Hiking, hiking and more hiking

It took a while, but here is my new blog finally. As the title already says I have been out there exploring on all my days off. It’s going to be a longer one, but hopefully it will be easy to read. I would love to take you all on my adventures, because they were incredible.

Waterton National Park

After the Via Ferrata climbing adventure it was time to start exploring Waterton National Park. This park is located in the south part of Alberta bordering Montana’s Glacier National Park. It’s a 4,5 hour drive from Banff. Waterton is known for the beautiful nature and it is a pretty quiet place. This was the first trip in the Rockies being away from Banff for a few days. To make the most out of it we started the trip directly after work. The sunset on the way was insane. The whole sky was filled with these warm sunset colours. We knew right away this was going to be an amazing weekend. We arrived at the campground late at night and had to search for our spot. This was my first time camping in Canada. I don’t do this very often so I was very excited for this new experience. I love trying new things. Arriving late at night gave us two full days of exploring. We really needed that time, because the first day was already planned with a full day hike.

Crypt Lake trail

This is a very famous hike in Waterton. It is 17 kilometers long and the trail leads you through the forest, open fields full with wildflowers and waterfalls. To get to the hike you need to catch the ferry. So that’s already an expierence itself. The captain tells you all you need to know about the area and gave a lot of tips.

This hike has it all. At some point you have to climb up a ladder and crawl through a narrow cave to end up on the other side where you walk on the edge of the mountain. There is one part where it’s completely dark and then you see the light at the end of the cave and the mountains appear. Pretty cool expierence and a bit of a survival I would say. This trail brings you to the beautiful Crypt Lake. All the flowers were fully blooming and there were lots of bees and butterflies. What makes Crypt Lake so special is the direct connection with Montana. If you walk around the lake towards the other side you are literally in Montana. The lake is surrounded by mountains and glaciers. If you make a sound the echoes keep going for seconds long. The sound reflects constantly.

The hike is not hard. The weather conditions that day were perfect as well. That made the whole day just amazing. When I look at mountains with shades on it I have the habbit to see faces or other creatures on it. There was one where a face was showing perfectly as you can see on the photo below.

What a great first day in Waterton. After this full day of hiking we decided to treat ourselves with a well deserved dinner in the village. The village is very small but its nice. It looked like the day was done, but was it really? Arriving back at the campground we noticed it was the perfect conditions to see the stars. Walking to this dark place and the moment I looked up there was a dream. I could see the Milkyway and we saw Jupiter and Saturn so bright! Wow, this was such an unique experience to share together. It makes me realise how gratefull I am for being able to experience all this. I would never take it for granted, ever!

The second and also last day of the trip we decided to take our time in the morning and go for a nice breakfast at the famous Waffleton. Apparently the best breakfast place in town and they weren’t wrong. The waffles were delicious! After that we did a short hike to a look out over town, called Bear Humps trail. After that we went to a lake with the well known Prince of Whales hotel in the background. On the way back we had a quick stop at the Red Rock Canyon and then made our way back to Banff.

This trip has been such a highlight! Enjoyed every minute of it and it really felt like a mini holiday.

Rafting & Golden Skybridge

This was something I really wanted to do from the beginning. White water rafting on the Kicking Horse River in Golden, British Columbia. We went with five girls in total. We were heading towards Golden and then twenty minutes before arrival we got stuck in traffic. We stood still for at least 30 minutes and it did not seem to get better anytime soon. An accident happened and it was serious. We had to do a massive detour all the way back and then through another direction which took us 3,5 hours extra. Crazy we had to go through all that, but we were able to change our tour time for the rafting. We were determined to still go.

Before we went rafting we had a quick visit at the Golden Skybridge. A perk of working for a big company who owns a lot of attractions. This swingbridge is hanging 130 meters above the valley. It was swinging a lot! At first I was very uncomfortable but later on I managed to walk quite steady over it.

