I was recently in Banff city near Calgary in Alberta and I have no word to describe the beauty I witnessed in the Canadian Rockies! We hiked a few mountains and lets just say, this was not a relaxing vacation! I wanted to share with you our itinerary but before I do that I just want to let you know by this time a year, the Rockies are full of snow and kind of cold. We froze our asses even though we came prepared and we also had a snowstorm, which didn’t help! I loved this trip and I would definitely go back (I hope sooner than later)! This is the plan we ended up doing which wasn’t what we initially planned but it was just as great and we had so much fun!
If you like travel posts don’t hesitate to follow my blog for travel talk every Wednesday! And let me know in the comments below if you ever been to the Rockies and what was your experience! I also have a packing list for a hiking trip on my blog that you can find HERE.
DAY 1
We started the day by doing a little hike on a trail called Grassi Lake in Canmore. From that point we went to the Banff pedestrian Bridge by car. We stopped at the Bow Falls viewpoint to take some very nice picture before heading to another little hike on the Tunnel Mountain. Both hikes were moderate and quite nice to start our trip! Then we took the Banff Gondola that brought us on top of the Sulphur Mountain were we got to see the sun go down!
DAY 2
On this day our whole schedule got disrupted by a snowstorm so we had to stay close to our Airbnb. It was an amazing opportunity to go to Lake Louise and do the Lake Agnes Trail. We thought we could go up to the tea house but it was closed for the season so we ended up going down and finishing our day in Banff. We went to a restaurant and then to a candy store. Even though we hiked while it was snowing, the view was phenomenal! This trail has the same start as the Big Beehive so you might try to continue to the end if you can and have the time! We didn’t do that because we didn’t realize it had the same path!
DAY 3
Early in the morning, under a grey sky, we left for British-Columbia to see the Emerald Lake. It was a little detour that was so worth it, the lake was so beautiful. And that’s when we went back to Lake Louise to do the hardest hike of the trip. We did the Saddlleback Pass Trail on what felt like the coldest day ever! And with the altitude, it felt even colder. We were not able to finish the trail because we started the hike pretty late. When I tell you I thought I was going to lose a finger or two, I’m not joking!
DAY 4
The last day of the trip was reserved for Jasper the national park. We started of with the Athabasca Glaciers. They have these sign that show how the glacier is getting smaller and smaller due to climate change. And it a very short trail that you can go on if you which to see how far it has been retreating. Then we went on a walk to see the Sunwapta Falls. I would suggest renting a room as close as possible to the park other wise it takes so much time to go from one place to another. We lost 6 hours that day just in transport.
And then we took the plane back home 🙁
Writing this made me realize how much we did and saw! The initial plan we had was even longer and we had so much more stuff to do on the list but time flew by and we didn’t get to see everything! We did have a great time and I’m already planning on going back there eventually (Maybe during ski season)! I hear skiing on the Canadian Rockies is a whole experience! What do you think?
Until next time,
Sofyah,
Not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear your path.
Quel endroit magnifique !
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Vraiment magique!