campgr...

I wanted to scramble up the highest mountain near Banff town-- the ever-present Mount Rundle, but the 1550 meter (5000 foot) ascent was daunting. So I didn't do it. I stopped in the information center to get trail conditions for all the possible routes on my list then took a stroll around the town. Big climbs would have to wait for another day.  A walk to the Cave and Basin, a hot spring cave and spring that was the original natural site preserved by Banff Park during its formation in 1870-something was underwhelming since the cave was closed on Mondays. The inside of the Banff Springs hotel was fancy and clean and charming and the falls below the hotel were scenic and calming.  Next stop was the hot springs-- more like a hot pool-- but relaxing and luxurious non the less. I hung around for nearly two hours.  Lake Minnewanka is the largest of the lakes at Banff. A quick stroll around the front of the lake provided great views of surrounding peaks, but the highlight was su...

After a very pleasant morning at Dave's house spent photocopying trail and scramble guide routes, enjoying a great breakfast and coffee, meeting some of Dave's extremely kind family members and chatting more about adventures, I set out for downtown Calgary.  I thought a walk around a museum would be a nice change of pace, so I toured the Glenbow Museum. Two highlights were a Blackfoot Indian describing the meaning of their Tipi decorations and the Gun Scupture. The history of Alberta section was also quite interesting: fur trappers then cowboys then railroad builders then oil drillers.  I then walked down to a nearby waterfront park, along a pedestrian only shopping street where a Christian pride rally was taking place, and then down quiet side streets to the park. Seeing people out jogging and playing on this Sunday afternoon reminded me of the real life I must one day return to. But not yet! Hungry and ready for mountains, I walked back to my van and left Calgary heading wes...

I took a day off hiking today and read by the beautiful seashore of Waterton Lakes.  My camp chair was stolen yesterday from my campsite and I felt a bit "off" as a result. The cost of replacing the chair was minor but the unexpected intrusion made me feel distant from home. An engaging murder mystery novel set in civil rights era Mississippi and the beauty of Waterton's lakes eventually won over my foul mood.   Here were some photos from this lazy, meandering day.  The next day, I set out north toward Calgary. Dave Neame, a kind Canadian hiker, adventurer and retired technology exec I met in Utah had offered his spare bedroom up for the night. I chatted with Dave about the Canadian Rockies, his mountaineering and backcountry skiing experiences and his travels around the world most of the afternoon before enjoying a Vietnamese dinner and a Top Gear TV special about India together.  Dave's knowledge of hiking and mountain climbing around Canada was top notch and I fel...

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet!  I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception.  I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton.  The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district.  Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...

My plan for the day was to combine two popular hikes into one: a hike to Iceberg Lake, a frozen lake set below 3000 foot towering cliffs, and Ptarmigan Tunnel, a 137 foot long tunnel cut into a high alpine pass that was closed by the park service. The hike began with a close-up sighting of five bighorn sheep: The impressive Ptarmigan wall is a constant eye-sore on the way to the Iceberg Lake:)  So small am I: Ptarmigan Lake glows blue amid the snow banks going up to Ptarmigan Tunnel.  The trail was clear though all the way to the tunnel, but the iron door of the tunnel was bolted shut: impassable. Luckily, I saw a route up the slippery talus field eighty feet up to a notch above the tunnel- easy and safe for me.   More moutain goats met me at the high pass. This family seemed annoyed by my unlikely presence here, so after a stare-down period, I backed away down the talus field, allowing them to pass and me to check out the high ridge they came from.  The colorful vie...