Time for some action finally! After my rafting experience in New Zealand I was super excited to do something similar again. This river is known for pretty good rapids so it has to be thrilling. I like some action, haha. From the base we got our wetsuits and all other equipment. So fully geared up we made our way to the starting point of the river. It was a 20 minute drive so they took us there in this old American school bus. By the time we got there we had a short safety talk about being on the water. Our raft guide was absolutely crazy. He did all kinds of crazy tricks and yelled so loud. The rapids were intense and since I was sitting in the front I got splashed a lot.

Suddenly something really intense happened. We saw a black bear running on the shore side. You should have seen me, I was going nuts! It disappeared in the bushes and was standing on his back legs grabbing food from the trees. Then another bear showed up! This was the last thing I was expecting to see during the tour. Seeing bears in their natural habitat is mindblowing. It’s so beautiful to see. When the tour was done I kept staring towards the shore hoping to see one more. Well it worked, number 3 showed up! Wow, so lucky!!

Tent Ridge

This is one of the many hikes you can do in Kananaskis Country. Kananaskis is a beautiful recreation area with endless trails to follow. It is well known for spotting wildlife as well. It is still kind of a hidden gem for most tourists which results in meeting locals during those hikes. If you do a full day hike and start early you might see up to a maximum of 10 people on the way. You can really feel connected with nature walking in the silence.

Tent Ridge is a trail with a length of 11 kilometers and an elevation gain of 852 meters. The first part is through the forest and once you get out of there the real climbing starts. The first part is switchbacks and once you get higher up you climb up with hands and feet until you are up on the ridge. The benefit of walking on a ridge is the endless mountain ranges. There is constantly a beautiful view so that is a great reward. We were lucky there wasn’t a lot of wind, because normally a ridge is know for being quite windy. The very few people you meet on the way are all super excited and lots of locals gave us tips where else to go in Kananaskis. They are very interested to hear where you are from. There was this part where we had to walk quite a bit down and then all the way up again to the next part of the ridge. Sitting there with a snack after the climb feels great. The best views you can get!

Cirque Peak

This hike is located in Jasper National Park. For this one we got up nice and early to be at the peak late morning. In that way its quiet and not too warm yet. Around 05:45 am we drove towards the trailhead. To get there you end up driving on highway 93, the Icefields Parkway. Always a treat to drive there. On the way the sunrise slowly started and it looked so beautiful that we decided to drive to the never disappointing Bow Lake and see the morning glow. It was absolutely magical! The reflection and the changing colours were like a dream. You only have a few minutes to get the perfect sunrise and we saw it! Epic start of the day.

Filled with lots of energy we drove to the trailhead parking lot, located two minutes from the lake. This hike is around 16 kilometers and the elevation gain is 1135 meters. Definitely a challenging one. Especially if you come from a country where you only have hills, haha. Well luckily I am always up for a challenge so let’s do this! I have been hiking lots lately so had some practice. The first part goes through the forest and then we ended up in a valley stretched out with nothing but mountains surrounding you. It was so peacefull in the early morning. Pure silence. We were walking towards Helen Lake. The moment we arrived we were in awe. The lake was a mirror like you’ve never seen before. No wind and a perfect reflection of the mountain. The only companion we had was a ground squirrell. The best location to have a quick breakfast before the actual climb starts.

On the way we saw a couple of marmots collecting grass and other stuff to build there homes I guess. Marmots are pretty chill animals and they just mind their own business. There it was, the climb! Literally straight up. I knew this was going to be a physically but mostly a mentally challenge. But if you really want to accomplish something you can do it! I am not going to lie, the last part was very hard but I had my mind set on it so pushed through. Once I got to the top it was so rewarding. Looking down and realising you just did that is the best feeling. That’s why hiking is so addictive, you just want to keep pushing those boundaries and see more and more. On the top it was pretty narrow with cliffs on both sides. One side was this massive glacier with crevasse in there. The views from the top were endless.

Since you hike in the mountains you have to deal with “mountain weather” so after a few minutes up the top the weather changed. It was super windy and started to rain. We had to make our way down quickly before it got way to slippery. The wind saved us as well since it was so strong it blew away the rain clouds. This whole experience was incredible and will always be a great memory.

