#51 Sex for the eyes

Heyho,

right at the beginning: This post will be very long and will mostly be an ode to Mother Nature. 😅 But I'm not sorry for that because the past few days have been pure enjoyment, filled with interesting conversations and situations.

After leaving Golden, the smoke clouds actually started to clear, but they were replaced by rain clouds, which didn't improve visibility. On my way, I stopped at Canada's most famous mountain lake: Lake Louise. It lies at the foot of Mount Victoria, which is 3464 meters high. Since I didn't want to pay $21 for parking and didn't want to get a parking ticket, I was only there for a few photos and then made my way back through the crowds. By the way, it was Wednesday afternoon, which will be interesting later on 😅

Continuing on the highway, the mountains grew and grew and the

Rocky Mountains

said hello. I took a few breaks on this short stretch and even did something I absolutely don't like. I couldn't stop on the highway, so I had to quickly take a photo while driving ;D BUT! That was a one-time exception, luckily I soon had help for such moments. So never do this - No phone while driving!

Banff

This tourist town, which I had often heard about before, is located in the oldest national park in Canada, which covers 6640 square kilometers. Here I had to look for public Wi-Fi to receive messages and suddenly, it wasn't necessary anymore because I had found Kate and CJ. I met this couple at Amazia Farm this year and we had agreed to spend time together in Banff. After going out for Indian food as a welcome, we went to our campsite. Unfortunately, it was the only one without a shower. 🥲 It's very annoying, especially when you're allowed to make a fire and save on propane gas....it smells so delicious. However, the first night was rainy and cold. I woke up in the morning at 7 °C.

Strengthened with warm coffee and tea, we strolled through the town a bit. It's actually much smaller than I had imagined. There is a main street and that's about it. 😅 And on this street, it feels like every other store is a "gift shop" selling almost 80% of the same stuff :D Interestingly, there is a year-round huge Christmas store there. You can spend so much money there, it's insane 🌲😂 We also made a short detour to the "Cascades of Time Garden" and then we met an old school friend of CJ's who happened to live in Banff at the moment. After a short chat, we went on a hike where we just wandered off. I also wanted to see how well they would do because they had no real experience (neither did I 😅 but I've been hiking more lately), but they hiked up the slopes so well, I was really impressed, but we also had good motivation. Right after the first steeper slope, the forest opened up and behind it, the first mountain shone. BOOM! It looks incredible. And now we come to two questions that I have often asked myself (rhetorically) because I find this simply incredible.

How long does it take for such a mountain to grow?

About 60 million (!) years ago, the growth of this mountain range began, due to the folding of sedimentary rock deposits, shale, limestone, and sandstone that had accumulated in a former sea.

It is truly impressive how clearly one can see the different layers. It is also incredible how these mountains grow exactly in this shape. When did these huge cliffs and slopes form if there isn't enough rock in the surrounding area to account for this amount?

Another question that fascinates me often and that I also "discussed" with David is:

How do trees grow there?

I just don't understand how these huge trees cope with the conditions there. Their roots must be incredibly small and probably deeply rooted, otherwise I can't imagine it.

After marveling at this mountain, we continued. CJ and Kate agreed to every turn, no matter how steep it was. 😁 This path led us to a turquoise river, which was enchanted by a small detail. Once again, this incredible mountain, this time from a different angle. It's just unbelievable how nature finds its way. This combination. A delight, I tell you. And on top of that, first one and then even two rainbows appeared. The hike ended at a viewpoint where we could see the Banff Springs Hotel. It was built in 1888 and burned down in 1926. However, it was rebuilt two years later and is still operated as a (very expensive 😅) hotel today. This hotel was an ideal place for wealthy clients. Because tourists had to bring in money. In 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CIP) was completed, thus achieving a connection from east to west. The then 18-year-old government couldn't afford the costs alone, so Banff was "chosen" as the tourist destination. The then manager said

Since we can't export the scenery, we'll have to import the tourists.

After this quite long hike/stroll, we went to the taco restaurant. Oscar, CJ's friend, recommended this restaurant to us because there is a happy hour from 9 pm and tacos only cost three dollars. Together with Oscar and another friend, we enjoyed some tacos there. They were damn delicious.

We needed that energy for the night because it got even colder. The thermometer showed 4 °C the next day 🥶 and this time there was no hot coffee and tea because all my stuff was gone. Instead, there was a note on the table. The park rangers had collected my things at ten o'clock in the evening and unfortunately, we didn't arrive home until eleven o'clock at night. After a brief lecture, I was allowed to pick up my things again. It was nice that everyone had noticed and said, "Oh nice, you have your kitchen and stuff back...yeah, I was briefly the topic in my area. 😎😂

After leaving the campsite clean (it was clean before too), we went to Johnston Canyon. At the beginning, it is characterized by three impressive waterfalls and also by an impressive number of people who only come there for these waterfalls. It was incredibly crowded at the beginning, which was not possible. We couldn't even get to the "good" spots where you can probably take the perfect Instagram photo because you had to queue up and the lines were not exactly short.

