The Rockies!!
WOW! Thats about the best word to explain it. The scenery here is absolutely fantastic! There are heaps of these perfect turquoise lakes nestled amongst huge mountains and glaciers and forests. Absolutely spectacular!
After leaving Lake Shuswap we mosied (Moosied) our way across towards Banff... Another long day in the saddle, but stopping at the giant cedar's walk (lunch of a whole roast chicken) and the Visitor's centre where we watched a film titled "Bear & Man" a hilarious educational video teaching what to do if one encounters a bear. Tip: Raise your hands up and say "Woah bear!". We also spent a bit of time taking photo's of stuffed wildlife in case we didn't see much out in the wild.
Moving on we made a quick stop at Emerald Lake where Corey asked if I wanted to go for a swim. To which I replied, "Sure I'll jump in, only if you get me a towel...." thinking he wouldn't bother.... well roughly 20 seconds later a towel was procured and SPLASH! Paul jumped into a freezing cold lake!
We arrived to our accomodation, HI Banff and after a nice dinner, a trip downstairs to the pub. Pretty much all of the team rocked up and we spent the evening playing pool and fussball. Not much else to say there... Beer, peanuts (getting a home (well, bunk)-delivery of peanuts from Swiss at 3am), beer, vodka slimes, beer, pool, beer, vodka smiles, fussball, beer...
The next day we went from Banff to Jasper. An 8am start... I slept in a little cos I saw Denmark sleeping peacefully on the bunk across from me, after noticing it was 7:49am I jumped up and while rushing to get ready shook Denmark awake saying, we're gonna miss the bus. To which I got the reply - I don't need to wake up, I'm jumping off here in Banff! Oooops! The first stop was Lake Louise a beautiful lake with about 20 bus-loads of Japanese tourists. These tourists were very entertained by the sight of Adam and Myself stripping to our boxers and jumping in the 0 or 1C water! So entertained that one lady missed the photo-op so sent us back in the water so she could get a good photo! A quick dry-down and a large hot chocolate and back on the bus...
Continuing on the Icefields Parkway we stopped in at the Big Bend lookout, at Bo Lake - once again another swim for Adam and Paul, walked on the Columbia Glacier before making our way to the Athabasca Falls hostel. This hostel had no running water and not a lot else, but after a huge group dinner of taco's we started up a campfire and had a few drinks, told a few jokes (bag-boom-boom-boom-bang), sung a few songs (woh-oh-oh-camoflague) and learnt the secrets of forestry from Corey (when we went to gather water to douse the fire I turned to see him lying on the groung after slipping in the water - about 2 seconds after warning me that it is a bit slippery around here!)
The NEXT day (friday) Jasper-Banff - most awesome scenery day EVER! First stop the Athabasca Falls, a powerful and stunning waterfall then on to Goat Viewpoint (Mineral Lick)... which someone forgot to mention to the goats as there were none there! We did learn a goat call though, "gooooooat-goat-goat-goat-goat" and a Moose call "HEY MOOSE!!". After another short ride we took a long hike up Parkers Ridge to the peak which overlooks a massive valley and glacier. Absolutely stunning!! The hike took about an hour and took us up to about 2C temeratures (Once I reached the top I was officially wearing every single piece of clothing in my backpack!), also made the stupid decision to throw a few snowballs - and spent the next 10 minutes trying to feel my fingers again! The view was definately worth it!!
Next stop was Peyto Lake. The most impressive scenery EVER! We didn't think it could get much better than Parker Ridge but Peyto Lake just blew it away! Looking at the photos now it still looks unbelievable! It looks like I photo-shopped myself in. After Peyto we headed past Waterfowl lake and over to Moraine Lake for some equally good scenery and some wacky photo's. Then back to Banff for a group dinner at the Old Spaghetti House and a few drinks ($2 spirits) at the Pump & Tap (Hump & Slap) - a tearful farewell to our fellow Moosers, Meese?
Moose tour... very worth it. Corey our driver was a champion, knew everything about the mountains and animals etc and had a few good jokes on the way! Everyone threw their iPods on for the music, and a great group of people.
So I am now in Banff, I have a 13 hour bus ride overnight tonight back to Vancouver, hopefully watch an ice hockey game Sunday night, then home on monday!!
After leaving Lake Shuswap we mosied (Moosied) our way across towards Banff... Another long day in the saddle, but stopping at the giant cedar's walk (lunch of a whole roast chicken) and the Visitor's centre where we watched a film titled "Bear & Man" a hilarious educational video teaching what to do if one encounters a bear. Tip: Raise your hands up and say "Woah bear!". We also spent a bit of time taking photo's of stuffed wildlife in case we didn't see much out in the wild.
Moving on we made a quick stop at Emerald Lake where Corey asked if I wanted to go for a swim. To which I replied, "Sure I'll jump in, only if you get me a towel...." thinking he wouldn't bother.... well roughly 20 seconds later a towel was procured and SPLASH! Paul jumped into a freezing cold lake!
The next day we went from Banff to Jasper. An 8am start... I slept in a little cos I saw Denmark sleeping peacefully on the bunk across from me, after noticing it was 7:49am I jumped up and while rushing to get ready shook Denmark awake saying, we're gonna miss the bus. To which I got the reply - I don't need to wake up, I'm jumping off here in Banff! Oooops! The first stop was Lake Louise a beautiful lake with about 20 bus-loads of Japanese tourists. These tourists were very entertained by the sight of Adam and Myself stripping to our boxers and jumping in the 0 or 1C water! So entertained that one lady missed the photo-op so sent us back in the water so she could get a good photo! A quick dry-down and a large hot chocolate and back on the bus...
Continuing on the Icefields Parkway we stopped in at the Big Bend lookout, at Bo Lake - once again another swim for Adam and Paul, walked on the Columbia Glacier before making our way to the Athabasca Falls hostel. This hostel had no running water and not a lot else, but after a huge group dinner of taco's we started up a campfire and had a few drinks, told a few jokes (bag-boom-boom-boom-bang), sung a few songs (woh-oh-oh-camoflague) and learnt the secrets of forestry from Corey (when we went to gather water to douse the fire I turned to see him lying on the groung after slipping in the water - about 2 seconds after warning me that it is a bit slippery around here!)
The NEXT day (friday) Jasper-Banff - most awesome scenery day EVER! First stop the Athabasca Falls, a powerful and stunning waterfall then on to Goat Viewpoint (Mineral Lick)... which someone forgot to mention to the goats as there were none there! We did learn a goat call though, "gooooooat-goat-goat-goat-goat" and a Moose call "HEY MOOSE!!". After another short ride we took a long hike up Parkers Ridge to the peak which overlooks a massive valley and glacier. Absolutely stunning!! The hike took about an hour and took us up to about 2C temeratures (Once I reached the top I was officially wearing every single piece of clothing in my backpack!), also made the stupid decision to throw a few snowballs - and spent the next 10 minutes trying to feel my fingers again! The view was definately worth it!!
Next stop was Peyto Lake. The most impressive scenery EVER! We didn't think it could get much better than Parker Ridge but Peyto Lake just blew it away! Looking at the photos now it still looks unbelievable! It looks like I photo-shopped myself in. After Peyto we headed past Waterfowl lake and over to Moraine Lake for some equally good scenery and some wacky photo's. Then back to Banff for a group dinner at the Old Spaghetti House and a few drinks ($2 spirits) at the Pump & Tap (Hump & Slap) - a tearful farewell to our fellow Moosers, Meese?
So I am now in Banff, I have a 13 hour bus ride overnight tonight back to Vancouver, hopefully watch an ice hockey game Sunday night, then home on monday!!
