UPDATE: Here is the video I threw together of this weekend
The mountains were calling and we responded. A wrangler, my hiking boots, my camera and some family – we hit Banff and Jasper national parks in a whirlwind of a weekend.
Like absolutely nothing I’d ever seen. The water was this unreal turquoise colour due to the glacier melting. The air was so crisp and clean. Sunsets were all the more richer and exciting as the sun snuck behind mountain tops. Climbing on summits of mountains and drinking hot chocolate in styrofoam cups at a tea house overlooking a snowy valley-I’d never experienced silence and peace like that before.
I’d never been to Alberta before and some time in the middle of July, my cousin messaged me and asked me if we were ever going to follow-up on the trip we dreamt up at Christmas. I was waiting on my below-minimum wage pay check to pay rent that month, but I couldn’t say no. I begged my sister to book my tickets for me and I’d pay her back later. I was itching to get back to the mountains and to put my hiking boots back on. October couldn’t come fast enough.
Theresa and I hopped on an early morning flight from YUL Saturday morning of (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend and instead of heading to YYZ like we usually do this time of year, we headed for the Alberta gate and could barely sit still.
Once we met up, we got lucky and Alex had a membership to a rental car company so we got to CHOOSE a rental car. Quite the contrast to the cheapest car I had to get for my last hiking trip. (The car was still really nice) But I spotted it in the row over and we had to have it-A black Jeep Wrangler. It was a dream.
We headed north and stopped at a Timmy’s for breakfast before stocking up on supplies in Canmore. It was amazing driving through Alberta and seeing the rolling hills and flat land every which way. We got our hike-friendly snacks, checked into our Airbnb and headed off for the first hike.
Where do you go first when you get to Banff? Lake Louise of course. It was a misty, crisp and cloudy day-the kind of heavy dark feeling like the sky in winter and a day I’d typically stay in-yet it was a perfect day. The classic Lake Louise picture viewpoint was teeming with tourists who wanted their “perfect picture”. We stopped briefly to admire the view and bore right to attempt the Agnes Teahouse Hike.
It’s a hike of pretty steep switchbacks, a stop at Mirror Lake, a small waterfall that lead to over the side of a cliff, and finally the Teahouse. About halfway up, the snow was falling thicker, we had reached an elevation where we were above tree tops, and it was silent. We were right in the middle of the mountain range and I can’t even describe the liberating yet all-encompassing silence that I had never felt before. I asked everyone to take a moment to admire this view and commit it to memory. I left that space knowing I had never felt that way before and that I would commit my life to feeling this way again.
I don’t think I’ll ever experience anything like it at sea level. The way down was quick and we were racing against the sunset and a few at-capacity bladders. I kept stopping though. It was truly incredible just watching the lake sneak up behind the trees and once I got to the clearing it was breathtaking from that angle. It was a clean shot, no tourists in the way. I think I stopped every 20 yards until we were back at the parking lot. We headed to dinner in Banff at Bear Street Tavern-got pizzas, mac n cheese and a huge fishbowl to share between the 4 of us. After that we headed back to the Airbnb to sleep since we were going to have a jam-packed day the next morning.
6am wake up call was tough. It was dark, mother-heckin cold and none of us are morning people. We ate our oats, packed our lunches of sandwiches, trail mix and dunkaroos and picked up coffee on the way out.
We headed north on the Icefields parkway towards Jasper National Park. A scenic drive of green and brown mountains quickly became driving through a snow storm with views of grey and blue. But it was awe-inspiring. The mountains opened up to reveal a lake with a pseudo parking lot right in the front just begging us to stop. We filed out and had exactly 2 mins of pure joy with only our voices echoing back at us. It was exhilarating and we could all feel how small we were. Before we could even get some good shots, a full Asian tour bus unloaded right behind us and so we were on our way.
There were a few other gorgeous stops on the way, some fields to run in, long roads to sit in the middle of just because we could. Singing to the top of our lungs in a wrangler, down a single lane highway straight through the middle of a valley-mountain ranges on either side towering over us yet so far in the distance, thick snowflakes blanketing the whole world-it felt so heavy. But in a way that was so free-it was feeling so present and aware of how I’d look back on those very moments to remind me of how alive I was.
We reached Whistler Mountain and our goal was to hike that bad boy to the summit. Due to winter-y conditions and that none of us were in good enough shape to beat the light and drive back, we took the tram about 2/3 of the way up and decided to hike to the summit. The summit was literally just that-a summit. Like the tippity top of a full on mountain in a full on mountain range. right off the tram you could feel the strength of the wind and the -20C cold. It was a sunny blue sky type day but the cold was boring through us like no tomorrow. Our hiking boots were no match for the multi-foot-deep snow the whole way up. Each slippery slope led to one landing after another and when we though we had reached the top, there was another to climb. But standing on top of that mountain range, and looking behind me each step of the way was mind blowing. Each heave of my chest and each time I slipped, pushed me harder to see the valley from the very top. I was chasing that feeling and I wasn’t going to stop until I felt it.
And so I did. That feeling I had experienced atop Angel’s Landing in Utah, Iguazu falls in Argentina, it hit me again. That all- encompassing satisfaction, pride, exhaustion and amazement in the view in front of me.
We headed back down the mountain and started the long 4 hour drive back down to Banff. We realized on the way that that was pretty much like driving to and from Boston from North Jersey in one day…
Theresa had her first steak after ending her 5year vegetarianism at Saltlik (realllly delicious and beautiful but a bit too fancy for my taste and for the dirty, exhausted, snowy hiking gear we were wearing) back in the village and we all were asleep once our heads hit the pillows.
Another early morning filled with oatmeal and tea led to a quick stop for coffees, gas and Tylenol cold and flu (yes I was super, super congested this whole trip) led to my favorite day of this trip. We went to see Moraine Lake, and oh man she was a beauty. I was absolutely entranced I can’t describe it any other way it truly looked like a painting I couldn’t believe it was a real place I was actually standing in. It was unfortunate that pretty much the entirety of one side was a parking lot but nonetheless you barely noticed it from atop the rock pile.
After pulling myself away, we headed to Johnston canyon and went all the way to the inkpots. It was a different type of view-much more crowded on the lower half, relatively flat and within a valley. The hike to the inkpots was 100000% worth it and Im glad I took the recommendation from my friend Alyssa to go all the way. It opened up to a beautiful field in a valley with mountains in every direction. I probably could have laid in that field all day just daydreaming and watching the sky.
To end it off, we canoe’d on Lake Louise. It was completely and entirely worth the money we paid and I am still lost at the vibrancy and beauty I witnessed. It is an entirely different view from the shoreline. The water looks icy and a blue that you can only dream up. A colour you would think is clear yet opaque. The mountains a deep grey-navy with hazy clouds lingering just below the summits so they peak behind the misty fog. And the sky was so clear yet a soft bluish grey. It was a colour palette and image that was equally earthy and ethereal.
Overall, a short three-day trip and 5 hour flight completely worth it. Of course I didn’t get to do everything I wanted to do but it was all I had imagined at the same time. If I’m lucky enough to ever go back, you can bet I’ll drop everything to do so. Until next time Alberta-you have truly inspired me.
COURTSNEXTSTOP 