As Chinook winds rolled in over the great Rockies to push out the onslaught of cold fronts and snow flurries, a long, colorful autumn finally gave way to winter, and I now plan my daily exercise according to the temperature. This is the season of hot and cold flip flops. Earlier this week the high in Calgary was 14 C. I walked downtown in a wool sweater and light coat. Fifteen minutes into the journey, I peeled down to a silk blouse and was grateful for a breeze. By 6 PM, the streets were wet and the wind was from the north. At 7:30 PM when 
I joined my neighbor on his dog walk, snow was flying fast and thick under the street lights as the north wind stung my cheeks in the spacious, open school yard. Never a dull moment in the prairie transition from grass to snow.
Even as I anticipate the splendid white of winter, I pine for the hiking season just past, the best of my life. It started with my first trip to Whistler, British Columbia, the site of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. In coordination with Fairmont Chateau Whistler and the very capable Leisure Sales Manager Jennifer Furyk, I hosted our first WHISTLER HIGH ADVENTURE. It was four straight days of nonstop RECREATION. Indeed, Whistler is recreation on steroids!! It is the adrenaline junkie’s paradise. The epicenter for mountain biking and summer snow boarding, Whistler attracts lots of young folks. What a great vacation destination for families with teens.
Our High Adventure group decided that we would each do exactly what we wanted, even if no one else in our group was interested. I chose to do hiking related activities. Some chose canoeing, kayacing, eco touring, extreme ATV touring. To my surprise, none of us chose to float down the river in one of those adult tinker toy rigs or golf on a world class course.
The Via Ferrata was my goal, but on my first
attempt, foul weather forced the guide to cancel
the trip before we even got the gear on. It was the right call, and the default guided hike on the glacier made a great day. At the top of Blackcomb Glacier stands a small hut. I thought it was a storage shack or communications depot. The guide suggested we nip in for tea. I laughed at what I thought was a joke. The guide knew that I love the Lake Louise area and the two tea houses nestled among those peaks. I thought he was pulling my leg until he flung open the hut door to reveal a young Irish chap serving tea and eats from behind an efficient little bar. Hot tea and sandwiches are never tastier than in the middle of a hike. I loved the Irishman’s twinkling eyes and quick wit. I asked if he had a license to serve liquor. He said that no one in their right mind would leave an Irishman alone in a hut with a keg of beer.
The weather cleared the next day, and the Via Ferrata was on. The name is Italian for “the iron way”. It is an engineered vertical pathway with permanently fixed cables and metal ladder rungs bolted into the rock. With instruction on safety protocol, a rookie rock climber can don helmet and harness, double connect to the cables to prevent serious falls and move up the rock face. It was a new experience which required thought and focus. I wasn’t frightened, but the thought occurred to me that I was in charge of my own safety. All my (two) previous rock climbing experiences were at the end of a rope tied to the finest mountain guide in the Alberta Rockies, Mathias Ahrends. He was in charge of my safety. This felt a little less carefree.
My companions for the trip were two
delightful folks from my home state of Arkansas. Lucky for me that they happened to sign up for the same trip. Their physical competence and zest for life made us a good match. It dawned on me halfway through the climb, that the competence of your companions is important. Though the harness double connected to the cables would prevent a fatal fall, it would not prevent the person ahead of you falling ONTO you. I can't imagine how frightening and complicated that scenario would be. But I digress; the experience was fun, and it opened my eyes to the motivation that propels so many serious climbers up these massive mountain walls.
The Ziptrek Ecotour is Whistler’s famous, signature activity, and it lived up to its reputation. I am not afraid of heights, so there was no sense of conquering fear for me. What I found thrilling was moving through the canopy of the ancient rainforest that grows between Blackcombe and Whistler Mountains. Looking down 200 feet of tree branches to the forest floor below was fascinating. The patterns of nature were incredibly beautiful.
I left Whistler to fly home to Calgary and four
days of hiking near Lake Louise with my husband and a dear friend from Hawaii. We introduced our guest to the iconic hikes near our beloved Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise...Mount Fairview, Plain of Six Glaciers, Mount Saint Piran and Helen Lake Meadows. As luck would have it, the high alpine meadows of Helen Lake offered unseasonable weather for July. The early morning dew on the trail sparkled in the dabbled sunlight filtering through the trees. By the time we reached the meadows, we were under cloud cover, and at Helen Lake, snow began to fall. Dashed were our plans to hike over the ridge to the next lake and beyond. As we headed back across the meadows, the snow flakes grew huge. Just at the edge of the forest, we stopped under a tree to marvel at the spectacular Christmas card scene before us. Disney sized snow flakes fell thick and fast, without a sound, onto an already snow covered trail. The deluge continued throughout our descent, and we often had to stop and shake off the turret of snow piled atop
our hats. My hands were frozen! And I think our uncomplaining Hawaiian guest was chilly too.
