Backpacking in Banf

So there was no way that I was going to the Canadian Rockies and not going backpacking. So Clark planned a great trip to Skoki Valley. We had a whirlwind turnover from returning from the reunion, to Isaac's baptism, to starting a backpacking trip so on Monday we got a bit of a late start. We didn't get hiking until after lunch, but lucky for us a bus just happened to pick us up and drive us a good 2 miles on the service road where the hike starts (personal cars are not allowed on the road). So we just had a few more miles to walk to get to Hidden Lake Campground. We only had to share the campground with mosquitos. But luckily Clark was prepared and hooked us all up with mosquito nets, so we had some relief. We got our tent all set up and then a group of us walked the extra mile to the lake (Ben and Pace opted out for a little R and R). After dinner and clean-up Jake, Clark, Ben, and I played some hearts and it was so fun it had all of us laughing. That night Jake realized he accidently grabbed a kid size sleeping bag and it had a stow away stuffy shark in it.

The next morning most slept in and I walked up to the lake for one last look and with some hope to see a moose. There was no moose, but it was still beautiful. After I got back everyone was just getting up and we had a breakfast of hashbrowns an pepperoni sticks. Then we packed up for our next camp. We hiked up to Boulder Pass, which is not a traditional pass where you hike down the other side. It is a hike up through a boulder field to a glacial valley with a beautiful lake and surrounded by many amazing mountains. We ate a lunch of tortillas and pepperoni sticks (this was a theme of our trip). The trail the followed along the lake and then we cut up one slope towards Packers Pass. Along this route we saw many marmots, some very large. The view from Packers Pass is stunning as you can look across to a glacier and look down on glaciel lakes. We hiked up the peak next to Packers Pass and that view was a sight to behold. Truely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It did have a scary drop off so we were cautious. After the pass the trail was all downhill, which you would think would make it easier, but it was very steep and a bit hard on the joints, so I was immensely grateful that the scenery was so amazing with waterfalls and walking near the glacier fed lakes. By the end some of the kids were truely tired to the point of tears (this was their first backpacking trip). So Jake was such a good dad and carried Grant's pack for the last 3/4s of a mile. We got to Merlin Lake Campground and we were so relieved to take our packs off and relax. We set up camp and got dinner going. The campground had a few other groups camping there too and I even met an amazing solo hiker (now she is really brave). And that night a few of us played hearts again. So much fun.

I have no desire to sleep in when the mountains are near, so I was up at 7 and out for a walk down the river. There was a friendly deer who followed along and I accidently kept running into him, you could tell she was used to people in the campground. Then I walked a bit farther and looked and just 10 feet away from me was a porcupine (at first I didn't realize what it was until I saw the quills). And I wondered why it stayed so close until I saw the baby playing a bit farther up. So I just stood still and enjoyed the baby's happy playing until they continued on their way. When I got back Clark made us peaches and cream oatmeal that morning and it was lovely....I need to keep that recipe in mind for future backpacking trips. And we didn't have to pack up, just clean up and hang all our food in the bear hang because we were staying another night.

So that day we hiked up to Merlin's Lake and it was AMAZING. The trail had a lot of elevation gain at the beginning but then it followed along the side of a ridge covered by a boulder field and you could see mountains forever. There were some tricky parts of the trail, but much easier navigating without our big backpacks. We made it up to Merlin's Lake and enjoyed our lunch (pepperoni sticks with tortillas) looking up at a glacier feeding the lake. We had fun skipping rocks and then hiked back to camp to relax, nap, and play some more hearts.

The next day we had a much longer hike out to the cars, so we didn't sleep in. We were all up at the same time and getting breakfast. Camp got packed up and we were on our way out, this time via Deception pass. The trail to deception pass runs parallel to the mountain range where we crossed Packers pass so we had fun pointing out where we had already been. Also it was a long valley so you could see mountains for a long ways. However as we got closer to Deception pass the horseflys were bad and kept us moving faster than I would have liked. But after Deception Pass we moved fast, because the kids wanted their promised shakes (we were afraid we would be too late). We did stop one last time for pepperoni sticks and tortillas at the turnoff for Hidden Lake. But then we raced down. The kids did so well on this hike. It was our longest hike and they just kept going. By the end Grant and Pace were pretty tired, but they kept going and made it to the end (carrying their packs the whole way). I'm super proud of our kids for doing this hard hike with minimal training.

Also, I am so grateful to Clark for planning the trip and for Jakie and Janelle for watching the other kids. Thank you all for making this dream of mine happen. I have always wanted to take the boys on a backpacking trip, but it seemed so difficult in the locations we were living. Back at Calgary the rest of the clan played with cousins, went to Heritage Park, and just had so much fun. It sounds like they all had fun. We had a couple exttra days in Calgary so we relaxed on Friday. On Saturday we all went to Yoho National Park. Traffic was horrible so we had such a late start to our day. But we made it to Spiral Tunnels, a historic train tunnel and learned about the history of the dangerous route. After we went to Wapta Falls. It was a short and fun hike to a very powerfull waterfall. We had fun going close and got blasted by the water and got totally soaked. On our way home we made a quick stop at the Natural bridge and Emerald Lake. It was much more busy, but the lake was absolutely stunning. I think I got my best picture there.

Our flight home the next day (or I should say the next 4 days) was quite the adventure. Our first flight was delayed 2 hours and we thought we would just make it on our next flight to Sao Paulo, but alas they had already closed the flight doors when we got to the gate (despite 17 of us in the same situation). Rebooking flights for 7 people to Brazil is no easy task and we spent 4-5 hours trying to figure it out. They finally got on us on a flight for the next day to Orlando and then an overnight to Sao Paolo from there. But the next day we found out that a tropical storm canceled our Orlando flight, so then Jake booked a new flight to Santiago Chile. From there we went to Sao Paulo and then had a late flight into Joao Pessoa. And despite some true fatigue our kids were troopers. We made it home in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. So we all slept in until at least noon. Few, now we are really hoping that we don't have to fly anywhere for a while. But overall what a trip, it made it so worth it. And coming home to Brazil actuall felt like coming home. So we are really settling in now.