TO THE MOUNTAINS!!!!

I set out on my tour on a Wednesday, ready to make lemonade and memories. Slightly under-prepared, under-rested, and leaving a bit late, I pressed on with the plan.  The moment had arrived.  I needed this – there was no way I’d postpone it.

I was starving!  And I had a bottle of wine that sure as shit wasn’t going to drink itself, so I unpacked my food & cooking gear and made a caesar salad with wieners.  The bugs were horrendous!! It was everything I could do to cook as fast as possible, inhale my dinner, and cram everything back into the car.

I heated up a pot of water to wash up with and got ready for bed….in the car.

I planned to hike up to the Plain of Six Glaciers in Lake Louise the next day.  I lived in Banff for most of 5 years but was never sober enough to really appreciate the fact I actually lived in a place many could only dream of seeing with their own eyes.  The whole province seemed to be on fire and the smoke was so thick, I could only see the majestic outlines of the mountains.  I second guessed this plan – if the smoke is THIS bad up there, maybe I should do something else.

The next morning, I had planned to be up at 7:30 in order to get to Lake Louise early in the day.  Well, I didn’t sleep well and was up early, which was great because morning rush hour at the Golden Airport during fire season means everyone starting up their helicopters at the crack of dawn. I made some tea, sat at the table in the sunshine, and watched the helis go to work, one by one.

Then there is the part I maybe shouldn’t write on a public blog, but here goes….

I lived in the National Park for the better part of 5 years and never did get a park pass.  It was weird that I didn’t and the reason is pure laziness. Being a resident and employee in Banff meant I would receive a free pass, but I couldn’t be bothered, and never got caught. I got parking tickets, and a ticket for expired plates, but never for not having a pass.

I drove up to Lake Louise and was astounded by the amount of traffic!!   The roads were congested and there were people directing traffic at every intersection.  I thought maybe I would park lower down and walk up, but if the lake was too smokey, maybe I would bail after all, so I should at least go look at the lake first.

The main parking lot was full and they were detouring traffic back down the hill, but not without first sending anyone without a park pass through the satellite ticket booth.  I pretended I didn’t know I should have bought a pass before going up the hill, but in all fairness, if there was no parking I wouldn’t have stopped there anyway.  As I was negotiating my way out of the booth, a parking spot opened up right in front of me. It was only 5 spots away from the path to the lake.  I bought the park pass and took the spot.  So, I basically skipped the line and won.  Clearly, this was meant to be so I happily put together a little cheese plate & a thermos of wine, donned my hiking shoes, and scurried off.

The lake was pretty hazy, but the air was breathable.

And I hiked!  Oh, how I hiked!!! I sped past all of the groups, slow people, and strollers to get to the end of the lake, to where the hiking trail begins.

I hoofed it along the first part of the trail finding the gentle incline a breeze.  The crowds thinned to small groups and pairs, plus the occasional solo hiker.

But as I swiftly and steadily put the turquoise lake behind me, I came to realize there isn’t much for shade on this trail.  The temperature at the lake was in the mid-30’s so I imagine it would have cooler higher up, but it didn’t feel like it.  A few kms in, I happened upon a family with small children and hunched over, bow-legged seniors in their sandals and flowered frocks.

I was sweating, wheezing, and my legs were on fire…HOW THE HELL DID THEY GET UP HERE!?!?! Like…did I miss a shortcut or something?? But there they all were….going for a lovely family stroll.

Once I got onto the moraine, the cool wind sweeping down from the glacier was a welcome sensation.

A group of people heading down said “Don’t worry – you’re almost there”

WTF?  What kind of a mess did I look like?

Nevermind – the underboob sweat and my pulse throbbing in my temples painted all the picture I needed.

I passed the Tea House and trekked out another 1.5kms or so to the viewpoint.

The viewpoint is at the end of an unmaintained trail along the top of a moraine.   The scree at the end is steep and tricky to navigate – very slippery and one false step can send you straight into a crevasse.  As an adult with a decent sense of my surroundings, I was nervous, but there were families with small children, and elderly with walking poles frolicking about. They were all pretty relaxed with their selfies and whatnot.  I, on the other hand, found a spot to carefully lower my ass without sliding into oblivion so I could enjoy my first meal of the day.

With cautious movements, I pulled my wine and cheese plate from my pack, carefully looping my leg around the strap to keep it from blowing down onto the glacier.  About a dozen sets of eyes glared at me as I cheerfully poured my wine, and leaned back to take in my surroundings.

The glaciers are indescribable.  Seriously – just stop reading this right now and go see for yourself!  The Victoria Glacier presides over her kingdom high above.  Every now and again, she breathes a heavy sigh like a crack of thunder and she sheds a prehistoric piece of herself, forever changing the landscape as we know it.

It.

Is.

Unreal!!

With my heart & soul filled by this whole experience, I took my swollen feet to Banff for a little tour of the town that stole my heart so long ago and went about finding accommodations (read: a parking lot) for the night.

You can’t sleep in your car anywhere inside the National Park, of course. The Save-On-Foods in Canmore was close enough and has a parking lot in the back specifically for travellers.  Not to mention, Save-On has decent internet if you snuggle up to the outside wall!

A shower was pretty much mandatory at this point.  I couldn’t live with myself in my little car without one, so I spent much of the evening finding a place to get wet!  I ended up quite a ways east at Gap Lake.  It’s in a rather industrial area, and to be honest other than being fucking COLD, I have no idea if it’s suitable for swimming.  I went in.  It was a whole other kind of cold I don’t think I’ve ever experienced.  My swollen feet loved it, though.

And back to the Save-On-Foods travellers lot to check in with everyone, do a little work, and get some MUCH needed rest!

NOPE!  No rest.  Forget that.  The trains run only a few feet away and they run OFTEN!  Some even take the liberty to blast their horn – oh goodie!

You know, there was a time many MANY years ago that I lived in a campground just on the other side of this very same track.  I remember when a train went by near the far edge of the property, the wind created was such a force I could feel it inside my trailer and it was quite lovely on hot summer nights.

So – no rest.

The next day was pretty exciting, though.  Aside from having to find a place to charge my laptop to take care of a time-sensitive website-related request from a client, I had a lunch date with 2 handsome fellas!

I hadn’t seen Chris or Arjun in an average of a decade!  Arjun – not since my wedding 11 years ago, and Chris a year or two after.  These two are icons in the history of Amy.  Holy shit, the stories we could tell!!  Haha!!