Banff Bonanza
A week of beauty and exploration with Catherine, Paul and Evangeline, so fun.
For those who don’t know me, I’m a friend of Catherine’s from Amex days, only 30 years ago…and Paul’s since Catherine &Paul coupled up nearly 9 years ago - cycling, hiking and music friends from the beginning.
The three of us headed to Banff and stopped in lovely Canmore, an old mining town, now a cute western oasis where we picked up key gear - maps, bear spray (with demo on how to use), beverages and warm outerwear for the chilly mornings ahead. I woefully under packed (i.e. no rain jacket!) for this trip, having clearly missed Boy Scout training (unlike Paul).
Once equipped, we chose a mellow hike outside of Canmore on the gorgeous Bow River, which accompanied us for most of the Banff week in all its aquamarine beauty, colored by Rock Flour from glacial grinding, resulting in tiny, suspended particles that scatter the sunlight in to lovely colors.
Once we left the riverside, we encountered Richard, a one-of-a-kind local, former “rig pig” from the oil industry. Now Dr.Doolittle, he was feeding birds from his hand and told us about the nuthatches and chickadees that were flying to his hand to snatch seeds. The Blue Jays opted to grab un-shelled peanuts that Richard threw on the ground while explaining that Grey Jays impersonate Ospreys (which we heard!). Richard kindly offered each of us a handful of seeds to feed the birds, an experience we will never forget. We accompanied Richard to his personal tea spot while he feed his bird and squirrel friends and regaled us with tales of their foraging habits.
In Banff National Park, cell service was weak or non-existent, fires were banned, and the nearby British Columbia wildfire smoke lingered. We posted up at Johnston Canyon Campground, tucked in a Lodgepole Pine forest and our home for the next three nights.
Short note on van life, where Maslow’s Principless how Catherine & Paul’s prowess at planning for offline map access, power,water and food needs day-by-day. Chief Engineer Paul plotting power curves to ensure we had enough energy and Chief Chef Catherine orchestrating delicious,healthy meals (Poke Bowl, shrimp curry chicken, bison steaks) with leftovers to feed us post-hikes. Evangeline is a ~ 90 square foot ship, shuttling us to trailheads, keeping us sheltered from rain and warm in the morn. I learned one night while washing dishes that coffee is at the top of Maslow’s hierarchy, as dishwashing abruptly stopped to feed the coffee pot for the next morning…one must have priorities.
The next day we headed along narrow walkways through Johnston Canyon along with a virtual United Nations of hikers gawking at the canyon beauty up past the upper falls to the Inkpots, where spring water percolated up into blue and green bubbling pools - a geological wonder.
We ended our night, as we did most nights,with a post-meal walk, aka snoop stroll, through the campground observing all the other campers, where Catherine & Paul broke into a foreign language ofgear and camping vehicle observations, fueling their desires as their wondrous nomadic life evolves.
Up the next morning with homemade granola and yogurt to fuel us for Sunshine Meadows, a ski area accessed by a gondola and chairlift to the tippy top…where we walked around Rock Isle, Larix and Grizzly lakes, the latter aptly name because a brown bear had been sighted there 2 days before…justifying our bear spray readiness posture as we hiked the gorgeous trails through alpine meadows. Catherine shared a grizzly story which motivated us to stay alert, but fortunately all we saw were wildflowers (fireweed and the Seussical “towhead babies”), chipmunks, marmots and lovely brook-fed lakes as we crossed the Continental Divide and the Alberta/BC boundary.
We packed out early the next morning to head up the Icefield Parkway, intent on scoring a “first come, first served” campsite,which were purportedly tough to get. We felt quite smug to land a beautiful spot at Mosquito Creek, fortunately misnamed, and pitched a tent and tarp to declare the campsite ours. We headed to Lake Louise for provisions, plus a quick look-see and walk along the famous and popular lake, which delivered on aqua beauty amidst the crowds and the towering forest and mountains. After a picnic lunch, we were able to squeeze in one more hike to Chephren Lake, where Paul and I dashed over the root paths and back before the skies’ rumblings delivered the rain, while Catherine wisely walked along a milder section of the Waterfowl Lakes.
At Mosquito Creek we were officially “off the grid” for the 3 days – utilizing downloaded maps and recipes, having fun with walkie-talkies,and reminiscing about what it was like growing up with paper maps, scant knowledge of the weather the next day, and debates informed by pulling the Encyclopedia Britannica off the shelf.
Quick note on contrasting pacing…I am an “up and out” kind of person, so fortunately I had Mosquito Creek to explore in the mornings while Catherine and Paul got out of their comfy bed, made coffee and got ready for the day. On dry mornings this is just fine, but I was the welcome beneficiary of Evangeline’s warmth and shelter when temps were in the 30s or drizzly weather drove me into the micro mobile travel resort.
The next day we headed for Jasper National Park and had our first black bear sighting signaled by a gaggle of cars stopped alongside the road. One tourist wanted a better pose and clapped to get its attention, but the bear ignored its admirers and munched through berry bushes (they need 10K+ calories a day!).
The Columbia Icefield center provided wonderful photos and education on the glacier fields around us, sharing models that showed the retreat of the glaciers due to global warming and the amazing fact that the Columbia Icefield feeds the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans,woah!
Fortified with glacial knowledge, we climbed up to the Wilcox Pass, which provided epic views of the Athabasca and other glaciers.Along the way, we viewed bighorn sheep with our binoculars. We were reminded that we were at 6.5K feet, rising to 8K, by how tired we were post-hike, just knackered. Luckily, when you are traveling with Evangeline, your kitchen is always with you for a yummy snack and refreshing beers.
As we drove back south to our campground, we oohed and aahed around each turn, noting new snow, cloud shadows and different landscapes going south, just incredible. Our diurnal life continued, as we were in bed at 9pm most nights.
Hiking and dinner prep provide ample time to chat on all sorts of topics, including tales of Catherine’s father and young Jackson girls’ bravery, my GPS talents fueled by my father’s ability to walk from one end of downtown Boston to the other, all inside, from building to metro to tunnel, and Paul’s recollections of wilderness adventures through this area on his way to Alaska (and back) in his youth.
On our final day in Banff National Park, we set out on our longest hike up to Helen and Katherine lakes through several climate zones, including alpine woods, meadows, rock scramble and to the top of a tundra-like outcropping.Scotland was the closet I’ve seen to this rugged beauty (strong recommendation for West Highland Way if you get a chance). Along the path we heard many conversational snippets in German, French, Japanese, Russian and Loud -apparently some people have lost their volume control. We encountered a father and his 9-year-old son who had been making this hike annually for several years, going higher each time and hoping to summit the top peak this year – we still wonder if they made it. The vistas were breathtaking. “Remember this view,”Catherine’s father would have said, and we will!
Along the way we were constantly hearing the hoary marmots whistle and the yellow-bellied marmots ‘jeep’ at each other. And our prize sighting, thanks to Paul, was a beautiful and swiftly moving beast - black with a golden stripe down its back…a Wolverine! Excited fellow hikers who have explored the Canadian Rockies over decades had never before seen the endangered creature.
As we headed back down, cursing our knees, a friendly woman noted, “wouldn’t it be great if we could just zipline down”- yes it would! However, we did have a brief, hot shower behind the van back at camp thanks to Paul’s MacGyver talents (building on his success fixing Duncan’s broken tent pole).
As I wrapped up the week, I realized how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to embrace Banff’s beauty and tremendous fortune to do it with Catherine & Paul, friends I love. Thank you for the lifetime memories. I’m already planning a return trip to Banff, as well as scheming other trips to North America National Parks…now is the time to explore this gorgeous continent.
