So ... lotsa water under the bridge since Wednesday ... been too busy to send out any updates so I’m gonna try to remedy that situation tonight. On Wednesday we packed up the vehicle and headed back up to the Columbia Icefields (see last Tuesday’s entry if you missed why we had to retrace our steps). Pushed off at a little before 11 a.m. to arrive at around 2:00 or so, thereby avoiding most of the tour bus crowd ... backed out, realized I’d forgotten the camera, went back in ... backed out again, realized I’d forgotten something else (can’t remember now), went back in ... got five minutes up the road and realized I’d forgotten our super-cool Ice Explorer tickets ... didn’t think I’d need them since we booked online but didn’t wanna risk it, so we turned around ... again ... went back ... got them ... got 30 minutes up the road and realized that Reagan was wearing his non-existent-tread running shoes instead of his hiking shoes, very nearly lost my composure completely but managed a decent enough save, but no way I’m turning around and losing another hour you can sit in the van by yourself and think about it young man if you think the trail is too steep / slippery for what you’ve got on ... got another five minutes up the road from there (having run the daily 15 miles of construction gauntlet between Banff and Lake Louise) and saw the dreaded BLASTING AHEAD - EXPECT DELAYS flashing sign ... got another two or three minutes up the road, joined our place in the blasting-induced line ... turned off the motor ... sat in line for 29 minutes ... turned on the motor, expecting now to have a ridiculously long journey up to the Icefields because of 12 billion (conservatively) RVs that were in the blasting-delayed line (again, see last Tuesday’s entry for details) ...
You get the picture.
I think the travel gods must’ve been testing my mettle, because I came EXTREMELY close to making a U-turn on the highway once the median was decent enough to try it. Glad I didn’t, because the rest of the day was terrific.
I (we) win.
Our experience at the Columbia Icefields was fabulous. The drive up there from the Lake Louise area was very smooth -- thanks, in part, to Alberta license plate HUF-020, who guided us most of the way with his speed limit + 20 km/h aggressive-Canadian-driver goodness. And upon arriving, we only had to wait 25 minutes (instead of the two hours I was expecting) to get on the next Ice Explorer. What is an Ice Explorer? Basically it’s a Greyhound bus with 4 1/2 feet tall balloon-ish tires and an engine that probably could power Manhattan for a three day weekend. There are 22 of these beasts in existence. All but one are used at the Icefields Centre. The other is in service in the Antarctic. Seeing the glacier up close was ridiculously cool, as was walking around on something with ice as deep as the Eiffel Tower is tall. Sorta humbling to realize that 100 years ago it filled the entire valley to where the Icefields Centre currently sits (more than half a mile away) and that in another 100 years it’s likely to be gone entirely ... but any way you slice it, being there was an experience that I’ll not forget.
After the customary quick in-the-van dinner, we embarked on a hike up Parker Ridge. It’s less than 4 miles roundtrip but the elevation gain is over 800 feet so I was a little concerned about Hollis’ capacity to handle it. As it turns out, I spent most of my time on the way up telling him and the rest of the kids to slow down. Moral of the story? Never underestimate the lungs of a seven year-old or the burden (on a 43 year-old) of a lame ankle and a 35-pound backpack. Why should one need a 35-pound backpack for a two-hour hike? Because one has to pack raingear and water for six, plus emergency diabetes supplies (including extra just-in-case food) and who knows what else. I’m not sure I could even make a list of what is in the bottom of my pack. I suspect, however, I that I could survive for 4-5 days alone in the wild with whatever it holds ...
Anyway, the Parker Ridge hike was very cool. About halfway up, the trail emerges above treeline and the rest of the route passes through a classic alpine setting. Stunted tree growth gives way to tundra with a half dozen species of tiny flowers, which ultimately gives way to open areas covered with a seemingly infinite number of small rocks. And wind? Yes, please. It was a relatively calm day as these things go, yet Paige was having to hold on to her hat at the top of the ridge. I find it amazing that environments like this can be found at a mere 4500 feet above sea level, but such is the nature of this particular spot in the Canadian Rockies. From the viewpoint at the summit of Parker Ridge, the Saskatchewan Glacier is visible across the valley as well as the small (unnamed, I presume, as I’ve not found any info about it) glacial lake immediately below it. The picture above shows both very clearly and is one of my favorites of the thousands of pictures I’ve taken in the past twenty years. Can’t put my finger on exactly why, but it just seems that the contrasts between the alpine meadows below us, the mountains across the way, the blue lake at the bottom of the glacier, the glacier itself, and the massive snowfields in the range behind it create a bit of a perfect storm.
As for votes from the Peanut Gallery, three of the kids thought the trail was terrific. Reagan’s response?
“The payoff on this hike was lame.”
Win some ... lose some.
We’re out of Banff now and settled in Revelstoke ... but I am beat. So tomorrow I’ll fill you in on a terrific trail Hunter and I did on Friday. Definitely in my Top 10. I’m sure you can’t wait ...
Cheers,
Mike
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