Sunday 8/4/2019 we eat a hearty breakfast, load up our packs, grab plenty of water and drive to the trail head. The reviews all said get there early or you would not find parking and the trail would be crowded. We did not have trouble parking, and as we got on the trail we did not come across another person until at least 4 miles into the trail! The beginning of the trail took us high above and along the Athabasca River, which was beautiful. About 1/2 mile in we turned into the woods and down closer to the rivers edge which got pretty muddy. No sign of any lakes for over 3 miles. Are we on the right trail??!! We finally came across two guys that were hiking from the opposite direction. They were confused as well. We trekked on thinking at some point we would see some lakes! Eventually we came across more and more people and realized that most people hike only a small portion of this trail very close to  the 5 lakes,  from the opposite end from where we began. The lakes are beautiful and the trail around them is amazing. We met some young teachers; girls from London, UK and have some nice chats with them. Every summer they do an amazing trip. Fun to chat with them and we exchange contact information. We have already hiked 6 miles and still have 6 miles left to return to Jasper and the car! The entire time we are are apprehensive and are constantly on the lookout for signs of bears as we are the only two people out here in this wilderness! We do have our bear bells on and Mike carries the bear spray. We talk loudly, but how much talking can you do for 7.5 hours..??. Interestingly we happen on a sign about 8 miles into the hike that let’s us know we have been hiking adjacent to the main wildlife path the entire day. Ok, we should have been more prepared and a little better researched before setting out on this hike…

Unfortunately the hardest part of the trail is at the last mile with steep downgrades on sharp rock and steep upgrades of the same. Amazing views of Jasper and surrounding area (mountains, lakes and rivers) right before the final decent. When we both get back to the camper we are dirty with sweat, bug spray, starving, and exhausted! We settle into our camp chairs with a couple beers and finally eat burgers and salad around 9:15. We had begun the hike at noon and got off the trail around 7:30. Trail pamphlet says 18.5 km, Alltrails say 12 miles, “map my walk” says we did 13.5 miles, Fitbit says 33,000 steps or 15 miles. Take your pick- it was a long day no matter how you slice it!

Monday 8/5/2019:

Today is a take it easy kind of day. Get up late, relax until noon, then since it is gorgeous out we put the top down on the mini and take a drive down the Columbia Ice Fields Parkway to check out the few waterfalls along the way and see about camping at the ice field centre.

The drive is amazing- more mountains, lakes, rivers, glaciers, waterfalls- and wildlife :-). What an amazing drive! When we get back into Jasper we gas up the mini and then head for the Jasper Brewery. Food is Ok but sitting outside on the patio, enjoying the evening with a flight, is a great way to cap off our day.

While we were at the Ice Field centre we did check out the RV parking (for overnight) and because it is not level and a bit crowded we discuss heading directly on to Lake Louise tomorrow instead. Two rangers have told us about the overflow “campground” near Lake Louise and although they say it is just a parking lot, with no hook ups,  we should be fine. Their will be plenty to do so we won’t be at the camper that much anyway and it is right where the shuttle picks up, so you don’t have to drive to the lakes. We have read so much about the lack of parking at Lake Louise.

Tuesday 8/6/2019:

We get an early start and are on the road by 7:15am but still have to dump. I had asked the park ranger if there was a Sani-dump station near by and she explained it is on route 97a but hard to see so look on the left side. We found it yesterday and it will be great! We make a stop at the Sani-dump on our way out and think this is a “hidden gem”- no one there except the elk!  In fact a heard of elk nearly bumped into Mike while he was dumping the tanks… The drive is not as great as yesterday – low clouds and raining so not many views this morning. We arrive at the overflow lot by 11:15 and their are quite a few spaces still available. We select one that is way in the back, with no one on our awning side. Hard to get level but we manage- pay our $10.00 CDN for two nights (will extend if we want). Dry camping and more like a parking lot but will work for our time around Lake Louise and Banff!

We rest this afternoon at the RV and around 5:00PM we think we should attempt Lake Louise. We get there and it’s crazy! Like an overcrowded Disney World! As we get to the parking lot we are lucky to see a small parking spot, kind of behind a dumpster that is part of the parking lot, that everyone is missing but with the Mini we squeeze right in… Perfect! We park and it is just not fun with the crowds. We are here, parked… and better-off than most! Trying to get a pic near the Lake Louise, without other people in the pic,  is very difficult, but we take a pic and with Mike’s editing we might be OK. The key is to get there really early (before 8 am) or late (after 6) and you might be OK.

