Banff, Alberta - April 18, 2017 (Day 5)

My day started off earlier than I anticipated it would considering how tired I was from my adventures from the day before. At 8:30AM I had my hiking boots on and I was ready to hike Tunnel Mountain. It was suppose to be an easy trek... however, due to weather conditions it wasn't so easy, and the inclines were anything but slight! Due to how badly iced the trail was, the road leading to the trail was closed which added more distance to the trek. 

Despite slipping and sliding everywhere, I still made the trek and the views were definitely worth it! Upon entering Banff I was given a pamphlet that helps you identify bear, wolf and cougar prints and poop as there are so many in the area... during my trek today cougar prints were present and this made me a little uneasy especially since I had been hiking 2 hours without having yet seen a single human! As I continued my trek, bear poop appeared... about 20 minutes later a human appeared and boy was I ever happy... I had one good look at the girl and at that moment I was confident that I could out run her and that I was now safe. All jokes aside, I was very happy to no longer be hiking completely alone.  

Below are some pictures from today's trail =)

I finished my trail and made my way back to my hotel by 3:30PM. I decided to take it easy for the rest of the day as my body is truly sore and aching from all the previous day's adventures and tomorrow will be a very strenuous day. I am quite exhausted despite having done so little today... however, I still wanted to do something.

I made my way down to the Banff Gondola and hitched my way up to the lookout to see what view it may hold, and man  am I happy I decided to do so. The lookout offers a bird's eye view of 6  Canadian Rockies. 

 

When I was done taking in the fresh mountain air, the beautiful scenery and the sounds of nature I decided I would head back into town and grab myself some dinner. I ate a delicious Elk burger at the Elk & Oarsman Bar and Grill and then felt like I wasn't quite ready to call it a night so I decided why not hike Bow Valley Trail... It wasn't a long one and the trial was rated fairly easy.

 

Of course, any time I decide to do an easy trail it's never really easy... This trail would have been incredibly easy, if it hadn't started to rain hard. The trail was slippery, it was hard to see ahead of me and there were large puddles everywhere and lots of mud. When I hit the end of the trail the rain lightened and I was able to snap these two pictures above. And then it started to pour again until I arrived to my hotel! 

When I got in I immediately kicked up my feet and started to blog about today's adventures. Now that this blog is complete I am debating whether I should or shouldn't go for a late night drive and see what animals may grace me with their presence.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has been reading along =) It's always nice knowing your time and effort is being appreciated by someone. 

Sending everyone back home lots of love.

- San

Jasper, Alberta - April 17, 2017 (Day 4)

My journey today started at 6AM about 30KM outside of Jasper, Alberta, off Highway 93. Here I found one of the most beautiful and powerful waterfalls Jasper's National Park has to offer; the Athabasca Falls.

4KM from the Athabasca Falls was Kerkeslin which provided an unexpected eerie but beautiful view of Mount Christie. Something about the way the fog covers the forest and mountains gives me the heebie-jeebies and sends shivers down my spine. One moment the mountains can be seen and within seconds they vanish.

I continued my trek for what felt like forever, hiking through all kinds of difficult terrains. Along the way I met an elderly couple who gladly joined me and helped me get a small video clip, the only thing they asked for in return was that I go first...

You can tell by the erosion on the rocks and the surrounding clay, that during the summer, this field is submerged, turning a rocky field into a small lake or creek. Knowing this I felt a tad uneasy stepping out onto the field, worrying that the ground beneath me may not be very solid. The mountains surrounding this field are ice glaciers, and although they appear frozen and still, water flows down beneath the snow and ice into the ground below the rocks. The water found beneath the rocks is actually quite warm, and draws much wildlife from the woods. Areas such as these are the best places to spot bears, wolves, elk and moose as they are drawn out by the warm water. 

My trek from Kerkeslin to Sunwapta Falls was approximately 18KM, but once I reached my destination the pair of twin waterfall provided a spectacular view that was well worth the effort. 

Tired from my journey thus far, I decided to sit down and enjoy the view and do a little self reflecting and soul searching only to be interrupted by this friendly Raven. 

