Reflecting on Summer

Making the most of my Monday with Ms M at Wedge Pond was what my day away from work would entail. It's the last day of summer and I wanted to celebrate it and reflect on it at some place that had water, scenery, peace and quiet and tranquility!

We picked Wedge Pond! It's an hour from my front door! Yes! What you see below is an hour from my front door. We found a picnic table right by the water. It had our name on it! We placed the table cloth then all our belongings on the table. We opened up our lawn chairs, poured the wine into the crystal goblets, sat down and made a toast. We looked ahead and this was facing us! We were speechless! Not only was the scenery speech-taking, it was breath-taking too.
I went for a stroll around the pond, taking pictures of reflections at different angles. You can see our picnic table in the left corner below.

Ms M couldn't resist tossing rocks into the pond.

We found another little pond in the same general area. Ms M takes time to reflect as she gazes at the reflection in the pond.

My camera is attached to a Gorilla tripod sitting on a rock, that's how we got this shot. It took a few tries to get it just right. For the most part, we had the Pond to ourselves. Every once in awhile, a folk or two would come down to the beach-like area to get their last day of summer reflection photos.

The golds were golden today!

A Full, Fun Day of Reflecting and Reflections!

Good bye summer! Hello autumn!

Sunday at Sentinel

This was the perfect day to hike Larch Valley and Sentinel Pass near Moraine Lake in Banff National Park. The weather was iffy leaving Calgary at 7:45 am and this obviously deterred many folks from heading west. We had gorgeous weather and scenery and almost had the trail to ourselves. I saw, maybe 100 other people along the way (mostly on the return trip), not 1000 like the last time I was there a year ago to the day. This premier hike is in prime bear territory. Parks Canada has a Restricted Access law in place and if you are found to be believing you are above the law, feeling defiant and disobedient then you could be handed a hefty fine somewhere in the range of the low thousands of dollars. Numerous times along the trail we regrouped.

Sometimes I feel a little defiant and do what others won't! It doesn't get me into trouble where I may have to pay a fine if caught but it does get me into sketchy situations. From our minimum elevation to our maximum elevation, I get distracted and just have to investigate! This is my play time and it's all about having fun!

I am sensible though! There was no jumping for this summit shot! High on Sentinel Pass I could see Paradise Valley down below, behind me and I would rather be down there because I want to be there and not because of doing something sketchy or dicey. We all had turns getting our summit shots and then settled down for a lengthy period to savour scenery and lunch. Being up here, I can see why it is considered one of the "Premier Hikes" in Banff National Park.

The larch trees are turning but not quite at their most fabulous state yet! I would say next weekend will be golden! Fay Glacier was a sight to see when the sun was shining on it. I could even see blue on the edges. It looked like a soft covering of new snow over top of light blue ice. On our return trip, Moraine Lake teased us through the trees. The higher up, the more beautiful the color. I could not resist getting a photo of even a portion of this gem.

It's a longer drive from Calgary to get to this trail head. The distance of the hike was on the low end of the scale when it comes to hike distances for me. The weather was not the hottest today. But the reward! Talk about a reward! A-1! Tops! Gold! I think I may just have to make this one an annual event. It's been two for two!

To sum it all up! This Sunday at Sentinel was Sensational!

Finally Finding Forgetmenot Free...

...of snow!

I wondered if it was possible to ever find Forgetmenot Ridge free of snow cover! This was my third time up there and I could not have been happier to see what I saw! The pink suspension bridge marks the start of the trail to the ridge. The few coveted parking spots across the road were already taken by the time we got here at 9:30. The Park Warden was already ticketing the many cars that were parked along the roadside beside the No Parking signs. We headed back to the main lot to ditch the vehicle.
I was so happy today not to see snow that I just had to jump for joy! I did wait until I reached my summit though. I reached the summit twice! You can tell from my elevation chart where you see two identical peaks side by side. I did this part on my own. R remained below taking shots of me as I went for the top. The top was beautiful, I needed my summit shot, so returned to R to retrieve my camera then raced back up before the guys up there left. I'm getting this down to a science and we got it right the first time, this time!
You can't have it all! By forfeiting the snow, we had to put up with other elements, unbelievable strong wind. The direction of it was in our favour, though. It blew us into the mountain side, not towards the down slope. The fall colors were amazing, especially the ground cover. Our views were amazing too. Banded Peak looks intriguing, I want to go there! As I mentioned before, R remained at the base while I went for my summit. On our way out, we followed the ridge top, on our way back we took the lower route which followed a talus slope for a portion of it.
For the majority of our trek, the sun shone over us. When it shone onto Forgetmenot Pond, it appeared to be this gorgeous color of turquoise. It was hard to take my eyes of it but I had to because this part of the trail was steep downhill and rocky and sure footing was of the utmost importance.
This time around, I went a little further and a little higher. There may have to be a fourth trip to this beautiful place because I could see there was still further and higher to go and I want to be where I saw.

