|
|
| [ Up ]
|
| Tuesday,
August 9 - Big Day!! 11 km of uphill and contouring around Whaleback
Mountain. First we hiked uphill to the Twin Falls Teahouse. Looked like a
great place to stay if you want someone to cook for you! From there we had
great views of Twin Falls. Next we switch-backed up the mountain to the
top of the falls where we had a long break. Great views and lots of water
to enjoy. Next stop was the summit of the Whaleback Mountain trail (7250
ft.) for incredible views and lunch. Our final leg of the day was a
beautiful hike down to Little Yoho Valley with incredible views of
wildflowers and greenery. Just before entering the Little Yoho Valley
Campground we passed the Stanley Mitchell Hut which is part of the Alpine
Club of Canada hut system. We had to share our camp with Cadets from
Quebec who were in training. Wouldn't have been so bad, but they always
got up at 4 a.m. TrailFlower is looking better to Eugene every day.
Wednesday, August 10 - 8 km round trip side hike to Kiwetinok Lake and Kiwetinok Pass for incredible views and total privacy. All uphill, of course. Hodgeman, Trail Bum, Shaggy, and Del Sol scrambled up Mt. Kerr like it was made out of stairs! Great job! Bad weather started to come in as indicated by hail that began to fall. We hurried back to camp. Hodgeman set up a tarp over our picnic table and we were able to congregate and watch the rain and hail. Too bad those cadets didn't have a tarp. They had to bivouac in their tents. Temperatures dropped below freezing overnight. Those French-speaking cadet girls don't seem to be interested in gnomes. |
| Thursday, August 11 - Packed
up and headed out on a glorious day of hiking over the Iceline Trail. The
trail skirted the bottom of the Emerald Glacier. We hiked 10 km with
constant stopping for pictures and great views. The high point was 7250 ft
with a 360° view of Yoho and Little Yoho Valleys and at least four
glacier fields. Definitely the premier photo op of the trip. After
encountering numerous day-hikers who thought they had the right to see
those views also, we made it to Little Yoho Lake Campground. The lake was
beautiful and different than all the rest. Little Yoho Lake is fed by snow
melt only, not glacier melt. This campground is were we met the weirdos.
One guy was camping nearby and let his dog run around like it was cute or
something. We think his "belt was missing a few loops." We met a
few other campers who seemed to like to keep their food in their tents....
bad idea in grizzly country.
Friday, August 12 - 13 km round trip day hike along the Wapta Highline to Burgess Pass. We passed the Burgess Shale Field which is world famous for fossils. Visits to the shale fields are only by permission, so we could not go up. We did see some fossils in the shale along the trail. We had great views of Emerald Lake for most of the day. Sadly, DelSol and TheHiker had to take off for home to attend a wedding on Saturday. It was too bad because they wanted to stay with us. That night TrailBum and Phil'sSon spent almost 2 hours with their cameras and tripods trying to capture pictures of the meteor shower and other night shots. They seemed to have fun in the freezing temps. |
| Saturday, August 13 - Hiked
to the parking lot (4 km). After a quick clean up and short drive we were
in Field where we ate buffalo burgers at the Kicking Horse Lodge. What a
great meal! More souvenirs, of course, at the visitor's center. Then we
headed to the West Louise Lodge where we were going to spend the night. We
showered and took dip in the pool before heading out to shopping and to
Lake Louise itself. Hooray! In Lake Louise we finally found a maple leaf
for Eugene! We visited Moraine Lake next, then spent some time at the
Chateau Lake Louise..... quite a place. The crowds at Moraine Lake and
Lake Louise were a bit much and the sun position was not good for pics. We
went to dinner at one of the nearby lodges and had a great time. After we
got back to the lodge we were amused watching TrailBum cram all his stuff
into his backpacks..... never knew you could stuff a backpack like that!
Sunday, August 14 - Shaggy shuttled TrailBum to Lake Louise so he could catch a bus to the airport later that day. The rest of us headed back to Vancouver, stopping for lunch in Merritt. Phil and Phil'sSon couldn't resist the fish and chips, although not quite as memorable as their dinner in Port Moody. After a 9 hour drive and watching some of the Abbotsford Airshow as we passed by, we parted company with Shaggy and TrailFlower in Langley. Eugene's heart sank as he said good bye to TrailFlower.... nuff said. Phil, Phil'sSon, and Hodgeman dropped off their stuff at Hodgeman's place and went in search of a BC Salmon dinner. They found a great restaurant and enjoyed a fine meal complete with appetizers and dessert. |
| Monday, August 15 - Hodgeman
deposited Eugene, Phil and Phil'sSon at the airport around 5:30 a.m. After
standing in numerous queues they made it on the plane and arrived home
safely with all their baggage!
Eugene, Phil & Phil'sSon had a great time in Canada and looks
forward to seeing their Canadian friends again. Thanks to Hodgeman,
Shaggy, and TrailFlower for taking such good care of planning and
transportation. Overall, an awesome trip!....... Regards ....Phil
|
| Yoho
2005 Photo Galleries & Links |
Yoho 2005 
