Larch Valley & Sentinel Pass

This weekends trip was to the tourist trap of Lake Louise for the Larch Valley/Sentinel Pass hike. Whilst the hikes are popular, they are popular for a very good reason. Thankfully though the crowds were minimal, surprising considering the incredible weather.

At the pass

We were hoping that the Larch trees would have turned more yellow but it looks like the warm weather has delayed the autumn colours by a few weeks.

Another hike, another view of a glacier

Vancouver

Last weekend Aleisha and I decided to pop over to Vancouver to hang out with Stefan and Claire. Unfortunately the weather was average and it rained a lot, but thats Vancouver for you. Despite the weather we still had a great time and managed to do a bit of sightseeing, even if the sights were obscured by clouds.

Checking out the sights in Vancouver before the rain sets in

Banana Slug, one of the critters that enjoy the rain.

Car Camping in Waterton Lakes National Park

Last weekend we decided to go a little further out of town for our weekly dose of hiking. Waterton Lakes National Park came highly recommended so we figured we would make a weekend of it and go car camping. The park is right on the boarder with the US (actually joins with Glacier National Park) and just a 3hr drive from Calgary. Its well know for being packed with bears and within 5 min of entering the park on Friday evening we had spotted a Black bear, thankfully we were safe in our car. The major hike for the weekend was the Crypt Lake trip, rated by many as a 5 star trip (for the trivia buffs it was also rated as the best hike in Canada in 1981). Maybe it was the scorching heat reminding us of our time spent in the penal colony, but we were not as impressed. However, the disappointment was some what overcome by the novelty of being able to walk into the US as the end point of the trail was technically over the boarder.

On the way to Crypt Lake

Crypt Lake

On Sunday we went for a short drive in the park to Cameron Lake. As there were no people about and the weather was perfect we decided to hire a canoe.

Pika, like the Pokemon

We like mountains

One of the great things about Canada is the abundance of large pointy slabs of rock that poke out of the ground. We never saw them in Australia but apparently they are called "mountains" and they are fun to hike up. This weekends trip was to the top of Cirque peak (2993 m).

The slog begins

Hoary Marmot, dont know how they got their name...

Cirque Peak - If you look really closely you can see some people (black specks) on the ridge on the left of the picture.

The view from the top was truly incredible and well worth the effort.

Burstall Pass

People say that there are two seasons in Calgary, July and winter. So far they seem correct as August has been wet and hasnt provided good hiking weather. However, bad weather never stopped us from hiking in NZ or Oz so this weekend we ignored the forecast and went hiking anyway. The trip was Burstall Pass, a very popular and highly rated hike just out of Calgary. While there were periods of rain, fresh snow on the peaks and temperatures just pushing into double digits, the hike was still excellent with scenery that would give most of NZ a run for its money and make Australia look like a B grade amusement park.

The team

The Robertson Glacier

Approaching the pass

The view from the top made the trip worthwhile

Our first Moose sighting!

Niles Meadow and Sherbrooke Lake

To counteract the consumption of excessive amounts of fat, beer and salt at the football game we spent Sunday hiking. At 20 km, the hike was a tad longer than our usual outings but considering the food we had eaten the night before the exercise was needed. While the hike was rated very highly the forest fires in BC created a lot of haze which unfortunately limited the views so the hike didn't live up our lofty expectations.

Sherbrooke Lake

The wildflowers help distract you from the climb ahead

Niles amphitheatre

Niles Meadow just before a storm rolled in

The weather here always keeps you on your toes, especially when you are walking along an exposed ridge in a thunder storm getting pelted with hail.

Saturday night's a great night for football

After putting it off for a few months we figured it was about time to try and understand American Football. This idea was made made even more tempting by a deal that a local pub was running where you could get two tickets, two beers, chicken wings and transport to the game for just $24.95. So on Saturdays we joined ~35 000 other punters to see the Calgary Stampeders play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Despite expert advise from my brother, we couldn't figure out what was going on half the time and the other half of the time we couldn't even figure out where the ball was. Thankfully Calgary won and we had another excellent, albeit confusing, Canadian experience.