It was very sparsely populated on the Ridge today! Only an hour from home! From a busseling crowded city to a peaceful mountain gem! These, just a few of the ingredients it takes to make me feel like I am "on top of the world!"

Two Old Goats

A glacier in the mountains is the perfect place to escape to on a hot day in the city! Old Goat Glacier was on my to-do list! G-Force had it on his to-do list too. The forecast is hot, the city crowded! Time to put our plan in place and head for the entrance to our escape. Old Goat Glacier is not well known so not frequented for that matter. We were not the only ones here today though. Another small group followed us. Also, he was here! Look closely in the photo to see the big old billy goat. From one old goat to another, the glacier is massive off in the distance.

This was a unique place to be! Like nothing on earth! At times I felt like this is what it could feel like to be on the moon or another planet. Once we completed the majority of the elevation, we arrived at a wide open canyon with a long ridge down the middle of it. We hiked the ridge which had glacier run off valleys far below us on either side. The valley on one side had the Old Goat Mountain as its wall, the other valley protected by a mountain wall of varying colors, patterns and heights. We continued on this ridge to the far end which took us into the depths of the glacier.

Now some of you may think these are more photos of two old goats! We would differ with you there and would put a challenge out to you and give you a run for your money, ooops I mean a hike for your money! That's me doing my summit jump and there I am with G-Force. So much for blending in, now you can't miss him, in his new brightly colored technical shirt.

It took some time for each of us to get our perfect summit jump shot. When a flurry of helicopters ducked down into the canyon, we took a break from jumping and kept our arms by our sides.I read that this could be an amazing hike if you don't do anything silly. I knew what that meant once I saw the crevasses in the glacier. They were dark and deep. We heard rock slides often. It was easy to tell how far stretched this glacier was with a large portion of it lightly covered in the fallen rock. Creeks ran through it and those looked dark and deep too.

• Distance-wise, this hike amounted to being short.
• Elevation-wise, this hike could be considered to have moderate accumulation.
• Scenery-wise, this hike rates up there! Very high.
• Lunch-wise, this hike affords a loooong one! That is if you had a day like we did. The sky was clear blue, the sun was bright, my thermometer registered 27 degrees and not even a breeze was to be felt. We leisurely lingered for two hours!

After our long lunch, we took a few more photos, admired the Glacier as the sun moved around to the west side and then headed for the exit of our escape.

How fortunate for us to get to see what we saw today and experience what we experienced! Being in this spectacular place, made me feel like I was "on top of the world!"

Pedal Pusher

With a forecast of +27 Degrees Celsius and sunshine, I just had to take advantage of it because I know days like these in September are not to be taken for granted. For the past few days I have been mapping out the bike route from my place to the Glenmore Reservoir. I knew it could be done, I just didn't know if I would know how to do it. Good thing I am a female! I had to ask for directions many, many, many times and that's no exaggeration!

One fellow I stopped to ask directions suggested I get one of these and he pointed to a Garmin 60 CSX that he had attached to his bike. I said I had one, he asked where was it, I said at home! Another time I asked a lady for directions and she pulled out her map. I said I have one of those, she asked where was it, I said at home! It wasn't the easiest path to follow with detours and construction everywhere but I did make it to my destination. There was lots to see along the way! I followed a portion of the Bow River then veered onto the pathway that followed the Elbow River. A few years back when I was doing marathon training with the Running Room, we followed this route because it went on forever and we had to run forever.

The Glenmore Reservoir was busy with boaters of all kinds. Heritage Park is located on the banks of the Reservoir and this is where the SS Moyie sternwheeler sails from. I had quite the adventure on the SS Moyie last year, you can check it out here The Young Lady and The Sea. Today was a day for sail boats and fly fishermen to venture out onto the water too.

Notice today's patriotic reflection! I had to criss cross the Elbow River, each time walking my bike across suspended swinging bridges. Gardens are still in full bloom.

My ride covered 63 kilometers and I was gone from home for close to six hours. My time includes a lunch stop, a snack stop, a few asking for directions stops and lots of photo stops. My stops were not long and then I would carry on pedal pushing. It was a great day weather-wise and scenery-wise!

I enjoyed visiting and thank you! I will be back to visit again! Before I do, I will be heading west to the mountains. Tomorrow I am hiking and I will not leave my map and 60 CSX at home!

...and I hope my hike elevation will not look like my bike elevation for today did!

My Book Report

Have you heard of Ted Jaleta? I hadn't until my friend D Mo told me about him after attending a speaking engagement put on by her employer. She loaned me her autographed copy of his book "Never Give Up". Ted Jaleta is a runner and this book is about him Running For His Life from an Ethiopian prison where he was tortured and beaten. He shares with us where his hope, determination and wisdom got him to in life.