Being the odd ball I am I sat there for a good 20 minutes talking to him and he slowly got closer and closer. A gentleman snapping pictures of the Raven offered to hold my camera and snap a few photos while I continued talking to the bird. Ravens are known in native mythology to be mischief makers, I suppose he sensed the mischievousness in me and decided that we were meant to be friends. He hoped on aboard my shoulder and continued to listen intently to my voice. I won't lie as much as it was a cool experience a small voice inside me was whispering please don't gauge my eye or snap my ear. 

 

I embraced the moment and then decided that was enough birdy love and before someone decides to poop on me and wreck the wonderful moment and friendship we had built, it was time to say goodbye. I stood up slowly and he spread his wings and took off!  

Next up was Tangle Falls which would be my last stop before heading to the Glacier Skywalk.

I started to get stressed on my way to Tangle Falls, my shuttle for the Glacier Skywalk would arrive at 2:30PM and I was starting to cut it close... so I did something I never do... I... RAN! It was more like sprinting cause I swear I think I stopped every 2 minutes, but regardless I was fast tracking for quite some time alternating between running and fast walking. And a miracle occurred... I arrived with 10 minutes to spare = )

The Glacier Skywalk only lasted about 1 hour, and then I was on a shuttle heading back to my hostel. It was 5PM when I arrived, I packed up my things, put everything in the SUV and then hit the road to head to Banff. It was a 3.5 hour drive, arriving around 8:30PM. I took a nice shower, ate, went through my pictures and now here I am blogging. I am incredibly sore, and beyond exhausted so I believe tomorrow will be a late start...

Thanks for reading and following along on this crazy adventure. I hope everyone is doing well and smiling =)

- San

Jasper, Alberta - April 16, 2017 (Day 3)

I intended to get an early start this morning, however, I was so exhausted from my adventures the day before I decided some extra shuteye would be well deserved and needed. I slept in until 10AM, however, I did not sit out of bed, but rolled, for my legs were very sore... and my bum was even worse. I also woke up starving, so I did the only sane thing, I took a nice hot bath to aide my aching body and then made myself a large breakfast (Bagle with Cream Cheese and Salmon with a pound of bacon on the side lol). By the time I decided to get going, it was about 2PM...

There were not many trials left that I had not hiked that could be completed within a day or two or that were accessible at this time of the year. I decided that "The Five Lake Trail" would be an easy one to complete (cause my body was far too sore to do anything that wasn't some what easy). 

Below are the photos I took from today's trek, the lakes were beautiful and well being out in nature is always wonderful. 

As you can see from the photos, the trail was beautiful and trail wise this was not a difficult hike, however, as you can also see the entire hike was not what I expected and was steep inclines the entire way... and I assure you my already aching body was not happy about this. 

After the trek I was pretty tired even if I had not done much today, I went into town to pick up a few things and got myself a coffee, then came back to my room to relax and watch some TV and BLOG... and here I am still blogging at 2:30AM wishing I had not had a coffee while watching Forensic Science which is also not helping, with the background noise of the other renter's snoring coming through the wall. With that being said, I am on vacation so I really can't complain about anything =)

Finally, I am off to bed, sweet dreams everyone and thanks for reading.

- San

Jasper, Alberta - April 15, 2017 (Day 2)

I started my day bright and early, got a good breakfast in and once again hit the road. My journey began at the bottom of Whistler Mountain, a journey which would soon prove to be incredibly challenging and strenuous. I knew that my snowshoeing trek up the mountain would be tough, however, the crazy winds, massive snow storm and cold weather conditions didn't make it any easier. I didn't take many picture of my trek, as my camera and my phone were both unsuccessful in capturing anything due to the weather conditions. The few times I tried my hands also froze instantly. I did however, make a friend on the trial who was nice enough to take some footage of my trek, below is a video of some clips that we meshed together.  

Due to the weather I found it hard to navigate and keep track of where I had been, where I was going and how to get back, every turn I took looked so familiar and it just seemed to look the same. Similar to my trip in Europe, I felt like I was in a snow desert... the sky, the ground and every mountain melted into one another, I would trek for hours without being able to see ahead of me and out of no where another mountain or another peak would appear, and they all looked the same. Although the view was beautiful the view was limited. 

Once I finished taking in the breathe-taking views, I made my way back down to the base of the mountain and continued on with my trek. My second challenge of the day would be to learn to navigate my way through the forest, not only was the navigating a challenge, but the trek was too, there are so many fallen trees everywhere which make the trek 10x more challenging. 

