Canadian Rockies – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

Mount Lady Macdonald: Unplug

Sometimes you just have to unplug from the daily routine and the city stimuli, venture out on your own in nature, and think.

I know. It’s so cliche. But how often do you actually give yourself the time… the space… to be at one with your thoughts? To really honour what it is that occupies your mind? To allow yourself a chance to gain some clarity- without the car noises, text message beeps, pressing work and family commitments, ongoing to-do lists, or multitude of other things vying for our immediate attention?

Continue reading “Mount Lady Macdonald: Unplug”

Rawson Lake and Sarrail Ridge: In Photos

Lunch at a Lake AND a Gorgeous Ridge View?

Hiking to Rawson Lake near the Kananaskis Lakes in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park is a great way to spend an afternoon. Park at the Upper Lake Day Use area and start the trail near the south side of the parking lot. Due to the floods in 2013, there is now a log bridge that crosses Sarrail Creek. It’s not as sturdy as it used to be, but it’s stable and does the trick. After that ‘obstacle’, the hike isn’t overly strenuous with a steady incline and takes a little over an hour. On a beautiful day, Rawson Lake is a great place to sit for lunch, relax by the water, or go fishing. For my most recent outing to Rawson Lake, a group of us went to celebrate birthdays and had a large spread of meats, cheeses, breads, pasta and wine. Because when you live so close to the mountains, why not celebrate birthdays with a hike?! Continue reading “Rawson Lake and Sarrail Ridge: In Photos”

A Rafting Adventure on the Kicking Horse River!

Team Awesome on the Kicking Horse River :) — Team Awesome on the Kicking Horse River 🙂

I’m going to take another detour and write about two Saturdays ago. I finally went white water rafting on the Kicking Horse River near Golden, BC. I have been wanting to do this for quite some time, so when I found out a friend was organizing a rafting trip through Canadian Rockies Rafting and they had space for me, I was totally there! (Thanks Rachna!… and thanks for the photos :D) Continue reading “A Rafting Adventure on the Kicking Horse River!”

Scrambles: My New Toy

Nope- my new toy isn’t a flat screen TV, an iPad 2, or a Bose Sound System, which are all items I want. Nope. My new toy is a book- ‘Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies’, by Alan Kane. Whoohoo! My friend Adriane lent me this book and I’m so excited about it… there are so many mountain hikes to complete! The book includes “156 easy peaks with a wide range of difficulty suitable for novice climbers and experienced hikers who want a little more challenge.” Sounds just like me… PERFECT!

Here’s the kicker: All the hikes are broken up into “Easy”, “Moderately Difficult”, and “Difficult” peaks. Of the 156 peaks in the book, I have completed 2. That’s right- only 2 (Yamnuska and Ha Ling). And they were both considered “Easy”. If my math is correct, I have 156 minus 2 equals…..thinking….. thinking….. 154 peaks left to complete! Time to step up my game.