There were also many small waterfalls that could be discovered on the further hike. The color is simply impressive. It's either incredibly cool turquoise blue or crystal clear. I can still confirm that I haven't had any problems with the water here so far, and I would instantly fill up my canister with the water. It's just beautiful. Especially when you think about the rivers in Germany....

It is also impressive here how the rivers have carved valleys over millions of years and how the water has been flowing there for what feels like eternity. 😅

The end of the hike was a wide open spot on the river. There were five small lakes there, each representing different shades of blue. I have no idea how that was possible, as they were only a few meters apart. But the highlight was the mountain range in front of them. I turned to the right and thought, "Wow, this is awesome!" Then I looked to the left and thought, "Wow, this is awesome!" And then I looked to the right again and saw the same mountains, only with a minimal break, and thought again, "WOW; THIS IS AMAZING!" It is unbelievably beautiful and impressive. Even the dark rain clouds couldn't spoil the view because the individual shadows of the clouds continually displayed the mountains in new ways. Then I wonder how it looked 20 million years ago or how it will look in 10 million years

After this hike, we only went to Banff briefly and then to bed.

The last day in Banff started with a little excursion.

Canmore

This small town, only about 20 minutes away, is much better than Banff because it's slightly bigger and less crowded. CJ & Kate went their way and I went my way. I strolled through almost every store for a short time and also made a short detour to an original First Nation house. After my small city tour, where you can constantly see the mountains, by the way (!), we went to the pizzeria for lunch. Then we went back to Banff, where we visited a nearby cave that was once used by the First Naions. However, I don't know if it was holy...well, in the end, the western people came and yeah.

This cave looks nice with its blue water, but the smell is insane. I don't remember where it came from, but it is very intense and unpleasant. 🥴 Fortunately, we found a small "loophole" which allowed us to avoid paying an entrance fee. Oopsie.

That evening, we had to stay at Oscar's place because Kate and CJ could only book two nights. However, since we could only come to Oscar's in the evening, I still went for a short hike alone. On this hike, there is a viewpoint. BUT WOW!!! Large forested area, a turquoise river, rich people playing golf, and an absolutely amazing mountain range. Impressive, I tell you! Especially since you also have this huge mountain right in front of you.

This very short hike is the most popular among tourists and is rewarded with a view over Banff. Until 40 years ago, there was a so-called "fire tower" on top of the mountain, where different people lived in the summer, keeping an eye out for smoke and forest fires.

Still impressive, and this time not by nature, but by Anne Ness, is her achievement. Because she has hiked this Tunnel Mountain more than 8,000 times in 40 years, which is comparable to a 275-fold ascent of Mount Everest. This woman must have had calves, oh my. 😅

In the evening, we sat down with Oscar for a short time before CJ & Kate went to sleep in their tent set up in the "garden" and I crawled into my car. It was my first night sleeping in the middle of a city. It was a bit strange 😅

Unfortunately, that was also the night of the shooting stars that I couldn't see in Banff. But Kate was lucky five times.

Both Kate and I were excited about the next day because we were going to the most beautiful highway in the world.

Financial fact: Due to the fact that the province of Alberta has very large oil reserves, the fuel here is also super cheap. The cheapest I saw was gasoline for 1.37 CAD, which is about 92 cents! It was always a pleasure to refuel at such prices! 🤩🤩

Icefield Parkhighway

But before we get to that, a quick clarification. How could I take CJ and Kate with me and why?

CJ and Kate offered to come to the next city with me, and since this also matched my plans, I agreed. However, one person had to lie in my bed during all my car rides. It was probably more than an illegal action, but luckily it was somewhat hidden by my tinted windows. But it did have one positive aspect. For this highway, you have to pay a toll. Fortunately, my Discovery Pass already includes it, and since the woman only saw Kate, but not CJ in the back of the bed, they both could save on the toll. 🤑😅

But before we get to our next destination, Kate wanted to make a detour to Lake Louis. Since our departure day was a Sunday with perfect weather, I didn't want to leave too late to find a parking spot. When we arrived at nine o'clock, it was all over. Both the upper parking lot was full, and we were kindly waved out, as were the buses. You could book them to avoid hiking the way, and even they were fully booked. That's the difference between Wednesday afternoon when there were still free spots and Sunday morning. Kate was a bit disappointed, but now we were on our way to the highway. What can I say....it's incredibly difficult to drive this highway because I could rarely tear myself away from the mountain ranges. The mountains slowly start to rise and then shine in all their glory. The first lake was my highlight on this route. The color of the water and then this damn good-looking lake is surrounded by an amazing mountain. I couldn't stop marveling. I've stopped a few times and even once at a glacier. This one was indicated with a 25-minute hike and the three of us wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately, I didn't have a sweater with me and even though it's only a few meters difference in altitude, there's a completely different wind blowing there. So I struggled along the path with my goose breath, only to be disappointed again in the end. The ascent was only possible with a tour guide. So after a short break, we went back down. Sadly, you also passed signs displaying the former glacial boundary. In 1982, the glacier was in a place where you can't even see it anymore today. Meanwhile, the glacier is melting up to four meters per year?!! How sad is that, that we are destroying this beauty of nature at a speed that is incomparable......

