In the month or so we have seen the transition to summer though it hasn't been the greatest of weather we have managed to make the most of what we have. Like most places around the world, summer time means outdoors and camping... so that is what we did.
Last days off Suzy, myself and a couple of other friends decided to go camping out at Kanaskis for two nights. The place is about 1.5hrs from Calgary and is an awesome drive through the mountains. Was a long weekend so Suzy and I got there early to snag a campsite. We got there and had no cell reception so had to run to the local store and call our friends and give directions on how to get there via their voicemail, we were sure they were not going to arrive but at about 8:30pm all of a sudden they managed to find us. We were thrilled to say the least thought they were lost in the wilderness.
We got the site set up, cooked some sweet bison burgers and got to some drinking around the campfire before bed.
Kicking back after camp set up for evening drinking festivities
The following day we got up and cooked breaky and went for a walk around the local area. We had bear spray with us as there was a grizzly and her two cubs in the area. We walked around the lake for the morning and played around the local area. Again the weather was overcast and average but was still a nice day to see there area.
Valley scenery
Playing around the lake
Nice backdrop around the lake
The afternoon we got back for lunch and then shortly after it started raining so we set in for an afternoon of "Cards against humanity" (if you haven't played this yet, get involved such a great game). After the rain and a number of alcoholic beverage the BB gun came out again and we started target shooting which then turned into the best drinking game I have played to date. It involved about 6 cans at different locations (some close, some further and harder to hit) all with different seconds of drinking allocated to them if you hit them. The game is played so that if you fire for the can for 1 second of drinking and miss you drink for 1 second, if you hit it then you get to double it's value and delegate those seconds to the other players. If you hit the 6 second can you basically got to tell someone to finish their drink.
Cards against humanity
BB Gun Drinking Game
BB Gun drinking game
The night ended up pretty messy after all the drinking and made for some other fun traditional Canadian camping eats which included smokies on the fire (smokies are like a large sausage in bread) and S'mores which made for a delicious evening.
Cookin' up some Smokies
The following morning we slowly packed up and headed home, on the way out of the national park we were pleasantly surprised to see the mumma grizzly and her two cubs playing on the hill. The mumma was massive and the cubs were unreal to see playing around with each other in real life. Was truly amazing to be this close to them and see how they interact.
Grizzly and cubs
Mumma Grizzly
Unfortunately I was up north working for the entire Stampede which is quite a big deal so sadly I cannot provide any insight into these festivities. My sister Steph though had road tripped to Calgary to work Stampede and ended up staying longer to wait for me so I could join her for a couple of days on her road trip to Jasper.
After getting packed and ready to go on the Thursday morning after getting back from site, we got on the road. We made stops at Lake Louise for a late lunch next to the water. Was different to see the landscape in summer with less snow and ice. We pressed on pretty quickly to get on the Icefields Highway to Jasper. We were a little worried about our chances of getting to Jasper as there had been some serious forest fires right in the middle stretch of the highway (Saskatchewan Crossing) and the Park Rangers had been shutting off the road when the fire had been flaring up.
Drive through the icefield highway 93
We took the risk and pressed on through seeing some pretty unreal scenery. To me the drive through this section of the Rockies was the best I had seen, such large mountains and shear faces that seemed to get higher and higher which were matched perfectly with the blue and teal coloured lakes at the bases in the forests. The photos do not do the area justice its expanse can only be seen in person.
We slowly made the drive through also stopping at the Colombia Icefields which is a large glacier between the mountains that is quite spectacular. Again would have been better with some sunshine but the history behind it is also interesting in the fact that the glacier is slowly getting smaller and smaller which is quite sad considering this is due climate change.
Steph and I at the base of the Colombia Glacier
We arrived in Jasper late that afternoon, we made it through the fires, you could clearly see where the forest had burnt away but it appeared to mostly be under control. Upon getting into Jasper we got a campsite and set up and got into some Macgyver-like cooking on the back of Steph's van (named "Mum") to get our steaks cooked out of the rain. We also had a number of unexpected visitors that evening with a herd of about 12 large elk walk right through our camp site.
Beer and steak... True camping fashion
Elk through the campsite
The following day we rose quite late and got going with some banana and egg pancakes.
Banana pancakes
We then ventured to Maligne Lake and Canyon to see the sites. Not only was the scenery spectacular but we also saw a heap of wildlife including elk, bears and deer. We cruised around the lake and canyons for the afternoon and then finished the afternoon of with a late lunch lakeside which was quite relaxing. That evening was some more delicious camp meals and some red wine. Considering how active the day was, being out camping and in nature was super relaxing and exactly what I needed after some stressful weeks at work.
Steph on the dock at Maligne Lake
The next day we got going again and went for a hike through the valley of the five lakes. On the trek I saw probably the greenest lake I have ever seen. After a solid hike the afternoon we drove around for some more wildlife and then ended up kayaking around a lake. And by kayaking I mean Steph and I spun around in circles in a kayak haha.
Bear and cub meet on the road
A storm rolled in shortly after and cut our afternoon short but ended with us going to a bar for some beers and nachos to celebrate another year for me living in Canada and to just generally get out of the the rain.....
Beautiful teal/green lake.. So clear
Great spot to take a rest and take in the views
Kayaking the lake
Valley of the five lakes hike
That even we chilled and watched a movie and got set ready to take off early the next day. The following morning I rented a car and drove back to Calgary along the same route. The drive was a little better on the way back as there was some more sunlight which showed the peaks and colours of the lakes better and was a great end to a good couple of days traveling with the sister. Was a really good catch up with her and was glad she let me be apart of her Canadian adventure.
View from drivers seat back to Calgary... Made for a relaxing drive home
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