Day 18 - 16th August 2018
Today is the 2nd day in a row where we will not
be driving. Late start to the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, only a short
walk down the road. The tour goes for 1 hr and is a video (15 mins) and a walk
through the museum with the guide talking about the canoes, clothes and
heritage, etc for the Squamish and Lil’wat cultures. Also did some braiding of cedar
bark which is how they made ropes, baskets, hats etc. The tour is really the
only way to get the full benefit of the learning experience. The Squamish and
Lil’wat cultures both claimed Whistler area as their own, so they had a meeting
and came to an arrangement where the area would be jointly owned, and they have
lived in peace with that arrangement ever since.
At 4:20 headed to Lost Lake walk and guess what, the lake is
no longer lost…… we found it, along with a few hundred other people. Some were
just walking or mountain biking, others were swimming, and others were
sunbathing on the grass and beach. Walked all the way around the lake and back
home being a total of about 6 km.
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| Garter Snake |
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| Lost Lake |
Les had tried to get photos of cascades
during our walk, but would have had to wade into the creek to get the shot he
wanted, so decided to go without that shot – not such a dedicated water
photographer after all?
Day 19 - 17th August 2018
Today is a day of ups and downs so we have added some
elevation levels for reference. Headed out at 8:00 (Whistler Elevation is 668 metres) and still smoky but
not as bad as the last few days although it seems to improve in the afternoon
as the breeze picks up. Nairn Falls (elevation 258 metres) and a walk of about 1 ½ km each way. Generally
easy but lots of rock and tree roots on the path. Track follows the river to falls
which are pretty spectacular. The water drops over the edge and into a
whirlpool and out via a tunnel so there is water surging everywhere. The water
then falls down another drop and several cascades.
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| Nairn Falls |
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| Nairn Falls |
We saw a long train on the
nearby tracks, a squirrel/chipmunk and a jet boat going to the falls and back. The
web site recommends “proper hiking attire” but we saw people wearing thongs (on
their feet).
Onto Joffre Lakes which was recommend to us by Joy’s
brother-in-law. We passed the “overflow” carpark which was fairly full and
pulled into the actual car park. BUSY!!! We lucked in as 2 vehicles were
leaving. Elevation 1,258
metres. Had a quick cuppa before the long 400 metre trek to the first lake. The
2nd lake is a 2 ½ hour trek. Great view of the lake and the glacier
way above it and the smoke is not too bad in this area. We passed a pile of poo
on the track which we have identified as bear poo (even though there are no
bells in it!).
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| Joffre Lake |
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| View from Joffre Lake carpark |
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| Joffre Lake carpark...popular!!! |
Quick stop at Duffey Lake (elevation 1,205 metres)
and a few other stops before Lillooet where we
had lunch (elevation 215
metres). Had a quick stop to look at the Lytton Reaction Ferry.
This works by
using the flow of the river rather than a motor. When they want to cross the
river, they turn the rudder to allow the water to push the ferry sideways and by
adjusting the rudder they control the speed. A bit like how a sailing boat
tacks against the wind. The ferry was moving pretty quickly! Stopped at Cisco
Siding Road to look at 2 railway bridges crossing the river. There are two
train lines down the Fraser Valley, one owned by Canadian Pacific Railways and
the other by Canadian National Railways.
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| Cisco Siding Road |
The First Nations could work things
out and live in peace but the railways could not!!
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| Fraser Canyon and road along edge |
Next was Hells Gate where Joy took the “Airtram” (Gondola)
across the river and Les took the long downhill walk and bridge across the
river. This was the best choice for both of us, with Les’ severe fear of
heights and Joy’s dodgy knees and ankles. Had a quick look around and back the
same ways. The “Airtram” takes about 5 minutes each way. The walk is 20 to 30
minutes each way (for Les, 30 minutes down because he had to wait for a train
to pass, and 20 minutes up because he didn’t have to wait for a train that
time).
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| View down to Hell's Gate |
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| Airtram (Joy's method) and Bridge (Les' method) |
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| Steep road that Les took! |
Last stop before we get to our overnight stop was Alexander
Bridge, the old road bridge across the river. Les was very brave crossing it as
the base of the bridge is metal that you can see through. The trick is to not
look through but look straight ahead or up so you can’t see what’s down below
moving.
