Banff, Alberta, Canada - Aug. 8 - 11, 2005

On Monday, August 8th, we were off to Banff.  We were eager to get back into the mountains and Susan was jazzed about finally getting to an area she had wanted to see for three decades.  Although clouds were obscuring the mountains, our drive up the Bow River Valley was lovely.  After purchasing an annual Canadian National Park Pass (C$109), we checked into the Tunnel Mountain Campground, and then went into Banff to check out the Visitors Center.  We got some tips on the best hikes for this time of year, and made note of the weather forecast for the week - clouds and rain.

On Tuesday the sky was bright and beautiful, but unfortunately due to Susan's recurring condition we spent the morning at the Mineral Springs Hospital.  After lunch, she insisted on at least walking along the Bow River to the falls, then to the Banff Centre for Arts, and driving up to Lake Minnewanka.  (Bill noted that it would be difficult to work Canadian crossword puzzles because many of the words are spelled and used differently than in the US.  However, Dan Quayle would feel more comfortable in his spelling choices.)

Wednesday and Thursday were cold, cloudy and rainy.  Dang!  But that didn't stop us.  We took an easy, if wet, hike to Johnston Canyon Upper and Lower Falls.  On Thursday the sun came out and we did the butt kicking 12 miles Healy Pass hike.  OK, so that doesn't sound like much, but it also involved a 2,300-foot gain in elevation.  Whew!  But it was so worth the effort.  The entire hike was quite lovely, and toward the end we were rewarded with high alpine meadows of wildflowers ringed by glacial peaks and lakes - and hardly anybody else on the trail.  We recalled that our Sacramento hiking buddies, Howard and Lee, said this area is their definition of "heaven".  We agree.

During the hike we passed an area that looked like it had been newly rotor-tilled.  We later discovered that a bear, or bears, had torn up the area digging for grubs.  

Lake Louise, Alberta Canada - Aug 12 - 17, 2005

On Friday August 12th we packed up and moved to Lake Louise.  The campground has a lovely location in the pines along the Bow River.  We had read great things about this location so committed to six nights.  Strangely, none of the literature or on-line forums mentioned the Canadian Pacific Railroad that runs alongside the campground.  As we checked in, the park representative told us that we could expect about three trains during the night.  Susan counted 10 trains the first night marked by their trailer-shaking horns at a nearby crossing.

On Saturday we headed over the hill to Lake Louise to tour the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and see how the rich folk live - beyond the sound of the train's horns and whistle, I'm sure.  After checking out the Chateau (C$800 - $1,200/night), we strolled around the beautiful Lake and then hiked up to the Plain of the Six Glaciers - 1,300-foot elevation gain.  Unlike our hike to Healy Pass, this hike was really crowded.  Actually, everything around the Lake and Chateau was crowded with people from seemingly everywhere on the globe.

It rained for the next four days.  It actually snowed Wednesday night, just before we left for Jasper, which made for a very chilly get away process, but a beautiful drive up the Icefield Parkway.

There are four national parks in the Canadian Rockies: Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay.  One of the less rainy days we drove over to Yoho to explore Takakkaw Falls and Emerald Lake.  The falls are over 800 feet high and quite spectacular, and Emerald Lake is beautiful.  The weather was fairly cooperative as we took a leisurely stroll around the lake.  It started raining during the last mile, followed by a bit of lightening.  We were wet, but the folks canoeing the lake were wet and paddling like mad to get off the water.