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Canadian Rockies – is it really possible to have too much of a good thing?

Thursday, August 31st, 2006

Since we’ve been in the Canadian Rockies we’ve hiked well over 100 kilometers. The National Parks up here Jasper, Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay along with a few connected Provincial Parks offer almost unlimited opportunities for day hikes and backpacking. Also, unlike U.S. National Parks they don’t have rules excluding dogs from the trails so Molly has hiked all but the most difficult or bear-infested with us. After 2 weeks in the area I think we’ve started to get jaded, like, that was a great hike, but not as good as such-and-such. Really, we have become picky and want all the hikes to be as great as the best. The other day we returned to the RV after a day of hiking to see 4 grizzlies in the campground. We’d hiked probably 20 k and we were tired, as soon as we drove into the campground we see a mamma grizzly bear and 3 cubs. Unfortunately we didn’t get any pictures, my camera was in the backseat of the Jeep and I couldn’t get to it. When we got to the RV we ate dinner and Dave and I both crashed out at 8:00. Maybe we’ve just had too much excitement, but it’s time to head south I think. We’d probably kill ourselves if we lived up here, we need to spend a few days somewhere less exciting so we can rest!

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More beautiful mountains.

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Big horn sheep

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Mountain lake

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This is Dolomite Peak. The Dolomite Pass hike in Banff National Park is by far one of the coolest hikes I’ve ever undertaken.

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Lake along the Dolomite Pass hike

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Glacier in Jasper National Park

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Dave on top of Saddleback Peak in Banff National Park

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The beautiful Lake Louise in Banff

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Finally some Canadian moose in Yoho National Park

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This is Tawkakka Falls in Yoho National Park. Apparently ‘tawkakka’ means magnificent in the Cree language. I can see their point!

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Another beautiful view

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While hiking in Yoho National Park we were doing our typical ‘bear aware’ hike, making lots of noise, we even had Molly with us. We turned a corner and this dear was just in the middle of the trail eating a bush. Boy, was it surprised to see us even with all the noise and the stinky dog. Glad it wasn’t a grizzly.

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Waterfall along a hike in Johnston Canyon

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Mountains at the end of the Johnston Canyon hike.

it had to be done

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

Well, we’ve seen so many people traveling wearing just the most inappropriate clothing imagineable. Finally, when we saw this I decided these people should be put up for everyone to appreciate along with us. 🙂 Here is the first addition to our wall of shame:

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Please, please, unless you are actually running a marathon, leave the super-short running shorts at home! This guy doesn’t even have the excuse of being European or anything. More importantly, he wasn’t alone: why did his wife and kids let him wear those?

Nearly forgot, some dodgy tourist attractions

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006
These photos were actually taken before we left BC and came over to where we are now, the Mile 0 is in Dawson Creek and the giant beaver is in, where else, Beaver Creek! CA-mile0.jpg Here ... [Continue reading this entry]

Backpacking in Mt. Robson Provincial Park

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006
The Berg Lake trail in Mt. Robson Provincial Park is a famous, beautiful backpacking trail. Unfortunately, it also gets about 200 people a day hiking the darn thing so we went to nearby Mt. Fitzwilliam trail instead. When we signed ... [Continue reading this entry]

Never run from a bear….unless you are faster than the other people around!

Friday, August 18th, 2006
So, we arrived here in Jasper National Park ready for a lot of great hiking. Thanks to a book Andy McConville bequeathed to me when he left Core Lab ‘Classic Hikes in the Canadian Rockies’ we were prepared. Thanks, Andy. ... [Continue reading this entry]

Back to BC, Animals Everywhere!

Friday, August 11th, 2006
We left the Yukon and are back in BC now, we've seen wild buffalo, caribou, Stone sheep and moose since we've been here. No bears this time, though, which is strange. I miss my bears! It's been weeks since a ... [Continue reading this entry]

Back to Canada, Kluane Again

Thursday, August 10th, 2006
The day we left Alaska and headed back into Canada we had a strange occurance. We were headed for one of the campgrounds in Kluane National Park but our navigation and driving did not match up and we ended up ... [Continue reading this entry]

Leaving Alaska

Thursday, August 10th, 2006
Leaving Alaska So, the day we left we went out for sourdough pancakes for breakfast for a last bit of tradition before we head into Canada. We sure have had a good time up here. You know, when we bought Alaska ... [Continue reading this entry]