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| Alexander Bridge |
Overnight stop is Hope (elevation 45 metres) which is where the original Rambo movie was
filmed. Looked at some chainsaw carvings (amazing what detail can be achieved
with a chainsaw)
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| Chainsaw statue |
and had tea at Rolly’s, which is a fairly typical diner
restaurant. Les had chicken tenders, chips and broccoli with cheese sauce which
is the closest he could get to chicken schnitzel. Dessert was pie ala mode
(meaning with ice cream). Joy had bumbleberry and Les had blueberry.
Bumbleberry is a pie with assorted berries (blueberry, raspberries and strawberries)
and rhubarb. Each serve was a ¼ of a pie and was very yummy!!!
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| Pie ala mode |
Day 20 - 18th August 2018
First stop for fuel and then for treats/bread rolls from The
Rolling Pin Bakery which had LOTS of yummy looking treats. Joy got an Eccles cake
which is a small(?), round cake filled with currants and blueberries
and made from flaky pastry with butter and Les got an apple strudel.
Both were enough to do morning AND afternoon tea and were less than $3.00 each.
First stop was Othello Tunnels at Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park. These
tunnels are remains from Kettle Valley Railway. We walked through the first 3
or 4 tunnels but the last one was too dark and we did not have a torch.
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| Othello Tunnels |
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| Othello Tunnels |
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| Othello Tunnels |
The
track/tunnels go through a spectacular gorge and we took many photos but they
do not do it justice. Another location for part of the Rambo movie. When we
were walking back we noticed that there was a layer of thicker smoke higher up
the mountains. This was a sign of things to come as today we went up and the
smoke got thicker.
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| Distinct layer of smoke |
We headed north east & started to climb. Stopped at
Merritt for morning tea but because it is so smoky we had morning tea at
Starbucks. (Elevation 593
metres). Joy’s thoughts on the coffee: Froth, lots, ½ airy, ½ good; Coffee
DISGUSTING, but nice slice and muffin.
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| Very smoky |
At the Clapperton Brake Area where the
trucks have to pull over and check they have brakes we had reached 1,300 metres elevation and thick
smoke. As the smoke was so bad café lunch at Sprokket’s Café at Dreamcycle Motorcycle
Museum at Sorrento (442
metres). Nice rolls but Joy’s coffee was bitter. Looks like the stories of
Canadian coffee are coming true.
Had a quick stop at “The Last Spike” which is where the last
spike was driven in the Trans Canadian Railway from East to West coast. Elevation
388 metres. Arrived in
Revelstoke (elevation 466 metres)
and went to the Visitor’s Info Centre for some brochures. One that was handed
to Joy was in French, so we had to get that one changed. Did some shopping and
drove to the accommodation.
The accommodation is in the basement of the house. Sometimes
these types of accommodation are half underground but this one is fully
underground but has 2 windows, so you can look up at the sky. We have to make
sure we close the door from the yard properly as earlier this year they had a
bear get in!!!!
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| Canned custard (the only way to buy pre-made custard in Canada) |
Day 21 - 19th August 2018
Late rise as a full rest day today. Washing, reading, diary,
trip advisor review, downloading/renaming photos, etc
Day 22 - 20th August 2018
Fairly early start as we were worried about getting a car
park at Illecillewaet Camping Area (1256
metres) at Glacier National Park where our first walk started. On the road at
8:15 and arrived at 9:15. Saw marmots as we were driving along access road. A
brisk 15 degrees but the walk will warm us up. Saw a bird on the walk that we
later discovered is a Varied Thrush and is classified as “uncommon”. The walk
goes along the river until it gets to a spot where two rivers meet. Well
actually Illecillewaet River and Asulkan Brook.
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| Marmot |
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| Meeting of the Waters |
Then the trail crosses the
river and follows it back along the other side. Spotted and tasted some blueberries
and spotted thimbleberries. Discovered later that you aren’t supposed to eat
the wild berries in the national parks – for 2 reasons, one being that in
national parks you aren’t supposed to take things, and the other being that not
all wild berries are edible by humans. Oops. On the walk they have the Red
Chairs which are a symbol of the Canadian National Park and we wanted to get
our photo with them but had to wait for other people who were taking their own
sweet time to move and also move their jackets, etc. No courtesy!!!
After morning tea we did Loop Brook walk which is where the
old railway did a big loop to climb, and there are the remains of the old stone
pillars and where the track used to run.
