It’s Monday morning. I woke up very late. And all I wanted was coffee. Which got me thinking of a quick post…
I got a coffee grinder! (Technically, I got two for my birthday. Thanks Robbie and Sony!)
This is exciting and blog-worthy. Why? Because I can finally buy and grind whole bean coffee in the morning before work and brew freshly ground beans in my French press. I present here, Exhibit A. It was some coffee beans purchased at Higher Ground in Kensington. Verdict- yummy. Though I don’t think I ground it coarse enough for my French press. Or maybe it was too coarse. Hmm… I really don’t know. I also don’t know if ‘ground’ is the past participle of ‘ground’. Hmm.
I may not be a connoisseur in coffee, but I do look forward to trying out some new coffees. I’ve heard Costco sells a good bean…
I can’t quite remember how I heard about the Iceline Trail, but it’s been on my list of hikes to do for quite some time. I had read that it is one of the most beautiful hikes to do in the Rockies. When I learn something like that, the hike gets added to the list!
Takakkaw Falls
Robbie and I headed out to Yoho National Park in BC expecting bright blue skies and lots of sunny weather. Well, that’s what The Weather Network had us believe. As we drove to the Takakkaw Falls area near Field, BC, it was anything but sunny sigh. We had cancelled this trip two weeks ago in fear of a rainy day, but we were determined to do this hike this time, rain or shine. We parked on the side of the road near the Whisky Jack Hostel, suited up, and then began the climb. The trail starts with a series of switchbacks through the trees. The incline is steep! Although I was dripping sweat at times, it was nice to emerge above the tree-line not too long after leaving the trailhead. Onward, there are beautiful views of Takakkaw Falls and a large glacier to the east. Once we reached the rocky area (noticeably rock deposits from a receding glacier), more glaciers came into view right in front of us. So awesome! We crossed little streams and glacial ponds and hiked our way to a false summit, which allowed for 360 degree views of the falls, glaciers, forests, mountain peaks and valleys. Gorgeous! It became quite chilly, so we headed back down and found a large rock where we ate lunch.
Building a cairn on the trail for all to see
As we were descending, we noted the ‘field’ of cairns along the route. “We should build a cairn!” So that’s what we did, right along the trail so hikers would know they were heading in the right direction. Not that it was obscure at that point, but we just wanted to create a cairn for fun that would be visible. As expected, we considered visual appeal, colour, accessibility, and dramatic background. In the end, it was definitely the best cairn there. (Note: I fully acknowledge that this is a biased opinion.) We left the mountain quite happy with our accomplishments- the hike, and our engineering skills. The return was quick, so we followed up the hike with a closeup visit to Takakkaw Falls. Nature is a pretty awesome force! That night, we had a wonderful dinner at the Truffle Pig… which I think is pretty much one of the only restaurants in Field… or so it seemed.
Robbie and I on the Iceline Trail
It turns out we didn’t reach the Iceline Summit, but that’s okay. The day was all about experiencing a nice hike, enjoying the views of the glaciers around us, and having a great day. Of course, though, this means that we need to hike it again! Maybe as a loop next time. We definitely need to reach the Iceline Summit. And hopefully when we visit again, our cairn will still be there :).
Stats:
Start: 1:30 pm
End: 6:00 pm
Elevation Gain: ~ 650 m
Distance: 9.45 km
The Iceline Trail (non-loop). Well, almost the whole thing
The next day, we were off to Cracker Lake in the Many Glacier area. After checking out the hotel there and eating our lunch outside, it was time for the backpacking portion of the trip. We gathered all of our gear, adjusted our poles, changed our shoes, and we were on our way. Jennifer had warned us that the first bit of the trail would have a lot of horse poop, but we underestimated how much there would be. It was everywhere! And we had to stop at the side several times because of horse rides that were happening. Nothing we couldn’t handle though…
At the trailhead
As this was my first backpacking trip, I had never experienced what it was like to carry that much weight on my back while hiking. There is definitely a difference! Certain muscles in my gluteus area have clearly never been used. Eventually, my body adjusted to the weight and it was smooth sailing, but I was quite tired by the time we arrived at the lake. Also, apparently we had just missed a moose spotting. Argh!
I’m happy to be here!