We do take a walk through the elaborate Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise Hotel (which is amazing if you can afford it!) and get some pics then head back to the campsite. Tomorrow’s  goal is to get up at the crack of dawn (actually before the crack of dawn at 3:30am) and park in Moraine Lake’s  parking lot before sunrise and before they close the road. (They close the road around 7:00am as there are only 90 parking spots up at Moraine Lake. )

Wednesday 8/7/2019:

Right on schedule we are up by 3:30 am! Mike has to drag Joanne out of bed- she is still recuperating from the 15 mile hike in Jasper! But we are up and  driving by 4:00am to Moraine Lake.  Joanne had pulled a few muffins out of the freezer and we pack a few hot tea’s for our Moraine Lake sunrise breakfast… We don’t see anyone else on the road but as we pull into the parking lot it is already more than half full! The smaller RVs have it made- they are parked (did they park here last night??) and they can go back to sleep! It is pitch black so we stay in the car and close our eyes for a bit. Eventually we get out of the car, with our flashlight and teas, and begin the lake trail. Gradually it gets lighter and we come across a few other photographers setting up for the sunrise. Mike is in his glory talking shop with the other photographers. The sun begins to come up and the opportunities for pictures begin to show. It ends up being an amazing morning!! After rain the night before …I won’t lie- Joanne was a pretty “Negative Nancy” thinking it would be mosquito city and muddy. Neither of those came true and we had an amazing morning with gorgeous pics and some great hikes. We hiked a good portion of the lake trail, up the rock-pile (amazing- and MUST DO!!), and then we did the Consolation Lakes trail. All three worth it! The Consolation Trail had a disclaimer to hike in tight groups of 4 or more because of the bear, so that was a bit disconcerting but we never saw any bear and there were lots of people hiking the trail after 9:30. We started the hike around 8:30 and saw very few people on our way out but passed a lot of people on our way back. The trail actually culminated with an incredible boulder field at the base of 2 glaciers that was one of the most treacherous crossing we’ve seen. After about an hour navigating the dangerous boulders and listening to the glaciers calving along with rock slides, we had had enough and just sat to take in the beautiful stream and mountain vistas…

 

We got back to the camper around 11:00:am and rested for a few hours (since we had been up since 3:30am),  before heading out to Johnston Canyon. This is a hike along a trail that is kind of like a boardwalk and you have a choice of lower falls (about 1 mile out and 1 mile back) or the upper falls (longer and steeper). Joanne had suggested we do the lower falls because we had already hiked in the morning and we were both still recovering from the 15 miles we had done two days before.

BUT- no- Mike was insistent that we do the upper trail – he didn’t push this until we had already done the lower falls so altogether we ended up doing another day of more than 30,000 steps! By the time we got home our park pass had run out so even though we (Joanne) wanted to get to Peyto Falls, we didn’t want to have to pay for another day of park pass when we were leaving at the crack of dawn for Glacier!! Will have to leave that for another visit…

Thursday 8/8/2019:

As we head out of Banff we have two choices- head east toward East Glacier Park or West toward West Glacier Park. We call a campground on the east side and most things there are booked so we head south west. Joanne found a pretty funny website for a campground in Fort Steele. No reservations; no credit cards; no parties; if you don’t like these rules don’t come here! So- we go there!! The drive down 93 to 95 passes  through Kootenay National Park. This park wasn’t on our radar though is amazing!! The mountains, lakes and rivers… Now we definitely have to come back through here to stay a little longer . Possibly when we visit Kelowna, BC and the Okanagan area on a future visit.

We get to the park early (Historic Fort Steele Campground) and go to check in- I tell them we have a reservation- he laughs! “I can tell you’ve been to our website”. When we go to pay I ask if we can use our credit card (cash only says the website) – again he laughs- we have good rapport.

We get situated. It is a small but very quaint / family oriented campground. We take a recommended hike from the campsite in the afternoon up to “Turtle lake”. Should we bring our bear spray? – we asked the campground owner. You should bring it if you have it but no one has seen an actual bear up there- just scat every now-n-then…

Well we  changed that claim this afternoon!! After hiking and getting up to the lake Joanne looked ahead on the path and stopped dead in our tracks. “That’s and effin… bear” she says as I walk right into her back. We both stop and remember what we were taught in Denali- Make ourselves look big (raise your arms), talk loudly and begin to back away- don’t turn your back or run. I take out the bear-spray and remove the safety for the first time… We do what we were taught in Denali – though it was a VERY scary few moments to say the least… The bear does not take his eyes off us.

Once out of the situation we realize we never took a picture! But better safe than sorry! Of all the hikes we have taken through BC, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Alaska this was the least likely place I ever thought we would hike into a bear! Once back to the camper we reflect on this very  exciting encounter!! One we will both never forget on this Revolutionary Journey…