Earlier this year I got to do a “behind the scenes” tour at the Calgary Zoo. I was just looking though some photos from that day and it reminded me how much I enjoyed getting an up-close and personal experience with the animals. Here are some photos of the ferocious tiger kittens.
There’s nothing quite like a road trip. You get to see so much more than when you travel by plane, or at least you see it at a much more relaxed pace. If that’s true, then a rock-climbing road trip must be one of the best kinds of road trips. You stop in a few select beautiful spots for a few days, you explore the broad landscape looking for shapes and contours that appeal to you, then you zoom right in on the smallest of details. Ah, that’s it, you exclaim! A tiny ridge of textured rock that you’d missed before. Now that you see it – now that you feel it – you’re able to get over the crux of the route you’ve been working your way up (and continually falling off) for the last half hour. Continue reading “Rock Climbing Road Trip”
In 1811, explorer David Thompson went in search of a new route across the high Canadian Rockies. Hostile Peigan natives blocked Howse Pass (which now connects Mistaya Canyon with Golden) and the North West Company, for which Thompson worked, desperately needed an alternate route to ship furs across the mountain range. In January of that year, braving -30 temperatures, five meter deep snow, and perilous river crossings, Thompson reached Athabasca Pass. This route, connecting the Athabasca River (which flows out to the Arctic Ocean) and the Columbia River (which reaches the Pacific), became the main artery for shipping furs across Canada until the 1850s. Continue reading “Following the Fur Traders”
National Geographic describes Tonquin Valley as one of the World’s top 15 hikes. We’re so lucky to have it in our own backyard. The local guidebook “Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies” calls it outstanding and says “not only is the valley girded by tumultuous topography, it’s broad, with enough meadowy viewpoints to allow frequent gazing – an ineffable joy on a clear day.” Some places just inspire poetic words.
Continue reading “The Amazing Tonquin Valley”
The Icefield Parkway, running from Lake Louise to Jasper, is one of the most spectacular cycle tours in the world. This road passes through a vast wilderness of pristine mountain lakes, ancient glaciers, and broad sweeping valleys. What better way to see all this than by bike! Our group of eight from the Hostel Outdoors Group enjoy the ride.
Day 1 – Castle Mountain to Lake Louise – about 31 km
We start out on the Bow Valley Parkway at Castle Mountain. The cycling is easy with nice rolling hills and long flat stretches. Continue reading “Icefield Parkway Cycle Tour”
The Bowron Lakes Circuit is considered one of the best canoe trips in the world. Located in central BC, the circuit links 16 km of smooth portage trails with over 100 km of stunning lakes and wild rivers. The scenery ranges from calmly gliding through marshes to crossing big mountain-studded lakes to raging whitewater. Four of us, two in a canoe and two in kayaks, enjoyed a week paddling the circuit at the peak of summer and couldn’t have had better luck with beautiful weather and calm water.
We rented a canoe, the Helman Prospector, from Becker’s Lodge. Such a light canoe compared to the rentals we’d had before!
Continue reading “Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit”
4:30am. I’ve never been one for alpine starts but climbing Castle Mountain is a big day. 1400m elevation gain and 13 pitches of beautiful rock.
I met Fred at 5am at the Castle Lookout parking lot and we headed up the trail in the dark. Continue reading “Climbing Castle Mountain”
Vancouver Island’s West Coast Trail is a 75 km-long rugged coastal route through mud bogs, over slippery boulders, under huge fallen trees, up 70 ladders, across 130 bridges, and zipping over rivers inside 4 cable cars. I hiked the trail in May, when it’s especially wet and muddy.
