Banff Pictures

(Pictures courtesy of Chris McEwen)

Chris and Michael along the Spray River. We took a group hike along this river on the last day. The water was crystal clear and for most of the hike we were able to travel along the river bank. There were reports of a Grizzly mother and her cubs in the area so it was good to be in a group of people on this hike. The rangers claimed that no group of four or more has ever been attacked by a grizzly. There were a lot of mosquitos in spots, but they are not like the Midwest/Southern US kind that cause red bumps, and they really didn't bother us too much.

Wait, I think I got this wrong, this might be at the bottom of Johnson Falls... a beautiful set of falls that are accessed by a narrow mountain trail.



Melissa posing at Lake Louisa. A beautiful, crystal blue lake, with classic mountain scenery. Immediately after this shot I walked to other side of the lake. About half way up the mountain there is a teahouse where hikers can rest and have a cup of warm brew. I was going to head up there but one of our crew was suffering from a bit of illness from bad food from the nearby hotel. So we briefly recuperated and then headed to...



Melissa with a look of joy on her face. Two of her favorite things: canoeing and taking photos. This is Lake Morraine, a breathtaking crystal blue lake fed by the ice cold run-off from the nearby mountains. Everyone but me went canoeing, I was itching to head out into the mountains and stretch my legs. Unfortunately the longer trails were closed-off to parties of less than four because of grizzly bear activity. I wanted to ignore the signs, but I am unfamiliar with bear behavior and felt that perhaps with one of the ultimate carnivores I should exercise a bit of caution. I found an intricate series of rock strewn hills along the other side of the lake that exercised my imagination and legs.



The view from Sulphur Mountain--nearly 8,000 ft. I hiked it twice and rode the gondola once (more on that below). Our hotel was at the bottom of this mountain and from the time I arrived I knew I would have to climb this mountain. My only concern was that I had been living the life of the academic for too long, and my conditioning wasn't what it had once been. I set off the first day and started working my way up the switchbacks (crosscutting trails that make the walk longer, but helps ease the ascension somewhat). In the beginning of that first hike I thought I wouldn't make it, I was a huffing and puffing, but I was determined to prove to myself that I could do it. I eased into a steady pace with occassional breaks to catch my breath and catch the sights. At the very end of the climb the air was thinning and my lungs were pumping, but I was grinning as I neared the end of the journey. The trip downwards was great, seeing others struggling I couldn't help but smile at my accomplishment. Such a simple pleasure to climb a mountain and feel pleasure at the accomplishment.

That night I restored myself with a good meal, a bourbon and cigar afterwards, and a sound sleep (rare for me). Immediately, when I woke up in the morning, I knew I was going to have to climb the mountain again. I was thinking that perhaps it was but a fluke, or that, anyone could do it once, but how many could hike this mountain twice in two days (yeah, I am a bit loopy). So I headed out again to climb Sulphur Mountain. This time the climb up went even faster and I felt a confidence that I lacked the time before, even thinking to myself that it wasn't as difficult as I had originally thought. I powered through the last of the climb, quickly ate some yogurt and granola on the top, and decided to hike back down with a minimum of rest in order to find more adventures that day. Not suprisingly I had overestimated my reserves and the journey downward was a bit difficult straining a different set of muscles (surprisingly sometimes the journey down can be more difficult) and pushing me to my limits--pain ;)

After getting down the mountain I rested for an hour, and since it was only 1PM, I headed off to go hike the Basin Canyon/Hot Springs/Marshes... I was tired that night...



The Gondola Ride up Sulphur Mountain. Scary! I am scared of heights when I have to rely upon human-constructed machines to keep me safe. I can scamper about cliffs, gulleys and caves with a minimum of concern, but building ledges, gondola rides, airplanes--I just don't trust them... Melissa, Katrina and Chris were very amused by my fear (its OK, I like fear, it gives boundaries and makes me think about what I am doing).



A huge thanks to Jane Purdue who made this trip possible!

Banff, Canada is an amazing place and I would want to live there. Everyone I met who was working there seemed as if they were in love with the place (and I'm not talking about that fake Disneyland corporate happiness) and talked about why they had decided to come to Banff. A lot of the younger workers were avid winter skiers and snow boarders who worked all summer so that they could ski/snowboard all winter. A waitress who was from England told us that she had traveled all over Europe skiing their fabled slopes and she had decided to settle down in Banff, because it had the best skiing!