Rockying On
Trip Start
Nov 12, 2007
1
31
40
Trip End
Aug 01, 2008
The Rockys,
British Columbia,
Canada
Friday, June 27, 2008
We liked Banff. It was a busy tourist town but had lots of Alpine character and plenty of decent shops and restaurants, plus park areas by the river
Looking down on Lake Louise
. We didn't actually stay in Banff, but 15 minutes away in Canmore.We stayed in a small and homely Inn where the breakfasts were very memorable. There were homemade offerings every morning. I was a bit doubtful about the bacon and french toast that also came with cream and fruit on the same plate but it was good. Some mornings it was like having 3 courses for breakfast with homemade fruit crumbles, cookies and muffins as well as sausage and bacon. Rob is still saying how wonderful the lime custard was that he had one morning. (Dessert and lots of it for breakfast forget the scenery this is my kind of country)For the few days we were there we made alternative trips to Lake Louise and Banff. Banff had a gondola which gave us amazing 360 degree views of the mountains, valley and river. We also did a couple of good walks along the riverside. The rivers help make the views so good. Large and rapid with all the snow melt and often petrol colured green, they help create the classic image you have of the Rockies with the snow capped mountains and the forests.
Lake Louise is very touristy because of the turquoise coloured water. Unfortunately, there is a large hotel (the Chateau) at one end which looks as though it should be on a Disney set and it does take away from the natural setting. However, the mountain / glacier backdrop is impressive and we got away from the crowds by climbing to Lake Agnes and looking down on Lake Louise - less crowds and colour is much brighter when you look down from that height.
One of the highlights of our trip so far was the drive from Banff to our next stop Jasper. The route we took was along the Icefields Parkway. Again wonderful mountain/ river views and several impressive lakes - Bow Lake and Lake Peyto (also turquoise) which were very photogenic. Our lunch stop along the route was at the Columbia Icefield where there is a large visitor centre and where you can take a specially designed bus on to the glacier. This was a short, worthwhile trip as you get onto the glacier and get to appreciate the size and thickness ot the ice area plus get to view the other glaciers descending into the icefield.
Jasper was OK. We only had 2 nights here and so only one full day to explore. We drove out to the tourist mecca of Maligne Lake but were both underwhelmed by it and overwhelmed by the mosquitos. We spent the afternoon walking to a good view point at Old Fort Point. Again wonderful mountain views and great views of Athabasca River.
One of the things about walking in this part of the world is that you have to be bear aware. We had seen 3 bears but only from the road as they ambled off into the trees. It is difficult not to know when a bear is around because there is usually a huddle of badly parked vehicles stopped haphazardly in the middle of the carriageway with a gaggle of tourists taking photos. When we first came across this we thought there had been a multiple car pile up but no it was just a bear's bum disappearing into the woods. The theory is that when walking you are supposed to make lots of noise so as to deter the bear from approaching or to avoid coming upon them unexpectedly and startling them into a defensive attack. Rob and I aren't particularly vocal people anyway, so the thought of talking loudly for a couple of hours while trying to climb up mountainsides seems to defeat the object of getting away from the crowds and enjoying the countryside. After a few pathetic attempts of singing Teddy Bears' Picnic and Bear Necessities we decided to abandon this strategy. Rob did offer to sing the the only songs he knew all the words to, but this meant having to endure the entire collection of Iron Maiden and Meat Loaf and although this would have been an excellent bear deterrent, I would rather have faced the salivating jaws of a hungry grizzly bear than listen to that.( I wasn't too worried I may not be able to run faster than a bear but I can run faster than Emma)
So, with some trepidation, we would often walk and jump ten feet at the slightest leaf rustle or twig snap. We knew that if the bear was hungry we were supposed to fight back if attacked or if he wasn't we had to walk backwards slowly and talk soothingly to it. Yeah right. We hadn't seen much interesting wildlife on our trip so far - a sparrow, magpies, some deer, some longhorn sheep and a coyote from the highway, so at the Old Fort Point we were quite excited to see a grouse like bird walking across our path ferrying her brood of chicks from left to right. We approached slowly, but unbeknown to us there were still some chicks to come and mother bird wasn't happy. Suddenly the cute mother bird transformed before our eyes and turned into Devil Bird.( This time I was worried. Definitely would not have been out of place in a horror film) Her tail feathers fanned up and she puffed our her chest and was hurtling towards us at the speed of light with her razor sharp beak stuck out and aiming for us. I can only say that we reacted like a couple of girls or like Scooby and Shaggy and clung to each other as we ran backwards. Once we were further back, the bird transformed back into placid Mummy bird and took her brood on her way. Fair play to her, she took us on even though she was only 12 inches high (this height will grow on every telling of this story) and protected her young. We realised then that if we did encounter a bear we were going to be pretty stuffed. We were grateful that our cowardice had not been seen by any other walkers. However, this relief was short lived. On finishing our walk and returning to the car park we read on the information boards that they have surveillance cameras on the trails so that they can monitor wildlife movements in the area. No doubt we are now on Utube.
We had planned to stay 3 nights in Jasper but ended up only staying 2 and travelling on to Clearwater instead. This worked out really well as Clearwater is the gateway to Wells Gray Provincial Park which is quieter but has some great waterfalls. After the morning enjoying the Park we headed on towards Whistler. E