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| Loop Brook Walk |
Very nice walk through the forest. On
to Rockgardens Trail where the trail goes through masses of large and small
boulders. Saw a small furry animal about the size of a marmot but looks
skinnier and slightly different.
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| Rockgardens |
Will need to do some research on this animal. Last
walk before lunch was Hemlock Grove which had hemlock trees but also giant cedars,
etc.
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| Red Chairs at Hemlock Grove |
Giant Cedar Boardwalk, which takes you through many giant
trees (presumably cedar trees but we wouldn’t really know), was followed by
Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk, which is completely different to any of the other
walks. It is along a river but through wetlands and swampy areas where “Skunk
Cabbage” grows. It does smell like cooking cabbage but not sure about the Skunk
as we have not smelt one of them. Back to accommodation for a quiet afternoon.
Has reached 29 degrees.
Watched a documentary about the bald eagle and how it has
adapted to life in urban Vancouver. Very interesting and has given Joy another
web cam to watch!!
Day 23 - 21st
August 2018
Another smoky day heading out at 7:55 am to make sure we got
a car park at the top of Mt Revelstoke. 13 degrees and sunny but smoky. Arrived
at the Summit “Meadows in the Sky” at 8:49 having taken about 40 minutes to
climb the 26 km road to the top. 1935
metres elevation.
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| Yes it is winding!!!! |
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| We made it! |
We passed a cyclist along the way and thought he was
mad. At the summit you park in the “lower car park” and either walk or shuttle
bus to the upper car park where several walks start from. The shuttle does not
start until 10:00 so we did the summit walk of 1 km. So off we set past the grizzly
bear warning signs (not black bears this time but grizzlies which are bigger
and meaner!!). That reminds me, we have not got our bear spray yet, mind you
they only work at a range of 10 feet and I am not sure how we would handle a
charging grizzly at 10 feet!!!
Arrived at the upper car park only to find the “mad cyclist”,
who actually turned out to be a nice older gentleman. He made the 26 km in
about 1 hr 40 mins.
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| Should be much easier going back down. |
We did the following walks: First Footsteps Trail,
Heather Lake
and Historic Fire Lookout. We then caught the shuttle bus back to the car park
– thought it might be wise, since the sign at the shuttle stop said it was
“seriously recommended” because of the bears. The reason for the bear signs is
that grizzly bears do frequent the meadows next to the road and summit track we
took as that is where they find their food. The next walk was Eagle Knoll Trail
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| Smoke laying in the valley |
and Balsam Lake. During the walks today we saw pika (also know as rock rabbit),
ground squirrel, woodpecker (hairy woodpecker – female – uncommon), marmot and
various other birds (incl Black-eyed Junco).
Back to the bottom of the mountain and Nels Nelsen Ski Jump
which is named after a famous ski jumper and is the spot where back in the
1920s he set the world record jump and then went on to break it 5 times. It is
the only place in Canada where a Ski Jump World Record has been set. It is no
longer used due to the building of the highway (effectively, they ran out of
landing and stopping space!!).
Day 24 - 22nd August 2018
Yet another smoky day. Started at about 460 metres elevation today.
Headed east with the first stop being Rogers Pass Historical
Site (1,320 metres elevation)
where it is 15 degrees. We have decided that the drivers here basically ignore
the speed limits especially in road works areas!! Les has been blasted with
horns and high beam when he’s slowed down for them. Maybe they are “suggestions”
rather than “limits”?
Had a quick look in the Visitor Centre which does not have a
great deal of stuff but did have a very interesting documentary called “the War
on Snow”. It’s about the snow and avalanches in the Rogers Pass area and how
they monitor them and set off controlled avalanches. We had seen small concrete
turntables on the side of the road and wondered what they were, but the
documentary shows that they use 105-millimetre Howitzer guns. Under the direction of Parks Canada’s
Avalanche Forecasters, the Army bombards known trigger zones high up the
avalanche paths. The shock waves from exploding shells fired by the artillery
will trigger avalanches when snow conditions are right. With the highway
closed, the avalanches can thunder harmlessly down the slopes.
Very hazy and so no good photos of the amazing mountains.
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| Mountains above Rogers Pass |
Headed off to find a spot for morning tea but with the road
works was difficult. Stopped at Beaver Valley which was to be the lunch spot.