The challenge didn't stop there... As I continued my trek the terrain got more difficult, climbs got steeper, and the ground was anything but even. 

I traveled for a good portion of the day before running into any humans, and surprisingly I was excited when I finally did! I trekked with an older gentleman for a few hours, he was very kind and friendly and even snapped a few pictures for me on our trek.  

We reached a crossroad and this is where we said goodbye and once again I found myself trekking alone! The woods that laid ahead were slightly intimidating, especially after seeing signs that caution you about bears, cougars, lynx, coyotes, and wolves. As I trekked through the woods the silence was beautiful, but my heart raced and the adrenaline was high, something about being completely alone, possibly getting lost and feeling like pray evoked a feeling of frisson.  

As I continued my trek wildlife began to appear, a heard of Mule Deer were quite intrigued by my presence and I was able to get some beautiful photos! 

Not only did I find a heard of Mule Deer, but I also found a heard of... HUMANS! There were 3 young ladies trekking who had gotten a little lost, they asked if they could tag along, which I didn't mind at all (however, I don't think I really knew where I was at this point either). We decided to take a small detour, as oncoming hikers informed us that some Bighorn Sheep were up ahead, slightly off our current root. Here not only did we find Bighorn Sheep but an amazing view! 

As we continued on our way, more beautiful sceneries appeared. 

The ladies offered to snap some photos for me and I gladly accepted = )

Once again we hit a cross road, and the ladies took a different route while I continued on my journey. Ahead of me were some amazing views, 

After a very long day of hiking/climbing I decided that this was enough and it was time to call it a night. I was incredibly exhausted, and as much as I hate to admit it, I was very sore and didn't think my daddy long legs could continue any further. I climbed Whistler Mountain, hiked the Old Fort Point, Patricia and Pyramid route, and the Maligne Canyon trial, however, the highlight of my day would happen 10 minutes from my room where I was staying. Right before entering Jasper, the last piece of "country" held a beautiful surprise. It started to snow and in the field was two coyotes playing together, and chasing small field mice. My heart filled with excited and it was definitely the best shots of my day. 

That ladies and gentlemen is the end of my journey for today, as always, thank you for following my journey, and I hope you enjoyed reading this blog.

- San

Jasper, Alberta - April 14, 2017 (Day 1)

My day started off at 4AM to catch a flight from the Ottawa airport at 6AM to Calgary Alberta. The sky was clear, the weather was wonderful and the flight was quite pleasant. I landed in Calgary at 8:30AM and awaited my flight from Calgary to Edmonton with little lay over (just enough time to grab a Starbucks coffee). My flight to Edmonton was quite pleasant too and only 40 mins long, however, 40 mins was long enough to cause a climate change. I landed in a full on snow storm! I arrived in Edmonton it was 10:30AM, by 11AM I was at the Hertz car rental picking up my vehicle (Got a sexy 2017 Jeep Cherokee Trail Edition with snow and mud tires). 

By 12PM I was on the road heading to Jasper, Alberta where my hiking/mountaineering journey would begin. It was a 4.5 hour drive from Edmonton to Jasper and about 3.5 hours was driven in horrible snow and hail making it hard to see ahead at times. As I approached Jasper, the sun was shining, and the snow stopped! And then wildlife began to appear =) 

I entered the town of Jasper, got settled into my little nest (I rented a room in a ladies basement to have a place to crash and also park the vehicle). Then I set out to start my adventure! I walked down the main street of Jasper and slowly the shops began to disappear, the people lessened, the wild life and beautiful scenery began to appear and all of a sudden I was alone. 

 The first sign of wildlife I experienced were Bighorn Sheep, the pack leader (the male) sat high in the mountains looking over his heard. In the meadow below grazed the large group of female Bighorn Sheep.

My trek continued to more beautiful pastures and scenery and I was spoiled with the presence of more wildlife. It seemed everywhere I turned something was waiting to be discovered. Traveling solo felt odd, but the sounds and smell of nature were very soothing. 

 Everywhere you turn here there are Elk and Mule Deer gracing you with their presence. Very cool to see them so close in a natural environment. Each heard I have run into has about 10-14 Mule Deer (female) and a single Elk (male) leading them. 