Cracker lake was absolutely gorgeous. The campsite was located on the hill beside the lake and near a cliff. The views from the food area and our tents were quite nice: we overlooked the lake with mountains surrounding us, and not too far off, we could stand on the cliff and gaze upon the area from where we had hiked in. After roping up our food and toiletries and setting up our tent, we headed to the food area to mingle and make our dinner for the evening. On the menu: a soy-based veggie pasta sauce and spaghetti. Unfortunately, it was a little dry, but it was edible nonetheless. The night ended with David and I stargazing. The sky was clear and with no light pollution, we could see endless amounts of stars. Off in the distance, a storm was passing through and every now and again, lightning would flash and light up the night sky. It was a beautiful evening with great conversation. I slept a bit better that night, and waking up in the backcountry the next morning felt quite serene.
Hiking to Cracker Lake
After hiking out, we were thrilled to return to East Glacier for a hot shower and luxury motel living. We gorged at a Mexican restaurant (Serrano’s) and relaxed afterwards. (I watched a pretty bad movie: “Something Borrowed”. Not so good. At all.) The following day, we decided to spend a few hours driving along the Going-To-The-Sun Road, a must do when in Glacier National Park. Those are some windy roads, but the views are incredible. After that, it was a long drive back to Calgary, where I was exposed to the music of Ben Folds. Not too bad at all!
Roping up our food, and later, cooking soy-veggie pasta
When I think about the trip, it was super quick, but I love the fact that I met Anna, David and Malene at a pretty nerdy workshop/course and we have managed to stay in each others’ lives in some capacity over the years, whether that’s meeting up for vacations, liking Facebook posts, or the occasional random message from time to time. It was awesome we were able to coordinate a little reunion and enjoy each others’ company like it was three years ago :).
So what was the fail of the trip? We basically saw no wildlife. It’s not like I wanted to encounter a bear on the hike, but it would have been nice to see one from afar. Or a moose. Or even bighorn sheep. I think we saw a fox though… or maybe it was a coyote. Either way, I’m sure next time I’m there, I’ll see something. Another fail? Accidentally having blood from my nose bleed drip onto the toilet paper supply. Eww. Gross.
Ready to head back to civilization 🙂
As with any road-trip, there are always memorable sayings. For posterity, here are some of the “inside joke” quotes from the weekend:
“Perfect, entering Glacier with Beyonce.”
“Is that a flying skunk? No, it’s a magpie.”
“83% of all bear deaths are caused by their only predator, the T-Rex.”
“I hope you don’t get Wood’s Diarrhea.”
“What’s that?”
“Diarrhea in the woods.”
“I think we need a field guide to diarrheas.”
“Do you think the logo is a dinosaur because that’s where oil comes from?”
“You’ve gone from the OC to the BC.”
“‘Cause you know, hiking’s a fashion show. You never know what bear will eat you for your looks.”
“It’s a squarmot.”
About the horses/riders: “They’re so ugly you can’t blame them.”
Sitting in a hot tub being spoon-fed chili. By David.
David- The epitome of rugged and macho, while listening to a college acapella group.
And just like that, the weekend has come and gone. So much fun! Thank you David and Anna for an awesome reunion. I definitely can’t wait to do it again. Next time, it seems we may convene in the east for shenanigans and adventuring. Boston anyone? 🙂
Stopping for a photo on the Going-To-The-Sun Road
Stats:
Hike in: 2:50 – 3:50
Hike out: 11:35 – 2:15
Distance: 6.1 miles (9.8 km) oneway
Elevation Gain: 426.7 m
So it seems like just yesterday I was attending Fundamentals of Epidemiology in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I remember running in the beautiful arboretum at the university; visiting its natural history museum and law library; exploring the town and trying restaurants; and taking day trips to Port Huron and Detroit. That was three years ago during the summer of 2010. But the best part of that entire three weeks? It allowed me to experience all of those things with some pretty amazing people: David, Anna and Malene. It’s pretty crazy where you can meet people. I never thought that spending three short weeks in close quarters of the residence hall would lead to me seeing David every summer since then, one of those times being two years ago when we traveled to Denmark to visit Malene. And then there’s this summer, where a surprise e-mail from Anna would initiate a nerd reunion in Glacier National Park.
