Waterton Weekend Was WOW! HOLY WOW MORNING!

The next thing I knew after placing my head on the pillow last night was I woke and it was 5:15 am.  I slept through the night!  Amazing!  I laid there for about 45 minutes and just listened to the peacefulness.  I heard Agent-X rustling around out side so I came out to see what she was up to.  She was already starting her day.  I walked to the washroom to clean up then returned to have coffee and breakfast.  We began to clean up the camp site and put everything away but when we were just about complete, K2 who was at another camp site over, voiced a quiet urgent alert!  "BEAR!"  The black bear was smelling around the campsite next to ours and was starting to work his way towards ours.  Agent-X grabbed a few last things and said get into the car.  I got into my car and she got into the other car.  The bear came to the back of my tent and was sniffing around.  At this moment I was petrified alone in my car so got out and went to join Agent-X as she jumped out to grab another last thing off the picnic table.  What an adrenalin rush!  We sat in the car, the bear came over to my window, for a split second I couldn't look and then when I did, I swear the bear smiled at me!  It smelled around for a bit and then walked across the road.  I was snapping pictures now left and right but could not get a really good photo.  This was the best I could do. I could hardly wait to tell our other buddies whose base camp was down the road.  This was a definite high-light of the weekend!

Once he was out of sight and gone, we carried on with dismantling the tents and packing up the balance of the gear.   Some were heading off for another hike while others had their own plans, like me, I wanted to go to the Prince of Wales Hotel, walk around the town and along the lakeshore.  We said our goodbyes and continued on our separate ways!  My first stop was the the Prince of Wales Hotel.

This is Waterton townsite on a quiet, overcast, Sunday morning.  I took this photo from the lawn of the Hotel.

I walked for a bit along the shore of Waterton Lake.  I realized I didn't have my bear spray with me, so this was not a smart or safe place to be so I quickly worked my way up to the main street.  Only yesterday we saw a mamma bear and her baby playing on the opposite side of the lake on the boat trip back from our hike.

I walked along the main street, looked in some stores and then decided I should probably hit the road for the just under three hour drive back to Calgary.  I had a wonderful weekend in Waterton.  I could not have asked for a more fun experience with my friends!

Waterton Weekend Was WOW! Evening at the Campsite

Crandell Campground was home for my friends last night and I would be joining them for this night.  I don't have all the equipment yet, so a friend loaned me this Hubba Hubba tent.  I set up my inflatable matt, sleeping bag and hung my new lantern.   It's best to get that done before nightfall.

We got a fire going and placed our camp chairs around it.  The picnic table was full of delicious food and wine.  We had a potluck which included chile, sausages, salads, buns, fruit, spaghetti, hamburgers, veggies and dip, and rice.   I tried a little bit of just about everything and after that I needed to walk some of it off to make room for desert.

While some stayed back at base camp, a few of us drove down the road to hike Red Rock Canyon before sunset.  On the way, we saw a brown black bear with her cub bouncing along behind.   Boy it was cute, it was very small and at times was almost lost in the tall grass.

We quickly hiked the Canyon up one side and down the other.  You can see why it is called Red Rock Canyon.

The hike wasn't really long enough to burn off any dinner but what the heck, I had to try some new things.  The first was a roasted marshmellow filled with baileys.  We had a pro preparing these!  I also tried a crepe filled with chocolate and marshmellow that had been roasted over the camp fire.  That was enough for me.  A little more wine, a trip to the washroom and it was time to call it a day at 11:00 pm.   I was prepared for a sleepless night seeing as this was the first time I would be camping out like this sleeping in a tent by myself!   Well, I remember laying my head on the pillow and that was it!

Waterton Weekend Was WOW! Crypt Lake Hike

This weekend was my introduction to hiking/camping!  I would like to think I passed with flying colors, but I learned that I have a lot to learn!  The experience was more than the full meal deal, it had free added extras.  I learned too that hiking/camping is something I want to include in my lifestyle.  Thank you to Agent-X and the others for making me feel so welcome, offering advice and suggestions and for lending a hand with making it the best possible experience for a newbie!

The sunrise on the drive to Waterton Saturday morning just had to be a sign for the weekend. This would not have appeared as gorgeous if the air was clear of smoke from the B.C. forest fires.  It was shortly past here where the air cleared, the sky turned blue and you could see forever.

The plan for Saturday was to hike Crypt Lake.   We arrived in time to purchase our ticket for the 9:00 am boat that would take us 3km to the trail head on the other side of Waterton Lake.  The dock was a happening place this morning so two boats were brought in to leave around 9:00.  We boarded, we sailed off, we docked, we hiked!  Just like that!  We hiked like we were on a mission, which was to get out of the trees to the wide open area where we would have views.  This hike is famous for a certain section along the trail which involves climbing up a steel ladder which is secured to the mountain side.  You then step off the ladder into a tunnel where you need to crouch and move along coming out the other end where you grab hold of a chain and keep holding on while you walk a ledge.  Once this section is complete it is just another 10 minutes to Crypt Lake.   The first glimpse was beautiful!

We took about 30 minutes for lunch at the Lake.   I found the perfect spot here to place a special stone.  I wonder if it will still be there if I hike here again next year.  After lunch, we went for a stroll around the lake stopping to take photos often. 

The lake took on many different looks depending on which direction you were admiring it from.  The flowers were in full bloom on this side.  If you look closely, you can see hikers crossing the snow on the far side.

We are at the south end of the lake when I took this photo.  That means I am standing in Montana in the United States.  Almost right where that cloud reflection is, is the border between Canada and United States.

Once back at the north end of the lake, we packed up our gear and headed back along the trail.  This is the line up at the chain section which leads into the tunnel. Yes, it was a busy day here!

We took our time for part of the time on the return trip to admire the colors and the flowers.

We arrived back at the boat dock at 3:57 for the 4:00 boat.  Luckily it was running a few minutes late.   The boat that arrived was larger and was able to take everyone that was waiting to return to the townsite.  We boarded, we sailed off, we docked, we walked!  Off to our cars to take care of a few errands before heading to Crandell Campground.  I thought the day was perfect and it wasn't even over yet!