Day 1 (May 29, 2013)
Bamfield (Pachena Bay ranger station) to Tsocowis Creek Campground
Distance walked: 16 km
Wildlife seen: ravens, 2 black bears, hundreds of smelly seals
Hikers encountered (going opposite way as me): 7 (of these, 5 had just finished the trail)
Hikers encountered (going same way as me): 4
Lunch: fresh avocados with pork jerky, cashews, and chocolate
I wake up at 5:15am in my 6×10 foot hostel room. It’s a private room, but in a solitary-confinement sense. I eat half a dozen bananas then I’m out the door. It’s raining. Hard. I hide under the umbrella I plan to use on the trail. This 15 minute walk to the bus station is the only time I’ll use it for the entire trek, save 5 minutes under a big tree with pounding rain smashing through the upper leaves.
The bus departs at 6am sharp. Continue reading “Hiking the West Coast Trail in Spring”
Charles and I headed up to Squamish for some hiking and mountain biking. We picked up Jo’s two hyper border collies for a steep walk up Squamish’s most famous landmark, The Chief.
The Chief is a rock climbers’ mecca and one of Canada’s top climbing destinations. We followed a trail that meanders up the much more gradual backside through lush old growth forest.
We scrambled over big moss-covered tree roots and slippery pboulders. While the weather was clear, everything was wet. Water streamed down the path and the dogs splashed through mucky puddles.
After some good steep climbing the trail leveled out and suddenly we had panoramic views of the ocean glittering below and even bigger mountains all around.
The Chief has three peaks. We ascended the third then traversed back to the second. As soon as we got to the edge we realized why this is such a hot spot for climbers. The cliff face plummets straight down all the way to the ground thousands of feet below.
Descending from the second peak toward the first we got to a long slippery ladder. Dusty nervously let me carry him down but Ruby didn’t want any part of it. She backed off in a hurry. A little funny seeing as she was walking along the edge of the abyss completely unperturbed just a few minutes before. So I headed down with Dusty while Charles backtracked with Ruby. At the intersection of the two trails we stopped to wait. Even though it had been a pretty full hike Dusty couldn’t help but grab a stick and start a game of fetch. When Ruby caught up all kinds of sticks went flying. You were playing fetch without me?!?
When the grass is turning green and the trees are starting to bud out, it’s hard to think of snow and snowshoeing. But this is one of the best times of the year to grab a pair and get high up in the mountains. The scenery is amazing. It’s still a winter wonder land. And the weather is gorgeous. It feels like summer. When else can you tramp through snow wearing shorts and a t-shirt?
We hiked up to three alpine lakes – Lake Bourgeau, Rockbound Lake, Taylor Lake – and at Stanley Glacier we enjoyed a sweltering afternoon watching avalanches thunder down high cliffs.
You see strange things in spring. Like the marmot who snuck up on Michael and stole his hat, then disappeared silently across the snow. As soon as I pointed it out, the marmot froze and Michael swore it was just a rock.
Then you see things like snow sluffing off a slope and somehow rolling itself into the shape of a cinnamon bun. Actually, as crazy as it sounds, it’s almost impossible to make a snowball and roll down a hill when the snow is this sticky. With visions of Indiana Jones in our heads, we’ve tried to push massive snowballs down steep slopes in hopes that they would crash through the forest and crush all the cars in the parking lot below. But they just roll up into fat, long cinnamon buns. Then – plump! – they splat heavily into the snow. Nothing can move them then.
Nature does a much better job of hurtling snow over cliffs. As we got up into the alpine we thought we heard thunder. Only it was the intense sound of massive snow & ice chunks crashing down from the cliffs. This goes on all afternoon. It’s one of nature’s greatest shows. And it’s all free.
The best part of snowshoeing in spring is seeing nature come back alive. All shades of green start to return, adding colour to the deep blue sky and bright white ground. Birds sing and squirrels dart from tree to tree.
Winter and summer mix together. Minute by minute snow melts away letting even more life and colour appear. As nature transitions, so will we. Soon, we’ll be packing away the skis and snowshoes and digging out the hiking boots. And as we wander through fields of freshly bloomed wildflowers we’ll be dreaming of the return of snow.
Eating Snow Around the World 