By the time we arrived at Lake Louise (around 7.30am) we found the parking lots were already filling up but we managed to find one in the upper car park near the toilets. Our day packs well loaded with all the gear to keep us warm & hydrated, we moseyed to the area in front of the LL Chateau to admire the view along with a large Chinese tour party with their tripods and SLR busy taking photos of light coming onto lake & on the mountain behind – Mount Lefroy and the Victoria Glacier. Certainly early in the morning is the best time for iconic photos, and the best time to beat most of the crowds. I must look back on my 1989 diary and photos to see what I thought of LL then – I can’t remember it being as busy as we found it.
With photos taken we left the throngs to walk the Lakeshore route up to the Plain of Six Glaciers where we were the first guests for the day at the Tea House. After soup, cake & tea we set off up further to the Abbott Pass lookout from where we gained a spectacular view of the Lefroy & Victoria glaciers as well as back down across LL to the chateau. I loved watching the collared pika dart in & out of the rocks, it’s sharp peep, peep alerting us to where s/he was. Had hoped to see a bear (ha!) and Mara was prepared with bear spray should one decide to venture out into a busy tourist area & attack! No sightings at all – whew! Mara showed us the areas that had been devastated by avalanches in recent years & explained how they monitor for avalanches during the season, particularly as more are happening as the climate warms.
As we came back down again we met more people coming up to take advantage of the stunning day to get great views. By the time we went past the 1st tea house the temperature had risen from the 1C we started the day with to around 20C and was predicted to reach 24C, which locals said was unusual for this time in the season. The yellow larch trees were much more obvious on this part of the trail; apparently during the Fall many visitors come specifically to view the larch in all its spectacular yellow.
We took the Highline trail past the Big Beehive to reach the Lake Agnes Teahouse The views of Lake Louise from that trail are wonderful; the crystalline blue is beautiful to behold and more so with the many canoes, like ants, plying their way across the surface. The teahouse and areas surrounding Lake Agnes were chocker with people. We managed to find a space & ordered tea (I also had an energy ball with peanut butter topping) to refresh us. Was all too busy for me so tea drunk we hightailed it out of there down to Mirror Lake (not a lot of water so little mirroring effect) and onto the Lake Agnes trail back to the car park. To my surprise I learnt that we had completed the two tea house challenge by visiting both in one day; I now understood Michelle’s recent celebratory Facebook post!
It was definitely warm (hit 24C+) – we had little need for our down jackets & beanies but we carried them because one never knows what the weather may do in the mountains. Other people, however, seemed little prepared as they were out for a hike in shorts, singlets & sandals and didn’t even seem to have water with them. Mara told us that rescues of ill-prepared people in the Banff National Park is an all too common occurrence, and during 2017 (Canada’s 150 celebrations) visits to national parks is free so less money going into the coffers of mountain rescue teams.
Our journey back to Banff was along the Bow Valley Parkway as opposed to Highway #1 - a 4 lane divided freeway with wildlife over & under passes along its length and fenced so wild life can’t stray onto the road & be killed. Following the Parkway meant we saw much more of the forests & summer resort areas of the National Park like Johnston Canyon. We stopped to take photos looking down onto Vermilion Lakes with Sundance Range in behind.
We arrived back in Banff around 4.30 in time for a shower & change before heading over to Laurie’s place for dinner. She had prepared a delicious vege Shepherd’s Pie with accompanying salad (Laurie’s an excellent cook). The meal was topped off by carrot cake cupcakes all enjoyed in the warmth of an evening sun in the backyard and shared with flatmates Steve (a Parks performer) and Kat (a puppeteer).
There was much talk about a bear called 148, familiar to many living in Banff & well loved, that had been shot after being relocated. Our friends were most distressed about the process undertaken to relocate the bear & are looking forward to the day when hunting grizzly bears in BC is outlawed on Nov. 30, 2017
Then it was time to head over to the Whyte Museum for a book launch "Searching for Mary Schaffer" It proved to be a most interesting evening as the academic author, Colleen Skidmore, was an excellent speaker, telling of how she came to research Mary Schaffer and associates and the fascinating side discoveries she made along the way. Whilst others lined up to get the book signed we spent a bit of time exploring the Whyte Museum displays. The Whyte family were influential in the development of Banff.
