BootsnAll Travel Blogs

odd place -the ‘town’ : its basically a carpark with a number of shops around it, then to one side of that is a couple of inns and the hostel
smashing hostel though – similar to Banff in that its in an ‘alpine’ design (expensive though at $35/18 quid per night)
Lake Louise is gorgeous: beautiful colour and the head of the lake has the plain of the 6 glaciers which are almost all visible from the lake. the only downside is the ‘chateau’ hotel at the end of the lake, which spoils it, I reckon
I walked up the plain of 6 glaciers on the first day – its a good walk thru forests then ‘sub-alpine’ right up to……………the tea shop!…a proper alpine looking teashop reet up in the hills!..so I had a cup of coffee and a couple of scones with jam (well it would have been rude not to!)
then a walk along the top of a moraine to the glaciers….so beautiful and quiet…it was cold tho: bit of snow falling and obviously with the glaciers there its pretty cold.
next day, I went up to Peyto lake on the icefield parkway – OK, but not as good as I thought it would be. then I went a little further north to the Waterfowl lake – a really nice place. While I was chillin at the lakeside, the lake started to shimmer (you know, like in the Jurassic Park film with the drink cup?) and a moment or two later there was a bit of an avalanche on the other side of the lake…not sure if the shimmer was an earthquake that caused the avalanche or the avalanche caused the shimmer…either way it was kewl!
Next I drove tothe Takkakaw falls (3rd highest in Canada) nice place, I climbed/scambled right up the to the bottom of the falls: SO noisy and wet with spray – nice place to chill
back at the ranch, I drove to Moraine lake – it has the reputation for being better than Lake Louise, but it has a bend in it so you cant see right along it……gorgeous water colour tho
Met Mark (from Kilkenny) and had a few (too many) beers with him – he moved over here last year and is now working in Vancouver as a goldsmith. Next day was up the Louise gondola to the ski runs, bit of a hike later and I walked into a geet big Bighorn sheep!!!…that’ll teach me not to look down whilst I’m climbing steep trails!…quick reverse and I was outta there!
no bears around there (despite its brochures) theyve all moved over the hill to prep for the hibernation which should start in about 2 weeks I’m told
another drink sesh with Mark last night at thte Lake Louise Inn – some REALLY funny yanks dancing to Disco Duck etc. ….VERY amusing!
this morning Ive driven with Mark back to Banff where we’re both staying: I dopped off the car this morning – feels odd not having any transport.
…oh, and Mark paid LESS to get into the same hostel as me…not sure how THAT works! :^(

well….Banff is like a proper town compared to Jasper (which feels kinda more of a community)
the hostel is really nice – more like a hotel than a hostel – complete with cafe an bar …which is nice ;^)
the walks are more tourist than up in Jasper…I climbed Sulphur mountain – took 1 hour 11 minutes…I thought I was gonna be the first one to walk up that day – until a 50yr old fella came RUNNING past me! ….on the plus side he’s busy training for a himalayan climb..so I dont feel so bad about him beating me. the trip down was via gondola….but that was like MEGA pricey (the Jasper ride is free to come down)
I toured the caves and springs which were the origins of the town, also visited the Hoodoos – these are pillars of sandy rock whcih have been eroded into weird shapes over the years.
Fave place around here is Two Jack lake…its a nice lake with Mount Rundle as the backdrop. Very peaceful place and not too heavily visited either (apart from one day when it was taken over by some canadian scuba divers – boy! those guys know how to travel: big trucks towing trailers with EVERY possile camping/bbq/scuba accessory possible!
Minnewanka (careful) lake is OK, but its been dammed to raise its level so it feels a bit manufactured. Johnston Canyon was a nice walk: the lower falls are full of old people so they get a bit busy, but as you continue climbing, the numbers drop and the scenery improves until you reavh the upper falls which are pretty damn kewl. Above that agian, is the ‘inkpots’ which are natural springs bubbling into indentations in the ground – theyre pretty good, but the backdrop of the mountains is fab!
Ive been driving the Bow valley parkway each evening to try and see some more animals – you know, like in Moose Meadows: nowt. not a thing – apart froma a roadkill squirrel!
On the day I drove up to Lake Louise, i walked up Castle Mountain lookout – excellent views across the valley to Storm mountain etc. I met an elderly Virginian couple there (Chuck & Adella): really nice people, they’ve even invited me over to their place, should I been around that area (though I prolly wont be)….nice people
After Castle Mountain I drove into B.C. to the Kootenay park and walked up to Stanley Glacier – its was OK, but Ive seen better. Interesting thing was the forest there was decimated in a forest fire, so the trees are mainly blackened and dead…….oh, the fire was in 1968!!!! (how long does it take for a forest to recover???????)

reet: Highway 93 "the Icefields Parkway" (road between Jasper & Banff, taking in Lake Louise) is THE most beatiful road EVER! the Athabasca glacier is a fantastic place - I took a ride on a snowbus onto the glacier...very cold (strangely) then ... [Continue reading this entry]

my previous posts from Canada have disappeared!!!! Ive managed to save the text from some of it, via google, but its basically just a big lump of text the Boots n' all servers failed apparently sorry :^( anyhoo, Ive managed to upload photos onto ... [Continue reading this entry]

helllooo Canada September 3rd, 2006 well despite Zoom not wanting me to fly (cos I hadnt got a return ticket) I made it to Canada…and thru their customs within 30 secs (despite zoom telling me I was in for a proper ... [Continue reading this entry]