Mt. Smutwood

The day after Cirque Peak we went for another hike. This hike id 20 kilometers long and the first 6 kilometers are flat and then the climb starts. This trail is known for seeing Grizzlies but we weren’t lucky enough to see them. We did see animals prints in the mud though. After the valley part you end up at this area with massive rocks. Some of these rocks were insanely big and of course we had to climb on the biggest one on the way back, haha. But first we went up over this rocky path. It started to get very windy and sometimes I really had to hold on not to blow off the mountain.

The views were insane. All those mountains including Mt. Smutwood and the glacier lakes looked amazing. It makes you forget about your sore muscles instantly.

Great moment to improve my photography skills. On the way back we took our time to take lots of pictures. Another amazing day in the mountains!

Rawson Lake & Sarrail Ridge

This was another one that was super impressive. After a short walk you already have the first stop with the insanely beautiful Rawson Lake. This lake was full of reflection and a great start of the hike. We did quite the photoshoot there. The hike is not super long. It is only 12 kilometers but it has a steep climbing section to get to Sarrail Ridge. Once you pass the lake you see the part you have to overcome. It was a bit of a sandy ground and sometimes you had to climb up with hands and feet. The best thing is not to stop to often because that only drains you more. Setting goals works best for me, just chose a point and walk to it and then rest. Almost at the top the jelly legs were definitely there.

We made it to Sarrail Ridge and the view was one of the best ones as they also say everywhere on the internet. You can overlook so far. After spending some time up there and taking some pictures we had to walk down the steep part. It was slippery but not too bad. We all made it down safely. After that it was easy going just flat strolling back to the car.

As we thought the excitement of the day was done something else happened. As I was driving back I suddenly saw something on the side of the road. Before I knew it I pulled the breaks and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My first moose ever! Not one but two! It was a female with her calf. This is such an unique moment I will never forget and it was even greater to share it with my favorite people. Something you will always keep talking about.

Eiffel Lake

The day after climbing Sarrail Ridge we really wanted to see the larches. The larches show up every year only for a duration of two weeks. They all turn yellow. At the Moraine area you have the famous Sentinel Pass via Larch Valley trail. Super crowded during this time of year. Something we don’t like is being consumed within the crowds. We were lucky enough to get a parking spot during the day. We started the trail and at some point you have this split where you can go two ways. Left to Eiffel Lake and right towards the Sentinel Pass. Of course everyone went right so we chose to go left. That was the best desicion we could make really. We left the crowds behind and the views were stunning. Larches everywhere and almost an empty trail. We kept walking and walking until we reached Eiffel Lake. To find the best spot we went off trail and had to crawl through some bushes but it was worth it. Picture this…sitting on a big rock looking over Eiffel Lake surrounded by larches and no one else around. I call that true happiness. We always manage to find these perfect spots for ourselves.

Sentinel Pass

So the day after we did go to Sentinel Pass but there was something special about it. We did it for sunrise! What does that mean?! It means night hiking. Wooow, something completely new for me. The best thing for me is when I can get out of my comfort zone. I had my concerns for all the wildlife that gets active during the night but seeing the brighteness level of these headlamps reassured me. There we went, the two of us arriving at Moraine Lake at 4 am. The night sky was beautiful and clear. We gave ourselves about 2.5 hours to get to the top of Sentinel Pass. It was quite the experience to hike when it’s dark. Honestly I thought I would worry more about all these creatures that might stare at you but when you are focused on hiking you just forget about it. Such an awesome feeling walking there with the night sky and the moon shining and doing what you love most.

This was the third day of hiking and waking up in the middle of the night having only 4 hours of sleep shows how committed we both are. It is always worth it! The views we had when the sun came up was breathtaking. The first red glow on the mountain tops and before you know all the mountains light up.

After that we walked down and ended up by a lake with the most beautiful reflection I have ever seen. I could not believe my eyes and still can’t. Canada is unreal!

The next story will be about the biggest epic adventure I have done in Canada! Stay tuned, it will be posted soon!

I really hope you enjoyed it and that I was able to take you on my adventures

Thank you for reading my blog, I really appreciate it!