Walked back to YWCA via Nestor’s where we picked up breakfast groceries. The YMCA’s kitchen was relatively busy at 9.30pm but we managed to prepare our supper. Enjoyed an almond milk hot chocolate followed by Sleepytime tea so I was well & truly ready for bed! sleep. Had thought of doing our laundry but ……
Day 2: Woke around 8am. Put the laundry on and ate breakfast & wrote blog while we waited for it to be done. It was just before 11am by time we got away up to Tunnel mountain After a steepish walk up (being passed by locals running up), on reaching the top, we unpacked our picnic lunch of crackers, cheese and mandarins washed down with a thermos of tea. Sitting on a rock over looking Banff was delightful though we were surprised just how spread out the town is; was bigger than we expected.
Enjoyed the easier walk down & was enjoying it until the last 20m when I got caught in loose gravel & went down, spraining my left ankle. I managed to hobble back to YWCA to wrap it up then we went into town for café trip to cheer me up. [We went to the yummy Wildflour bakery cafe selling excellent almond croissants] Had hoped to do another walk along river to falls but as the ankle swelled the pain got worse so all we managed was a visit to the park across from the YMCA. Popped into the Indian Trading Post on our way to dinner at Nourish where we picked up some souvenirs & gifts plus a very interesting book (provide title) We were disappointed with Nourish as very scanty for what one pays. They offer sharing dishes so we ordered spiced nuts for $12 (which turned out to be mainly peanuts) & a roasted root salad with a tossing of greens (for $18) which turned out to be more greens with 8 pieces of roasted carrot & parsnip – on top of that goes tax & the expected 18% tip!!
The one blessing about eating there was meeting Mabel, a Dutch woman sitting across from us, who is touring BC & Alberta in a hire car. We had quite a conversation with her about her work as social worker with intellectually disabled people and about politics generally. She is booked to visit NZ next year so we invited her to stay with us when she comes into Chch.
The walk back to the YWCA was very painful as the swelling was quite noticeable so once back in our room we examined the ankle, rubbed anti-bruise stuff on it before re-wrapping & propping it so I could sleep. Updated my blog & placed link on FB then slept.
Day 3: Woke again after 8am. I think we needed the sleep. The ankle was feeling less swollen & I could walk a little easier on it but we decided I would rest up for most of the day rather than attempt any walks. After breakfast we walked across the bridge to catch the #1 bus up to Sulphur Mountain & the thermal hot springs. We just missed a bus so in the 30 minute wait time I popped into the Park Museum to look at the exhibition of stuffed animals collected in the early days of the park when that kind of collecting went on. Caroline went back to the Trading Post to purchase postcards.
Once up at the hot springs I settled myself into the café (nothing special food wise) while Caroline went out walking on the Sulphur Mountain Trail (5.5km, 697m altitude gain) up to the gondola terminal with the intention of taking the gondola back down. I updated this blog, wrote postcards and finished a book plus read all the panels under the old time photos by the time she returned – on foot as decided the $31 just to ride the gondola down wasn’t worth it for 8 mins. Staunch!
After looking at how many people were now in the hot pool we decided against squeezing in with the hordes -we can do hot pools at home – and took the bus back down into the town to meet up with #4 bus up to the Cave & Basin to see whether it was still open but at 5pm they were just closing their doors. So we stayed on the bus chatting to the driver, a Yorkshire man, who settled in Canmore 14 years ago. He recommended the Buffalo Nations Museum so we got off at that stop spending 1.5 hours watching video docos, reading the interpretation panels and generally learning about the culture of the Sioux, Blackfoot, Cree and Stoney peoples.
One room was dedicated to the importance of the bison (buffalo) and how they nearly became extinct but are recovering as both First Nations people and scientists engage about their importance to the ecology of the plains.
