Chester Lake November 12, 2018

Snowshoeing is a sport that my friend has never experienced and she has been wanting to make a check mark beside that on her to-do list.  Between my schedule and hers this was the only time that would fit so we could only hope there would be enough snow.  I saw a report and photos for Chester Lake and that confirmed it was go time.  We crossed out fingers for blue sky and sunshine packaged together with scenery that would pack a punch.  This is how our day played out!

We took tonnes of time snowshoeing through each meadow.  I have been here numerous times but this time was different.  It was so enjoyable to experience it with a first timer.  I was very thankful all conditions were user friendly.

at Chester Lake

We arrived at Chester Lake and snapped a few shots then settled down to dine.  This was our lunch time view.  

After lunch it was play time.  My friend commented that I was silly and crazy.  Who else is I asked!  There was no coaxing her what so ever to join me.  She was right in there!  Who is silly & crazy?

As time passed it was becoming prettier and prettier but we needed to get back on the snowshoe trail and get on with our day.  Once again we spent tonnes of time in the meadows.  In my mind I was thinking what the heck, let's enjoy every second, I have my headlamp.

Once the meadow sections were behind us, we just went for the finish and arrived back at the car with a bit of time to spare before the sun went down.  I believe my friend is hooked on snowshoeing, she beamed from ear to ear through out our entire adventure.  This will be a day to remember!

Upper Kananaskis Lake Circuit November 10, 2018

It has been ages since I arranged anything official for friends out in our mountain playground.  I was happy  that friends old & new were on board to join me for a hike around the Upper Kananaskis Lake.  While I always hope for the best when we head out there, I hope a bit more when it is official, I want it to be a pleasant experience for all.  I wanted pleasant, pretty, peaceful, perfect all those "p" words.  You will see from the photographs below, we received all that! 

When I woke this morning and looked outside I felt a tad disappointed, it was blustery, wintry, snowy and even sleety.  I checked road conditions and numerous forecasts for out where we were going.  Everything showed "just go, it will be fine" conditions.  We went, we were fine!  The view when we arrived at the Upper Kananaskis Lake was outstanding.  I smiled wide and when I checked, everyone else was doing the same.

 Early on there are many openings in the trees that afford grand views.  

 It could not have been more perfect than this to witness.

We worked out way further along the trail and into the forest where there were no views.  We made good time getting this section over with in favour of spending more time where it was worthy to invest a fortune of time.  Half way around the circumference of the Lake is what I call the "stump section".  I have been here a few times and always make this the lunch spot.  The views are wonderful and we had the sun shining right on us.  As you can see we had no wind.

After dining then it was photo op time.  My friends were keen to join me in a balancing act once they saw my antics.  It was necessary to be picky when choosing a stump.  The ice was not solid in some places.  This is my stump shot!

 Here is our group stump shot!

Further along the trail we hiked into the campground and checked out the scenery there.  It is always pretty here but today was the prettiest I have ever seen it.  There were signs of recent camping activity.

 view from the campground

 group shot on the shore of the Lake by the campground

 picture perfect

calendar shot

money shot

call it what you will

 I like the route around Upper Kananaskis Lake for the variety of terrain and scenery. 

 The bouldery rocky part of the trail was pretty with the sun shining down.

 along the trail through the rocky section

We reached the dam that divides the Lower Lake from the Upper Lake and now on this side the wind whistled and it was much colder.   We still took time to admire the scenery.

 We walked out onto a peninsula and this is the view from there.

We arrived back to where we started about six hours prior.  The circuit was done and so was I.  I felt happy that our day went well and was thankful for such beautiful scenery. We geared down, loaded up the cars and said some of our goodbyes.  How lucky were we to experience this area at its finest.

Thank you for sharing today with me!  

Sulphur Mountain November 8, 2018

We had a mission for today and that was to get high, high enough to get happy, to reach our happy place.  Today's happy place was to be where we could see forever.  To be able to see forever meant having a blue sky.  I wished for this for my friend.  Our destination was to top out on Sulphur Mountain by hiking up along the switchbacks underneath the gondola. 

We began under blue sky with lots of sunshine paired with a rather low temperature.  

We wore microspikes from the get-go which made for easier travel.  

 We had company for a very large portion of our hike up.

We spent lots of time in the trees going back and forth under the gondola track.   Much time passed before the gondola began running for the day.  We were more than half way to the top already.  The views began to open up and it looked so pretty with the new snow.

 the trail was hard packed

We reached the top and followed the signs to the door that would lead out to the boardwalk.  

There were many notices warning hikers to take off their traction devices.  

We made our way along the boardwalk.  It was nice we did not have to share the territory with many others.  It was very quiet.  We stopped at every look out point.  This is why we ventured up here.  You can see Banff down below, you can see the Banff Springs Hotel, the Bow River, Tunnel Mountain in the very middle, and there is Lake Minniwanka in the far off center.

We reached the point where the board walk meets up with the Cosmic Ray Trail.  We veered off down that trail a bit to get some destination shots.  We were fortunate today there was no wind but it was very cold.  We were dressed for it which allowed us to spend loads of time just hanging out and playing about.

 it's still very sunny

 That is our end point up there at the Cosmic Ray Station.

 at the Cosmic Ray Station

 The views were pretty all along the boardwalk.

 Those red chairs are up here and of course we had to invest a little time acknowledging them.

We arrived back at the terminal building and walked the stairs all the way up to the outside observation deck.  It was nice the pits were on fire.  We took advantage and warmed our hands for a few minutes.

 view of the Cosmic Ray Station from the observation deck

 another view from the observation deck

We found a bench inside on the third level where we could have an amazing view while we dined in warmth.  We savoured sandwiches, salads, sweets and a spot of tea.  We had an easy decent ahead of us which would take no time so we spent a little more time instead just sitting and enjoying this view.

Beginning mid October and throughout the winter, if you hike up Sulphur Mountain then it is priceless to ride the gondola down. We took advantage of that.  This is the view we had on the ride down.

The afternoon was early yet so we drove over to check out Bow Falls.  WOW it was spectacular there.  What a difference it makes visiting these places at this time of year on a weekday.  We shared the area with maybe twenty others, if that.

We walked across the bridge towards the Banff Springs Golf Course and followed a trail down to the Bow River.  My friend likes to raft but there would be none of that today.

 view along the Bow River as the sun begins to move on down

It was time to call it a day, a beautiful day, an amazing day, and head on home. 

We got high, we got happy!

Mission accomplished!