We have to turn the clocks forward an hour, so we arrived here at 10:30 / 11:30
and had morning tea instead. We were hearing a sharp “cheep” and thought it was
a bird but in fact it was a ground squirrel just out of its burrow. Every time
we walked past it would “cheep” at us. Maybe it was cranky we were disturbing
its day, or maybe it was just being welcoming? We had to brush off ash from the
forest fires from the picnic table.
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| Ground Squirrel |
Northern Lights Wolf Centre and had a look around waiting
for the next wolf talk. There are only 6 or so wolves on display and they give
a 15/20-minute talk on wolves and the effects of man, etc. Very conservation
oriented but that is what the centre is about. All the wolves are from
previously captive places ie have not been taken from the wild, and they do not
breed any wolves here. The wolves cannot fend for themselves in the wild, but
they are taken out every few weeks for a walk/run in the wild, but they always
come back to the staff as they know who feeds them. Drove on to Golden where we
had lunch at Confluence Park where the Kicking Horse River (white-ish) and the
Columbia River join. Saw several helicopters including one with firefighting
bucket. Shopping and a quick stop at the Farmers Markets and then to
accommodation 890 metres
elevation. Temperature now 27 degrees (max today 28 degrees).
Day 25 - 23rd August 2018
Today the smoke is a bit worse than yesterday. Headed off to
Yoho National Park. Arrived at Wapta Falls after travelling down about 2 km of
rough dirt road. There was a sign warning about bears as it was berry season –
the warning says that encountering bears is “likely”. Not sure whether to be
excited or terrified by the possibility.
A cool 8 degrees and Les was thinking he should have brought
his gloves. Wapta Falls is not a high waterfall but is wide and has a lot of
water going over it. After taking our share of photos
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| Wapta Falls |
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| Wapta Falls face on. |
we headed back, and Les’
hands have warmed up. Arrived back at the car park and had morning tea. When we first arrived there were 4 cars and
now over 20 cars. Passed a lady taking her little fluffy dog for a walk in an
area with a bear warning!!! Also noticed a couple head off on the walk with
their coffees in hand – not the first time we have seen this.
Onto Kicking Horse Pass Historical Site, via Field, to where
the train spirals through tunnels. Due to the smoke and trees it was very
difficult to see anything so quickly left and headed to Takakkaw Falls. Along
the way we stopped at the “Meeting of the Waters” (Yes another one) which is where the Yoho and
Kicking Horse Rivers meet.
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| Meeting of the Waters (2) |
A few quick photos and then further up the road to
the hairpin bends. Any RVs over 7 metres have to drive up to the first bend,
then back up to the 2nd bend and then drive on. A bit like the Zig
Zag railway. The hairpin bends are very tight and the 2nd one was a 3-point
turn in the Charger.
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| Hairpins heading back down. RVs have to drive forward to the corner and back down the next section and then forward again. |
Arrived at Takakkaw Falls and it is very impressive, even
Joy agrees. It is a very high waterfall with a lot of water and sounds like a
jet engine. It is a very popular place and car park was full, with cars parked
in No Parking Zones, etc but we again lucked it with a parking spot. Walked to the
end of the track where you start to get the misty spray on you. It was very
cold with the mist and wind. More waterfall photos!!!
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| Takakkaw Falls |
Back to the car and back
to the Meeting of the Waters for lunch and more photos. Drove to Natural Bridge
where the walk from the car park is about 50 metres! Took more photos and
crossed the concrete bridge while 2 girls walked across the “Natural Bridge”. Two
things wrong with this, 1 it ruins everyone’s photos and 2 it is very
dangerous.
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| Natural Bridge, without the extra girls. |
Emerald Lake was next and again, the car park was full, and we had
to park 200 metres down the road. Did the walk around the lake which is about 5
or so kilometres.
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| Emerald Lake |
At ½ way bridge we saw a small mammal running around and
playing with a dead mouse – worked out later that it was a marten.
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| Marten |
At about ¾
of the way we came across a chipmunk who allowed us to get some shots. Also saw
several fish, including one catch an insect on the lake surface.
Day 26 - 24th August 2018
Weather has changed and we are both in long pants for the
first time this holiday.
