Another fantastic day in Banff. I woke up in a tent to temperatures around 35 F. It was still early though, maybe 6:30, and the tall mountains don’t let sun on my side of the valley until around 8. I did some morning birding along the Bow River Parkway, a secondary highway to the Canadian Highway that passes through the park. The Bow River Parkway drives through an area that is known for multiple wildlife sightings. So of course, when people drive this road, they tend to drive very slow, like maybe 35km/hr. Speed limits are reduced in the area to help protect wildlife, and I’ll admit, so far on the few drives I’ve done on the road between Banff and my campsite, I’ve seen lots of wildlife. But some people. Sheesh. Venting I know….Anyway. The cold crisp morning turned into a sunny day, and in the valley it was definitely shorts and tshirt weather. But I had made it my goal today to climb one of these mountains. A mountain is a pretty imposing feature in the landscape, and reaching the summit of any really big mountain is quite a feat, and not something that can be done half-ass. I don’t like looking at mountains and not knowing whats up there. Some people are satisfied with just the way they look from afar. Not me. I want to see what kind of wildlife and scenery can be seen from up there. Hell, if you climb a mountain, its going to be a pretty special moment. So I headed to the trailhead of Rockland Lake, a 5 mile up, 5 mile down trail that visited two lakes at the top in a bowl between two peaks that reached just over 9000. The climb was over 2500 feet. And it was tough! Not so much because of the length….but because of the snow. About 2/3 the way there, the rather warm sunny weather turned at tad bit cooler, and suddenly I was glad I had brought my sweatshirt and worn jeans and long socks. At first, the snow was just little drifts, perhaps ankle deep. Then shin deep. Before I knew it, there was no more dirt. It was all snow. Snow in the valley the rest of the way to the lakes. And deep. Knee deep. Trust me, I know, I fell through almost every other step. The last 2km of the trek probably took the longest. There were few birds up here, for obvious reasons. But the views were to die for. Definitely worth the trip.
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| thats my goal |
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| view from the top of the bowl. all snow. |
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| looking out from atop the cliffs |
I climbed up past the first lake, which was frozen to the tops of some cliffs which were the gates to the second lake. The second lake was frozen as well, but the views of the snowless valley far below, with more snow-capped peaks in the distance were great. I will say that the path I blazed up to the tops of said cliffs was a little hairy. I may have used my free climbing skills to scale some cliff faces. Stuff that would freak my mom out if she knew any more of the details.
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| The tundra above the bowl. Lots of rocks and cliffs. and amazing views |
In the end though, a great trip up a mountain. I climbed through knee deep snow, scaled cliffs, crossed avalanche strewn paths to access the boulder fields on the sides of the mountain above the lakes, rewarding myself with more fantastic views. I didn’t quite reach the summit of any of the nearby peaks. Thankfully, my judgment is not so impaired to know when it gets too steep and windy and when turning around is in my best interest. The walk back down to the car was much faster than it was going up. But now my legs are dead. I was going to try running a bit today. Get some of that altitude running in so I can kick some butt back at alumni at the end of the summer. But a 10 mile hike will have to do. Camping in Johnson Canyon again, then probably making my way to the Columbian Icefields for the night tomorrow night. After that, making my way to Montana and the States!
How many people did I see on the trail? 2. I love these rockies. Ps. I have way more pics than can be uploaded so, what youre seeing is just a hint of what you can see in Banff.
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