We have had such a blast exploring this summer that I have totally dropped the ball with posting about them. Some days I ask myself why I write this blog. I'm going to be honest with you- I am not a blogger. I feel so strange every time I sit down to do it. I don't know why- I guess I just wonder why anyone would really want to read about what we spend our time doing. I feel silly gushing about this restaurant or that mountain. But then I remember why we are traveling. We are making these memories with each other and as we make them, we are creating this special part in our hearts that we can revisit when we are old. So I guess that is what this blog has become. It's just exploring that part of my heart. So although I still don't feel like a 'blogger', finding a place to record our adventures is worth while.
SO- now that my little rant is over, I can get on with easily one of the best trips we have ever taken. The plan was to go to Glacier National Park in Montana- buttttt mother nature had other plans. Thanks to a large forest fire, our campground closed and our reservations were canceled just a few days before we were supposed to leave. Now many of you know how much of a planner I am. I made Prom Packets in high school telling our group where to be when. (Not even ashamed). My best friends are Yelp, Trip Adviser, Open Table and Air BnB. I have been known to make a reservation two months in advance and be the only ones in the restaurant when we get there. So when a trip that I have planned and researched gets taken out of my hands, you would think that would make me flip. However, I am consistently trying to take a cue from my laid back husband. He has this wonderful ability to be calm and content through everything and I knew he was the one for me when he told me to 'chill out' when I was stressing. Between him and my dear friends Jessica and Bekah, we threw together Plan B- Plan Banff- if you will. We would head further north to Alberta, Canada explore the milky blue lakes and spectacular glaciers. Now if we can only find our passports.......
...ok there they are. Off we go!
...ok there they are. Off we go!
Ive been dabbling with our GoPro. Bear we me- I'm not a pro yet. But this video gives me goosebumps as I relive the views from this trip.
We packed our time with as many sights as we could see. We woke up early and left as soon as our water for coffee was boiling. (Camping french press is an absolute must for us). Our first day was an easy half day hike through a beautiful wooded area opening up to a gorgeous lake. We scrambled across a boulder field and found a secluded little spot to eat lunch and relax.
For our second day we decided to string along a crazy loop of trails that would come out to just about 18K round trip. That sounded doable to us. We planned on taking all day and starting early. HOWEVER- we didn't think about what 18k IN THE MOUNTAINS would feel like...between the elevation and switch backs that were so steep you could drag your hands on the trail in front of you- it is an under-statement to say that this challenged us. Bit just when I was ready to pack it in we were rewarded with one incredible view after another.
We started our morning at 0700 at the famous Lake Louise. There is no sugar coating it- this lake is freaking amazing. Our dear friends Brad and Bekah honeymooned there and woke up to that view every morning. There is something so romantic and pure about it, and at 7am- we didn't have to share that view with many. During the height of the day, this lake is an opaque, milky blue but in the morning, the air is so still that it was a mirror. Lake Louise- you are a gem.
We started our morning at 0700 at the famous Lake Louise. There is no sugar coating it- this lake is freaking amazing. Our dear friends Brad and Bekah honeymooned there and woke up to that view every morning. There is something so romantic and pure about it, and at 7am- we didn't have to share that view with many. During the height of the day, this lake is an opaque, milky blue but in the morning, the air is so still that it was a mirror. Lake Louise- you are a gem.
We continued on a trail that was up-hill for the next 2 hours. Sooo wasn't awake enough for that yet. While we were getting our morning cardio on- we were easily passed by a young woman with a heavy backpack. We rolled our eyes an continued. Little did we know- we would see her again soon.
At the top of the 'mini mountain' is Lake Agnus and a special little treat for its hikers. A Swiss Tea House was built right on the lake shore in the 1920's. It has no electricity and the water for the tea is hauled by buckets right from the crystal clear water. We reached the adorable abode around 8:30 and were so ready for some steamy morning tea. Despite our climb, it was pretty chilly at the top. As we settled down for our tea and biscuits we saw a familiar face. The young woman that passed us on the trail was our waitress lugging in huge tea pots from the lake! What a morning commute! I will never complain about traffic on the way to the hospital anymore!
At the top of the 'mini mountain' is Lake Agnus and a special little treat for its hikers. A Swiss Tea House was built right on the lake shore in the 1920's. It has no electricity and the water for the tea is hauled by buckets right from the crystal clear water. We reached the adorable abode around 8:30 and were so ready for some steamy morning tea. Despite our climb, it was pretty chilly at the top. As we settled down for our tea and biscuits we saw a familiar face. The young woman that passed us on the trail was our waitress lugging in huge tea pots from the lake! What a morning commute! I will never complain about traffic on the way to the hospital anymore!
We continued up a series of trails to Little Beehive and enjoyed the view of Lake Louise- where we began just a few hours before. Did we really start all the way down there??
While going through the pictures of this trip, we got to this part of the hike and I asked Caleb, "Where are all the pictures of this part?!" Then I remembered that we were huffing and puffing up some crazy switch backs and were just focused on making it to the top. As we approached the trail to our highest summit I pointed up and said "That's not it, is it?" To which Caleb replied, "No way that's way too high up". Ummmm just kidding- that's it. Good-Ness, I thought I was going to die. The elevation, the lose rocks, the sore muscles all came together. But-- we were determined to find the most epic lunch spot ever. And boy did we. After ducking and scooting- we made it out to a ledge that would have made both of our moms gasp. (Don't worry Jolene and Sheryll, we didn't hang our legs off like we originally wanted. The rocks were just a bit too lose for comfort). But eating lunch at the edge of the world was well worth it. And looking down where we started five hours before felt like such an accomplishment...until we realized we would have to get alllllll the wayyyy back down.....
Making our way down the mountains proved to be just as hard as going up- just a different kind of difficulty. We weren't out of breath, but our knees and ankles were killing us. Our hiking sticks had to be strategically placed one by one to keep us from falling on our butts or slipping down the lose rocks. I told myself I would probably wipe out three or four times but surprised myself by staying upright the whole time! It was painstakingly slow going. At the bottom we could have continued down to Lake Louise. But we are gluttons for punishment and continued on the 8K trail to another tea house. Seriously though- we should have stopped. We were running very low on water, energy, and patience for tourists. (Yes I know we are tourists also. But as I have said before- we strive to be as least 'touristy' as possible). ---And no, our pictures above are NOT with selfie sticks- those are with the GoPro and that's allowed ok!? Anyway- the second tea house was not about sipping hot tea. It was about gulping lemonade and buying over priced water because we had gone through two camelbacks. No pictures were taken here. Because frankly, we were not in the best moods. I'm going to be honest and say that a lot of this hike was arguing about rationing water and stopping to catch our breath while being passed by people who had NOT been hiking for 7 1/2 hours straight.... don't judge me visor-wearing-lady! I had all intentions of taking a victory picture at the car...but all we cared about was AC, and getting back to camp for naps and showers. But we conquered something together that day. And I'm glad we took every step.
Evenings are for easy, enjoyable hikes. And let me tell you- we have cracked the code to avoiding crowds at national parks. Start the big hikes at the crack of dawn, and hit the popular spots at dinner time. So we took a leisurely "green" hike at Johnston Canyon. This canyon is one of the famous spots in Banff. It's like their Old Faithful. It got so much foot traffic that they paved the path and built it through the canyon. It was a lovely walk by ourselves and Caleb got to explore some slow shuttered pics of the beautiful water.
Dear Banff, you crashed into our hearts by accident. But we cannot wait to return and breathe you in once more.
"And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in,
and fall in love once more"
-pico iyer