As I continued my trek the more snow I began to see! 

This is probably where I had my first tiny scare of my trip, The only path I could take to continue my hike was along the ice, although I took my time and walked very carefully half way through my leg caved into the ice and I was stuck in ice cold water up to my right hip. Although a tint of fear entered my body, discomfort and awkwardness was more prevalent (I was basically doing the splits cause one leg was in the water, the other on the cliff where I had been standing, thank goodness my coaches make me do pull-ups). Although it sounds horrible, I assure you it was not life threatening, just awkward to get out, and a bit of a piss off cause I was now wet! Luckily for me I was wearing appropriate gear, so aside from some wet socks, and boots I was doing just fine. 

The rest of my trek was much like the photos above, lots of woods, small mountains etc. I completed my trek and called it a night to ensure I would be rested for tomorrow, as tomorrow I shall snow shoe to 3480M above sea level and may I add they are not giving the best of weather conditions! 

Thanks once again for following me on this journey, I hope you enjoy the pictures and awesome stories along the way! I did not have wi-fi so my blogging is a little behind schedule. I will post day 2 tonight :) 

- San

Chicken Pesto Basil Farfalle

Enjoy some Farfalle (bow-tie) pasta in style! 

PASTA

Ingredients:
 

- 2 cups of Farfalle (bow-tie) pasta

- 2 large scoops (using a tablespoon) of Pesto Basil

Directions:

1. Bring water in a pot to a boil, once boiling add a pinch of salt, then add Farfalle.

2. Boil until pasta is almost ready (should still be a little hard). Drain water and put back into pot.

3. Place the pot on medium heat and add 2 large scoops (using a tablespoon) of Pesto Basil and stir until pasta is completely covered.

CHICKEN

Ingredients:

- 5 small chicken thighs

- 1 cup of water

- 2 tablespoon of minced Garlic

- 1 tablespoon of Lemon juice

- 1 tablespoon of dried Parsley

- 1 tablespoon of dried Basil

- 1 tablespoon of Ground Black Pepper

- 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil

Directions: 
 

1. In a pan mix 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoon of minced Garlic, 1 tablespoon of Lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of dried Parsley, 1 tablespoon of dried Basil, 1 tablespoon of Ground Black Pepper and 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil and let simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Dice chicken thighs into small pieces and add to pan. Cook for 15 minutes.

CHICKEN PESTO BASIL FARFALLE

Ingredients:

- Havarti Cheese (quantity based on your liking) 

Directions:

1. Once the Pasta and Chicken above are done, combine the two together and mix. 

2. Once mixed place the Chicken Pesto Basil Farfalle in a pan and add either sliced or grated Havarti cheese to the top. You can either place it in the oven on Low Broil for 5 minutes, microwave it for 2 minutes or simply let it melt on it's own : ) 

Happy eating,

San

  

 

Baked Butter Garlic Chicken Thighs

 Another awesome but simple recipe that will tickle your taste buds! 

VEGGIES

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of water
- 1/2 cup of melted butter (healthy alternative 1/4 cup of olive oil, no butter and water)
- 1 tablespoon of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of dried basil
- 1 tablespoon of dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon of ground black pepper
- pinch of salt
- about 10 small carrots and a handful of sliced little red skinned potatoes.

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a pan and add veggies.

2. Place in oven for 40 minutes (Therefore, start your veggies 20 minutes before your meat to have them both ready at the same time).


CHICKEN

Ingredients:

- 1 Stick of butter (1/2 cup)
- 3 tablespoons of minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of parsley
- 1/2 tablespoon of ground black pepper
- approximately 8 small boneless, skinless chicken thighs.

Directions:

1. Mix the butter, minced garlic, soy sauce, parsley, and ground black pepper in a bowl and heat on high until the butter is melted entirely.

2. Dip chicken thighs in the mix created in step one and place on a pan.

3. Bake chicken in the oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit  for 20 minutes.  Dowse the chicken with the mix created in step one again and place in oven for 5-10 minutes on low broil. When the chicken is nice and golden remove from over.

4. Add a light sprinkle of dried parsley (optional).

Hope you enjoy this recipe and thanks for following along!
- San