Today from Golden, British Columbia to Canmore, Alberta. Again,
it was smoky but starting to clear and we can actually see some clouds. Left at
8:05 and and headed down the valley towards Radium Hot Springs. The valley is
very wide and has lots of wetlands area. Along the way we saw a chipmunk race
across the road with something very big in its mouth. There are lots of poles
with large bird’s nest on each of them. They have been installed to try and
stop the bird nesting on the power poles. We saw a bird in one nest and it is a
bird of prey but have not worked out what type – probably an eagle of some
sort.
Arrived at Radium Hot Springs (877 metres). Our planned m/tea stop was Olive Lake but is
closed due to bears in the area, and the bulk of the park is closed due to
wildfires but the worst ones near the road are getting brought under control. First
stop was Sinclair Canyon. The road goes through a very narrow canyon and the
river runs under the road for about 50 metres.
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| Sinclair Canyon |
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| Sinclair Canyon |
We headed to Paint Pots and along the way (over 50 km) we
passed many closed picnic areas, camping areas, etc. We also saw lots of areas
where the fires had been, and several areas where firefighters are still
working to put out spot fires and clean up. They cut down the burnt trees near
the road so they can fell them the direction they want and not have them fall
on the road in the future. We have been driving through showers which we hope
is helping the firefighters.
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| Fire fighters still mopping up. |
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| The fires came right to the road. |
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| Great shot from Joy. It says it all..... |
Arrived at Paint Pots and did the walk across the
river and to the first of the Paint Pots. They are small ponds of different
coloured mud with water running between them. The walk took about an hour.
Marble Canyon walk was longer than we thought and we took
lots of photos so did not get back for lunch until 1:45 after an hour walk. And
yes, Les did walk over all the bridges!! We had passed a chipmunk preening
itself when we headed up the Canyon and 40 minutes later when we came back it
was still preening itself.
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| Lower part of Marble Canyon |
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| Chipmunk we saw preening itself |
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| Marble Canyon. Yes, Les did walk over the bridge at the top. |
Drove to Canmore without the aid of the GPS as it will not
allow us to search for places outside of British Columbia. Arrived at accommodation
at 3:25, 1321 metres elevation and 10 degrees.
Day 27 - 25th August 2018
Firstly, we did a load of washing and put some in the dryer
and others on hangers hanging all over the room – looks a bit like a Chinese
laundry. Sorted GPS issue (user error). Headed to Banff with first stop the
Hoodoos Lookout. There are not many Hoodoos but nice lookout although still
smoky and also some mist. Whilst we were there we saw a bald eagle, squirrel,
chipmunk, many birds and a raft on the river well below us. Must have been cold
in the raft as it was only 5 degrees!!
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| Hoodoos Lookout. The Hoodoos are the rock formations just left of centre near the bottom of photo. |
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| Squirrel collecting pine cones. He dropped it so ran down the tree to retrieve it. |
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| Chipmunk. He would chew the red outer and spit it out. Not sure if he was after the flesh or the seed inside. |
Into Banff and walk up the main street. There is a varied
mix of buildings (some dating back to the 1800s) and type of shops. Stopped for
Joy to have a coffee. She said it was nice but it was a small size and had 2
shots of coffee so was STRONG. On to Cave and Basin Historic Site which is
where the National Parks in Canada started. Interesting but a bit under-whelming.
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| "Cave" of Cave and Basin. For keen photographers (Mark G) it is 20 seconds exposure |
Did a walk called Marsh Loop Walk which unfortunately is a walking and
horse-riding track and was fairly cut up and muddy from the horses’ hooves, and
smelly from the horses’ poo.
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| Walking/Horse Trail |
Drove into Banff and had lunch by the river. Originally,
we were going to do Tunnel Mountain Summit this afternoon but as it is so smoky
we decided to do Johnson Lake and Stewarts Canyon. Arrived at Johnson Lake and
had a nice walk around the lake. At the far end we came across a chipmunk that
was sitting on the bench seat but like all the animals it would not let Joy
take a photo.
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| Gray Jay at Johnson Lake |
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| Woodpecker holes with Joy's hand for reference to the size of the holes. Johnson Lake |
Drove to Two Jack Picnic Area for afternoon tea and on to Lake
Minnewanka (pronounced Minnie – wonka). The car park was full as it is the car
park for the boat cruises on the lake, so we decided not to go around and
around hoping to get a spot, and hopefully we will get back here later to do
the Stewart Canyon walk.
Headed for home and arrived at 4:10 and it has warmed up to
17 degrees!!!
