2010 - Slesse Memorial, Rockies With Lynn, Alouette, Diamond Head, Icefield Parkway, Lake O'Hara

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Mt. Slesse Memorial
Location of the memorial

East side of Slesse

In early June my friends Ken and Paula and I went up to the Mt. Slesse memorial. We found the new trail and made our way up to the plaque. What was particularly interesting about this hike besides the good conversation, was the amount I learned about the plants along the trail. It was really interesting to see the large variety of plants and the different stages of development of the same plant depending on the elevation.

The Rockies With Lynn

Lynn on the Canmore-Banff bicycle path.

In ealy July Lynn and I went off to the Rockies with our bikes. We spent three nights in Canmore, doing some easy mountain biking and sampling restaurants we hadn't been to before. :-) After that, we drove up the Icefield Parway, stopping off at a number of places including Mistaya Canyon and then on to Jasper where we spent three nights in the Pine Bungalows where we did some more easy biking. It was a very enjoyable time. 

Alouette or Battery?

Location of Alouette Mountain

In mid July my friend Ken and I went up Battery Mountain. Or should I say Alouette Mountain? In any event, it was good to feel that I could still do the hike and not have painful knees at the end. Granted, I wore my knee brace on the way down. :-)

Diamond Head

Paula with Mamquam in the background.

At the beginning of August Paula and I went for a day hike up to Diamond Head. The weather was great and the Tiger Lilies and other various flowers were out. 

The Icefield Parkway - Again! :-)

Location of Jonas Creek campground - first camp south of Jasper

It's a frog.  Don't ask. ;-)

I have had the privilige of cycling the Icefield Parkway with my good friends a number of times before. The first time was with Ken in 1996 when we started Shuswap Lake and cycled up the Yellowhead highway to Jasper, south to Lake Louise, then over the Roger's Pass back to Shuswap Lake. After hearing about our great adventure, in 1998 our friends Dale and Chuck joined us on the same ride, but in the opposite direction, but also including a variation including Radium and the Kootenay Valley. The Golden Triangle part was popular enough that in 1999 we did just that with a new group of friends. These were all unsupported rides where we used panniers to carry tents, sleeping bags, etc. In 2003, Dave, Chuck, and I did just the Icefield Parkway - Jasper to Lake Louise and back, panniers and all. It was another great ride. We even got to know Michael and Regula, a Swiss couple cycling around the world. In 2009 we attempted to do a car supported ride from Jasper to Lake Louise and back, but were met with lousy weather at Saskatchewan Crossing.

Ken and Chuck

So here we were again, my good friends Ken and Chuck, with my CRV packed full of camping and bike gear and finding ourselves on another Jasper to Lake Louise and bike ride. This time supported with my car. We changed drivers every forty-five minutes and it worked very well.  Chuck had his folding Bike Fridayand thoroughly enjoyed it, just as he had the month before in France. We have all become interested in photography, so photo ops presented themselves every time it was our turn to drive. We had fun and in spite of the forest fire smoke on the return leg, the weather was very good. It got so smoky though that on our drive west of Jasper, the visibility dropped at times to less than a kilometer!

Lake O'Hara -  Canadian Rockies

Location of Lake O'Hara

Ken Willis

Ken kindly made reservations for the Lake O'Hara campsite sometime in June, and by the time we were ready to go, Chuck had to stay home to help sell his house. So off Ken and I went to an area we had never been to before. I had read and seen quite a bit about it and was really looking forward to it.

We spent our first night in Golden and were at the parking lot in plenty of time for the 8:30 bus. We spent three nights and got some good hikes in between the showers due to the unsettle weather. The first day Ken and I went up to the Opabin Plateau, and then along the Yukness Ledges to Lake Oesea. From there I headed down with a sore knee and Ken continued on to the Wiwaxy Gap and then down the steep trail back to Lake O'Hara. 

The second day I rested my knee and spent three or four hours slowly going around Lake O'Hara doing photography while Ken went and did the All Souls Prospect section of the Alpine circuit.

Ken and Keith

The third day started with showers and we made our way up to the AAC cabin taking pictures and then eventually we found ourselves at the high point on the trail to Lake McArther. We made our way down to the Lodge for afternoon tea and watched another shower from the comfort of padded seats. :-)

During our last night it rained all night and by the time we rode the bus down the road back to our car we had resigned ourselves to the fact that staying on another day as hoped made no sense with the poor weather. Besides, Ken could use the time back home preparing for his upcoming trip to Morocco!
Retirement can be a very busy time! ;-)