Requisite Timmies road-trip stop… especially for my American friends
It started when Anna, out of the blue, sent an e-mail saying that the PhD was “back on the table”. The PhD had been “off the table” for many years as we all worked, so to receive this was exciting! I thought: “Hmm. Something tells me David will like this information. Maybe it’s on the table for him too.” So I forwarded the e-mail to him, and lo-and-behold, he was in Madison, WI at a graduate studies fair! As it turned out, he was also on the verge of starting his PhD. In the end, Anna chose to leave the big city of New York and begin a PhD this fall in environmental health at Boston University. David decided to leave Seattle and head to the University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall to begin his PhD in biomedical engineering. I had just quit my job and was job hunting. Although it wasn’t school, exciting things were on the horizon. Naturally, it seemed like a perfect time for a reunion. And so with one google video chat, a few e-mails, and minimal planning, we decided that we’d all converge in Calgary and drive down to Glacier National Park in Montana for a lovely weekend of backpacking, hiking, and reconnecting. Unfortunately Malene couldn’t make it. She was in the midst of working as a doctor in Greenland during the planning phase and would be arriving back in Denmark at the time of the trip, but she was definitely there in spirit.
Hiking the Dawson-Pitamakan Trail Loop
On Wednesday, David arrived after spending a few days in Field and Jasper. After our trademark awkward hug, we were off to gather food for the trip. Anna arrived later that night to an “Anna” sign, and with all smiles, we all hugged it out, ready for a weekend of fun. The next day, I sent them to the Calgary Farmer’s Market to get a little taste of something Calgary, and then after I was done work, we packed up the car and drove down to the East Glacier Motel and Cabins. Of course, there was a Timmies stop in there (I couldn’t let my American friends get away without one!) It was quite cloudy and foggy that evening, which made the scenery a bit eerie… perfect conditions for those pesky ghost bears…
David, Anna and I celebrating at the top of Dawson Pass
Friday morning we were up early and off to the ranger station to book our backcountry camp sites. Our goal: conquer the 17-mile (27.4 km) Dawson-Pitamakan Trail Loop Hike over the course of three days. But by happenstance, all of the sites were booked up! After much discussion with Jennifer (aka Jenny, aka Jenn shakes fist), we decided to set up camp at the Two Medicine campground and complete the entire hike in one day. All I can say is that it was exhausting, but an absolutely stunning hike. Our trek would take us around the Rising Wolf Mountain, first along Dawson Pass, and then returning along Pitamakan Pass.
Walking along the Continental DividePitamakan Lake
There were many peaks and lakes to view. What was especially awesome was that Dawson Pass rests on the Continental Divide, which resulted in some incredible vistas. Pictures don’t do it justice! After 9 hours, we were back at the campsite, where we feasted on chilli with tortillas, dark chocolate and red wine. What a day! (As a side note: some yogurt and half a banana are not enough to sustain a long morning. I hit quite the wall while hiking, which made the ascent a bit tedious. After lunch, I ended up slipping on a rock and almost sliding down the side of the mountain! I have a nice knee scar to show for it :S.)
Old Man Lake and Flinch Peak
The next day, based on Jennifer’s recommendation, we would head to the Many Glaciers area for our backpacking experience at Cracker Lake. There was lots of poop. shakes fist!
Stats:
Start: 10:45 am
End: 7:50 pm (~9 hours!)
Elevation Gain: 895 m
Distance: 27.4 km. Makes for a long day…
So I celebrated my birthday this week… Happy Birthday, eek! Another year has gone by filled with many adventures, and though I had some set backs with work this year, I anticipate the coming year will be awesome. I think I’m going to create a “Things To Do While Thirty Two” list. It’s time to get back to my lists :). The name also has a nice rhyme to it…
Douglas Fir Trail near Edworthy Park
The weekend was very nice and low key filled with some lovely celebrations. A trip to the farmer’s market was a must, followed by a short hike of the Douglas Fir Trail in Calgary. I’ve always wanted to complete this short jaunt, and we added geocaching to the activities for some fun. Then a great evening BBQ was a win for food and gorging, but an epic fail in terms of logic. Epic. Fail. The next day, there was a trip to Banff for an afternoon and The Wolverine in the evening. And then on Monday, breakfast at Nellie’s and dinner at Cibo in the evening with friends (where I received an awesome painting!). As for my actual day, a wonderful dinner at Bonterra Trattoria with great company (dos!). I think 32 is starting off quite nicely…
It’s Monday morning. I woke up very late. And all I wanted was coffee. Which got me thinking of a quick post…
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 