As soon as we hit the car, we headed to the nearest fireplace, Numtijah Lodge on Bow Lake just a few miles north. The big restaurant fireplace was roaring. We took the table in front of the fire and I slid my chair onto the hearth until the warmth penetrated my soul. What a gift for our Hawaiian friend, to enjoy this uniquely Canadian experience.
Hiking continued through most of September for me. In all, I enjoyed sixteen day long hikes in Banff National Park and Kananaskis Country. I tend to prefer the Lake Louise area and hikes off the Icefields Parkway to K Country, but this season, I had such fine K Country guides that I really enjoyed that front range of the Rockies. Trails in K Country involve more trudging through the forest to get to spectacular vistas while the hikes in the back ranges often get above tree line faster. My spirit soars at the splendor of distant peaks; give me panoramic scenes over dense forest any day.
Calgarians Lynn and Clem Feldmeyer have hiked K Country for years and know virtually every trail. Clem cleverly put hikes together that looped us through the mountains without retracing our steps and with minimum time in the forest. I just love our early morning departures from the city, the cheery conversation en route, the hiking, of course, and the fabulous gourmet dinner picnics at the end of the day. We no longer drive home hungry, munching junk food. Nowadays, we decide well ahead who brings what. We find a picnic table near the trail's end and lay out a spread fit for the food network. With tablecloth, wine glasses, crockery, and awesome food, we stretch out the pleasure of the day for another few hours.
This was the season for wild life, as in animals. I saw more critters this hiking season than all past years put together! There were the standard whistling marmots en route to Plain of Six Glaciers and Helen Lake, the mountain goats at Lake Louise and Buller Pass, moose at Takawkaw Falls in Yoho Park and K Country, the odd clutch of superbly disguised ptarmigan fowl in K Country, mountain sheep in K Country; none of that out of the ordinary. But in September at Fall High Adventure, we came across THREE separate grizzly bear and a family of jet black wolves.
The best grizzly sighting occurred on our return from Pope's Prospect and Plain of Six Glaciers. I learned from our beloved guide Bruce Bembridge that the cliffs above and stream bed below that route are rich wild life habitat. Many times I have stopped on that trail to rest my legs and scan the scene through binoculars. On this occasion, there was a gigantic grizzly bear digging up roots on the far side of the stream below. It was a perfect viewing situation. We were far enough away to be safe, the bear was absorbed in its task and there was a clear view with few obstructions. Our High Adventure group was wild with excitement. We sat down on the trail to watch the drama unfold through our binoculars. In short order, other hikers in the area gathered around to watch. Lucky for us, one was a European tourist with major camera equipment. This guy was not a hard-core hiker, but he had all the right gear for photography, that's for sure. We pointed him in the right direction and he clicked away and, as promised, emailed us the shots. Neat to get the photos without wagging all that heavy gear in a backpack all day long. I was prepared to stay until the bear left or darkness fell, but the good sense of our guide Dan prevailed, and after half hour or so, I was pressed back into hiking so that our return to the hotel was completed in daylight before we were weak from hunger.
The wolf sighting was an early morning spark of magic on the Icefields Parkway. Our High Adventure group was in the Fairmont van en route to the Helen Lake trail head. Bruce Bembridge, our keen eyed driver and guide, spotted the pack on a bluff ri
ght beside the highway. He quietly pulled the van onto the road shoulder, and there they were right outside our windows. Two huge wolves and a smaller juvenile. The animals lingered on the bluff and paced back and forth until one sat down, threw back his head and howled. What a gift. Very few people, even those living in the Bow Valley, have seen wolves up close. We presume that they were separated from the rest of the pack who were likely in the forest on the other side of the road. My sense is that the howl said, "Hang on, we'll be there as soon as we can cross the highway safely."
Again we were lucky with photography. Cheryl Melamed is a professional photographer in Michigan and a veteran of our High Adventure trips. She had the calm to get her camera out of the pack and the skill to get it focused quickly to capture all this as she contorted to lean over several bodies and shoot out the window. I was impressed......by the wolves and by Cheryl.
I have many, many times seen the more common coyotes both on the prairies and in the mountains, but, oh my goodness, never had I enjoyed such a fine look at wolves. The size difference is considerable. Coyotes look like small, scrappy,timid, rag-tag dogs. Wolves, on the other hand, are big and sleek and self possessed. This awesome experience was part luck in being at the right spot at the right time. The other part of the equation was our fine guide. We were fortunate to use the best guides in the Bow Valley; those guys have wild life radar in their brains!
The High Adventure group was delightful. As always, we were a group of friends old and new, with a common passion for the landscape and the creatures who live in it. I truly loved every minute of it. Below are a few shots of the wonderful people who made that week such a joy.
