Lazy Day at Upper Kanaskis and Rawson Lake

After the Northover Ridge extravaganza Lynn and I woke up pretty tired. It was a beautiful sunny day, we took showers at a campground, I did some laundry in the sink then we lazed about at the lake. When we started to feel a little guilty for being lazy we hiked a short ways up to Rawson Lake. It was deep clear green and nestled perfectly beneath steep mountain walls.

Enjoy the slide show of Lynn and my pics.

Northover Ridge Loop, Kanaskis Country

Lynn and I spent an afternoon in Banff shopping and we found this hike in a guidebook at the Northface store. On paper it had all the elements of a great hike: elevation gain, ridge line walking, some distance and a short car shuttle ....we were not disappointed.

We walked down a wide valley through pine forest that smelled like cotton candy, I am totally serious. The flowers were in bloom, alpine lakes were drying up, and then we gained the ridge.

Yogi Lynn in the Mountains

 

If this ridge would have lasted another 10 miles I would have been in heaven. The views off both sides were spectacular and the walking was interesting in a few places....the trundling was pretty awesome too.

Lynn on the Ridge

 

Northover Ridge
Photo By Lynn Peterson

 

Eventually we left the ridge and headed back down another valley full of lakes, wildflowers and an opportunity for some more fossil hunting. It was smooth travel until we hit a seriously steep crumbly side hill traverse with some impressive exposure, it felt good that it didn't let us through easily at the end, I like hikes that just keep giving it hard, it makes the gentle wheelchair accessible trail along the lakeside feel more like a reward. I love trails.


Stream Jumping
Photo By Lynn Peterson

 

Slide Show of Lynn and My Pics



T.12:D.22:EG.5250

Moraine Lake and Then on to Kanaskis Country

Lynn and I started the morning drinking coffee and before we knew it all our fossils were out on display. I don't think that I have had such a cool "show and tell" experience since 1st grade. Most of the fossils that we found were similar, but this rock in the pic below was different from all the rest. I debated taking it for many reasons, the least moral of them being that it was at least 5 pounds and we still had a long way to go.

Fossil from Fossil Mountain
photo by: Lynn Peterson

 

After a leisure start to the day, Lynn and I decided that drinking more coffee and mailing postcards sounded just right. When we were feeling like total sloths, and had come up with a bit of a plan, we stepped it up and went for a walk. Moraine lake is a tourist mecca. They lined the shores doing amusing things, it brought back a lot of memories from my days as a tour guide.

Moraine Lake

 

Lake Loise is an incredibly busy and very regulated area. It reminded me of being in Denali National Park where you have to watch a bear video, get permits ect and then take a bus into the park. This hassle is to much for me when there are so many other beautiful areas that require little effort to reach and plenty of solitude along the way. Kanaskis country is a provincial park, and although regulated and popular, much more relaxed and way less touristy.

We found an amazing picnic spot next to Lower Kanaskis lake that was perfect for guerrilla camping in the van. It is $27 to camp overnight and no one brings you coffee in the morning...

Lower Kanaskis Lake

 

Slide Show of Lynn and My Pics