In his book he writes about running races in Banff in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. These race routes stood out because they reminded him of his homeland, of when he was a child and would run through the hills with his brothers and sisters. At one race in particular, he drifted back for pretty much the whole race and near the end came out of his dream state. This is my favourite part of his whole book and these are his words. "And I was running here, on top of the world, and winning the race. It was just incredible. I was full of mixed emotions."

It's hard for me to imagine anyone having to experience what he had. He has come so far and now that he has reached his dreams he is inspiring others to reach theirs.

Sunset Celebration

Today's adventure or I mean tonight's sunset celebration seemed surreal! Our plan was to see the sun set on a summer Sunday in September on top of Nihahi Ridge. Being prepared for this meant being decked out from head to toe which included long pants, four layers on top, gloves, toque and head lamp. Being prepared for this also meant being mentally and physically in fine form from head to toe. I was decked out and physically there! Mentally? Well, not quite! Our hike started at 3:30 pm with a flat, longish, walk through the campground on our way to the trail head. We encountered a gradual climb on a nice, forested, groomed trail for the first couple of kilometers then the forest opened up to views and an array of trail types. Although I have been over stuff like this and that in the past, this evening my mental game wasn't turned on.

With a vote of confidence from my buddies and a tad of babysitting, I pushed onwards and upwards. I didn't quite reach the sky but my buddies did. I was able to find my happy place for today and this is it! Yes, I was able to find a happy place even though this place was making my hair stand on end.

Tonight was a celebration in honor of Adventure Designer's (we made it all about her) day. Each buddy played a part in aligning the stars for something surreal and special and memorable. Before our night time feast, I needed a few minutes to get to an even happier place. With wicked winds out in the open, we turned into the woods to a perfect sized opening surrounded by trees providing us shelter. The ground top table was set, the celebration sign hung between two trees and one fellow slipped into something very appropriate for the occasion, his crisp white collared dress shirt sporting a black vest over top. Dashing I must say!

The original plan was to see the sun set but with the cloud cover we instead viewed a magnificent moon rise. Along the trail back, the sky cleared and oh boy we could see how the stars were aligned. Our head lamps showed us the way and showed us reflective clothing certainly does reflect and glow in the dark.

Around 9:30 pm, we made it back to the flat roadway that passed through the campground. Our destination now was to the car for the drive back to Calgary. Being the long Labor Day weekend the campground was full of families having camp fires in the forest. They were already at their destination.

I made it home shortly after 11:00 pm feeling oh so very tired and oh so very happy! I love nights like these being with people who mean something in my life, experiencing a unique adventure so much so that I feel like I'm "on top of the world" even if I did reach for the sky but didn't quite make it there!

If I Could Fly!

What better place to try then on a hiking adventure called "Birdwood Traverse"! High on the mountain pass, "Scrambled Legs" and I try to soar like the eagles! We were high off the ground for mere seconds, but high in the mountains for nearly ten hours. It all started with a creek crossing! I came prepared this time wearing my brand new lowriders which meant no slipping on rocks and no cold, numb feet. Even though the water came just below my knees, I could still feel its fast flowing force.

There are the usual things you see on a mountain hike! Usual, yes! Unusual, yes! In their own way! This waterfall that looks like twins, makes up in width what it lacks in length. When I look at this mountain face and part way down the front, it makes me think of a lava flow. We were very fortunate on route to our trail head to see this majestic moose up close and almost personal. Of all the lakes I have seen this summer, I don't think there have been two the same color.

I like to have my own kind of fun along the trails!! We came along this snow canopy. When I stretched, I could reach it. As I stood there, I felt the melting snow drip down on me (refreshing) and I saw a view of a mountain range in front of me framed by the edge of the snow canopy (freeze frame). "If I Could Fly!" I try and I try! If you have long legs and are limber, you can stand in Banff National Park and Peter Lougheed Provincial Park at the same time, just like me.

Just as our hike moves along slowly but surely, so does summer! You can see the golden color in the meadow and the early afternoon shadows on the mountains.

From the crimson and gold covering the rocky and rough mountain passes, to...

...mountains that seemed to have a golden color to themselves too!

A sure telltale sign though, that summer is moving on, is snow high up on the far away mountain ranges.

Today was a long, large, light-hearted one! At our lunch stop we had a birthday celebration and it even included "Adventure Designer" blowing out candles on top of a chocolate cake. As you can tell from some of the above photos, there was lots of time to let the child within make an appearance. "Ms D No Stopping Me" even flew her kolorful kite.

Today was a traverse along three mountain passes Smuts Pass, Birdwood Pass and Burstall Pass. On past hikes, I had one opportunity to feel "on top of the world" today was three times the charm!