It wouldn't be Canadian Football without Canadian beer

Canadian cuisine

Stefan and Claire come to visit

Last weekend we had the pleasure of having Stefan and Claire come to visit. First up was a hike to Black Prince Cirque and while we had done the trip before the blooming wild flowers made it just as spectacular the second time around. The following day we joined a couple hundred other punters and floated down the Bow river, not quite grade 5 rapids but still a relaxing way to spend the day. On the last day we had an unseasonable spell of Vancouver (crap) weather so we headed out for a road trip along the Icefields Parkway. All and all a very enjoyable long weekend and we cant wait to visit Stefan and Claire in Vancouver next month.

Chilling on the Bow

Wildflowers

Stefan always has to be the centre of attention

Calgary Stampede

The highlight of Calgary's cultural calendar is the Stampede, actually it's the only event on the cultural calendar, unless you count monster truck racing. The Stampede is famous for two main things, the rodeo and weird food. The rodeo was great and certainly very entertaining. The weird food available included; deep fried Jelly Beans, deep fried Oreos, deep fried ..... (insert any food here) and pizza on a stick to name just a few. But by far the greatest was Chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick, science is indeed capable of achieving amazing things....

Just in case you were all getting worried I still managed to fit in another hike last week. I was essentially a tour guide for a conference excursion up to Sentinel Pass, its so tough to get paid to go hiking.

Another day, another amazing hike

Everyone here keeps on telling us that summer in Calgary is very short, so we have been trying to make the most of it. Last weekends excursion was the extended version of Black Prince Cirque. The usual route is a brisk stroll around a scenic lake, while the extended version takes a less traveled route up into a hanging valley (cirque).

Scenic lake

The remnants of a couple avalanches spiced up the hike, certainly never got those hiking in Oz, heck we were lucky if we could find water in Oz.

The cirque

Another scenic lake, although much nicer than the first.

Life is tough

Last week our research group was dragged kicking and screaming out of the lab for our monthly group hike. Life is indeed pretty tough when you get paid to go hiking, I don't know how I cope. The hike was the East End of Rundle, a ~900 m slog to the 2950 m summit. While the hike wasn't amazing the views were well worth the effort. Unfortunately we stuffed up the correct approach the the summit and had to turn back just short, I guess I will need to go back...

Up and up and up

The Shimizu Group

I don't think the rest of the group realized how perilous their location was

Over looking the town of Canmore with Ha Ling peak to the right

Hiking with the Whānau

The week before my bro's wedding was taken up with numerous hiking trips in the Rockies. Trip 1 was the first part of my brothers stag, a hike up Forgetmenot Ridge. It was a nice gentle 700 vertical meter slog with stunning views. Hike 2 was a more leisurely stroll around Moraine Lake and hike 3 was a return trip to Chester Lake, although this time there was less snow about.

Canada isn't as flat as Darfield

Karl strutting his stuff

Rivers from snow melt are surprisingly cold

Family portrait at Moraine Lake

I think after all the hiking my folks were ready to return to the flat lands of D'field.

My Bro's Wedding

The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy so it may take us a little while to catch up with the Blog entries. Firstly, and most importantly, my brother got married last Friday. The wedding was perfect and everyone had a brilliant time.

Pa and Ma

I don't wear a suit very often so I though the occasion should be documented

The wedding was in a meadow overlooking the township of Banff, not a bad spot.

The Bride and Groom

Biking Highwood Pass x 2

This weekends Canadian adventure was something a little different, biking Highway 40, Canada's highest paved road. Highway 40 is closed every winter to allow a free migration route for the various critters, this weekend marked the last weekend before it was reopened to cars. While it is not a long ride, just 38 km, the trip to the pass is an over 500 m gain. On Saturday Aleisha and I headed out and set a rather leisurely pace. The scenery was amazing and we even managed to spot a Black bear and cub.
For some reason I decided that once wasn't enough, so on Sunday I did the trip again but this time with Karl (not my bro but a friend from work). The pace was a little quicker but the ride was just as good. On the way up we spotted a Grizzly on the side of the road, thankfully he was happily munching on Dandelions and didn't pay much attention to us.

The slow climb

Aleisha enjoying biking

The Mountain Bike rack on the pass

The trip down was the best part

Karl and myself at the pass