At closing time I wandered back to the YWCA along the river while Caroline went to the grocery store to get supplies for dinner – we felt like eating our comfortable pasta & tomato sauce standby. After the meal we retired to our room to muck around BUT the guests next door had blaring music on & were dancing loudly. Party time!! Luckily it didn’t continue past a reasonable time … they may have gone out but we didn’t hear them return so that was good. A sound sleep was had.
Day 4: Woke around 8am, looked out to see the cloud descending with the threat of snow, breakfasted then were picked up by Mara & her mum for a morning of coffee and chat at one of the local cafes – Second Cup, a chain but perfectly pleasant. Most of the cafes were busy, busy with Sunday morning brunchers, some even had queues out the door! Whilst in was cooler than our other 3 days the snow lasted a matter of minutes & was not seen again during the day. Anyway, we chatted and chatted until it was midday & time for Mara & Mum to head on back home to Airdrie. It was such a delight to meet Trudy as we’d heard much about her as well as the rest of Mara’s family from Mara when she stayed with us back in 2010.
They kindly dropped us up at the Cave and Basin Historic site where we spent the next 4 hours learning about how the national parks system began in Canada – all due to the railway and 3 guys discovering the source of hot springs. Mind you, First Nations people already knew about the springs & would gather there regularly for ceremonies such as the Sundance. Suffice to say that they stopped gathering there once the area was taken over & became commercial entities, and didn’t return until the early 2000s.
The information and displays presented are very interesting about the life of the men planning & building the railway, the development of Parks Canada and the changing attitudes toward the natural flora and fauna of the area; some animals were considered a threat to the tourist industry i.e. coyote, wolves, cougar & bear so could be hunted. First Nation peoples who asked to still be allowed to undertake their seasonal hunts in the parks were forbidden to do so & were kept to their reservations. We happened to be there at the time when Parks staff were performing songs about the railroad and the park. Steve and Laurie, with whom we had had dinner 2 nights before were 2 of the performers; Steve composed a couple of the songs, sang them & played various instruments like the spade guitar, whilst Laurie played Lady Agnes MacDonald who was so in awe of the scenery that she rode the cowcatcher from mountain to sea. An excellent show that amused as well as informed.
The hot springs themselves were fascinating to visit. People are no longer allowed to bath in them due to the endangered snail that is found in them but we could visit the cave in which First Nation people would carry out ceremony and the basin which became the commercial pool. Up behind a boardwalk took us to the stream where we saw two garter snakes swimming in a pool – boy, do they move quickly! Loved the yellow residue left by the calcium carbonate in the water & the sulphurous smell.
We next went on to visit the site where ‘aliens’ were interned during WWI – men who happened to have been born within Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Turkey or Bulgaria but who had long before the start of the war had immigrated to Canada in search of a better life. A poignant memorial to those who lost their lives there and to those who survived but carried that cross of distrust forever.
We caught the bus back into town & walked to the Whyte Gallery but only had 30 mins to look inside so decided not to spend $10 for just that time – looked round the excellent gift shop instead. Went in search of dinner after that & decided on flatbread pizza down in the food hall of a mall – we ordered a small one each (different flavours) and declared both to be two of the best pizzas we have eaten on this trip.
Wandered back through the busy streets to the hostel to drop our gear off before heading out for a 2.4km walk to see the Bow Falls – singing all the way along the track in case bears were out for their evening stroll – and marvel at the sheer force of nature that firstly carved out the valley (glacier) and the way water has worn the limestone into funnels. The power of the water flowing down the falls was every bit as awe inspiring at Niagara as far as I’m concerned!! As we walked back to the hotel we saw three deer grazing in the woods – stood and watched them for a while, reluctant to return to our room to pack. [Photos to come]
A marvellous 4 days in Banff was coming to an end. We both loved the ambience of the place; despite being a tourist town there is still plenty of space and activities for local humans and improved respect for the wild life that calls the area home. And, of course much of the feeling we had for Banff was enhanced by the fact we were welcomed and shown some special places by a dear friend who introduced us to her friends from whom we heard stories and their passion for living in the Rockies. Thank goodness for friends!
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