The view from atop Badger Pass (looking North West)
This trip lasted seven days (six nights). In
Edmonton, we hopped on a Greyhound bus at midnight. We arrived in
Banff the next morning around 9am, not having slept a wink on the
bus. We grabbed some coffee and caught a cab to the Mt. Norquay
Ski Area, and began our 100km journey.
The first day was a brutal 20km day to Stony Creek. We
hiked hard and fast with packs that weighed at least 50lbs, but we
managed to keep pace with a group of people on horseback. We
reached the camp around 8pm, ate and went straight to bed,
exhausted.
The next day we could barely move and the 17km
trip along the cascade fire road took most of the day, stopping at
Flint's Park. These first two days were long and the
scenery was fairly uninteresting (compared to what was to come).
Day three was a breeze. It took us only two hours to reach
Block Lakes Junction. The map had said it was 7km, but it
turned out to be only 5km. We frolicked in the stream (it was a
very hot day) and played poker in the tent that night.
Day
four had us on an excruciating climb to Badger Pass, which was
cold, rocky, and beautiful in a barren sort of way. For the first
time, we met two hikers at the top of the pass, going the other
way. This 12km day took us to Badger Pass Junction which
was so full of mousquitoes, we hid in our tents most of the night.
We held our food and ate while jogging, to keep them off of us. We
had thought the bugs were bad on the previous days, but these were
incredible. I could hear a loud humming outside my tent from the
swarm of them buzzing around the door.
Day five took us 10km
to Wildflower Creek, where the bugs were equally bad. On
the way, we went over Pulsatilla Pass, one of my favorite spots on
earth. At the top, we met hikers for the second time, going the
other way. They took turns carrying one large pack.
On day
six we hiked 15 km up through the small Cotton Grass Pass, to
Red Deer Lakes, then to the Skoki Lodge were we failed to
get a room, and finally to camp at Merlin Meadows.
The
last day, we hiked out to Lake Louise, totaling about 16km. This
lengthy trip was physically challenging (I lost a few pounds to
say the least!), and the bugs were horrible in mid-July. The
scenery, especially the North-West half, is amazing. Luckily, we
had awesome sunny weather, and very little rain.
The
view from atop Badger Pass (looking North West)
Click thumbnails for full size photos.
Aaron catching some Z's on the fire road.
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Jason at camp.
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The Cascade Fire Road.
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J by a trail sign, (day three, just past flint's park).
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Hanging food at Block Lakes Junction.
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Brushing My Teeth.
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Aaron eating a snickers on top of Badger Pass
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The two of us on top of Badger Pass
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Resting on the way up.
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On the way up Pulsatilla Pass, we passed over this snow field.
It was bigger last year.
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Jay on a hill above Pulsatilla Pass (~2500 meters above sea level),
Looking North.
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Looking mighty on Pulsatilla pass (Looking East)
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Jay on Pulsatilla Pass (Looking South).
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Jay by Ptarmigan Lake.
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Resting on the way up.
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Me, looking goofy at camp (Merlin Meadows).
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Quite possibly the cutest picture ever taken of me. Damn!
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A curious marmot near Lake Louise.
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