The drive was rounded off with dramatic Game of Thrones music, perfect accompaniment to these incredible mountain ranges. 😁 It was amazing all the way. Especially since you see the mountains from a different angle after each glance because you drive past them. If they are quite bare on one side, a huge glacier stretches out on the back. Thankfully, Kate was able to film for me now and then. 😅 I also saw a car with a GoPro on top, not a stupid idea either.

Google Maps stated that the drive would take about 3 ½ hours. After more than six hours, we finally reached our next destination 😁

Jasper

This city, which is also known for its 10,800 square kilometer national park, is even smaller than Banff and therefore less crowded with tourists. We went our separate ways once there, and when we were on the highway, we saw a female elk. It had now arrived in the city and made itself comfortable there.

Our new campsite not only had a shower (and much more), but also an amazing view. This was crowned by a very nice-looking sunset on the first evening. However, this campsite not only had the shower but also a theater where a children's program was performed every evening. It was hilarious, and the two park employees did such a great job. The theme was bats, and they explained that you don't have to be afraid of them and what they do for us, and they conveyed that with singing and humor. 😅

The next morning, the first problems started. I had to go to a workshop because on the most beautiful highway in the world, I also reached a small highlight. I surpassed 5,000 kilometers on my road trip 🥳 and therefore needed an oil change. However, I had to wait for CJ and Kate to wake up so I could tell them that I couldn't drive them. In Jasper, the workshop didn't have time, so I had to drive to Hinton, an hour away. After the oil change, we went back to Jasper. On the way there, I saw young mountain goats up close for the first time. I had actually agreed with CJ that he would message me where I could pick them up in Jasper, and then we would go hiking. However, even after waiting for an hour and walking through the town, I hadn't received a message, so I decided to go hiking alone. It led me to the Valley of the Five Lakes. This trail led along five lakes (surprising 😅). I probably don't have to say much about the color. It was once again a display of beautiful colors. It's incredible how cool the water looks and at the same time it's still drinkable,

At one lake, I saw two river otters enjoying their dinner.

Then it was back and I picked up Kate & CJ. I also told them that one sentence would have been enough and that they could remember to do that next time. Ironically, both of them had also gone hiking in the Valley of the Five Lakes that day. CJ and Kate had simply walked 29 kilometers that day. Since no bus was going to Jasper, they first went to the town and then to the first of the five lakes. Kate also saw her first black bear with cubs that day. CJ had forgotten his glasses, and well...he didn't see anything. 😔😅

For the next day, we chose a hike to two glaciers. When we arrived there, we first went to the glacier lake. It was expressly forbidden to swim in it or climb the glacier. In recent years, some people have died there (fortunately, I didn't go to the glacier back then 😂). The problem is the rivers flowing under the ice, which are not only super cold but also super fast and will pull you into your icy grave with a swoosh if you break through the ice.

At the lake, I took my photos, turned around, and...didn't see CJ and Kate anymore. I searched the lake and couldn't see them. I thought, okay, maybe they're waiting up above. On the way to the viewpoint, I had another short conversation and then I searched the lake again with binoculars. But I just couldn't spot CJ and Kate, so I thought they had already started hiking without telling me. However, after a few hundred meters, I took a break, just in case they were still behind me. But even after 15 minutes and a brief friendship with a chipmunk, no one came, so I thought they must be in front of me. So I started hiking, and I was already a bit annoyed that they had once again forgotten to inform me. When I arrived at the next viewpoint, I didn't find them either, and I thought, why aren't they waiting for me? Again, just in case they were behind me, I took a 45-minute lunch break, but they still didn't come. So my only explanation was: They're waiting for me at the end of the hike. It's really crazy, and I could "observe" this during the break, the melting process of the glacier. Because the ice is constantly breaking apart and it bangs every time. It really sounds like small explosions, and a woman also told me that when she was down at the lake, a new mass of ice fell into the lake. Sad and fascinating at the same time. The last part was super exhausting, and unfortunately, visibility was also very limited due to the smoke. I arrived at the top completely out of breath, and what can I say: No Kate and no CJ. I then had a one-hour break there, just to make sure that they weren't still behind me. The problem was that the weather changed every ten minutes. Between sunshine and sweating like crazy and wind and freezing. After this point, you could hike further, and since I know CJ and that he likes to test his limits, I wanted to climb the final mountain now. But after 20 minutes, I gave up because it got way too windy, and it would have meant that Kate & CJ would have waited for me up there for over 1 ½ hours, and no, not even I would have done that. 😅

After I was back down quickly, CJ and Kate were waiting for me at the car. We all wondered where we lost each other?!

Here follows the other point of view:

CJ and Kate went to the left at the lake. Probably, every time someone tried to spot them, they were hidden by rocks or the crowd. Unfortunately, CJ ran exactly to the spot where I had taken my first short break. We only missed each other there by a few minutes, and since Kate didn't want me to wait in the car later, they decided to go back to the car, and there they sat...for 3 ½ hours 🙈😅 I felt so sorry. So CJ and I were both a bit annoyed at each other, and Kate just felt really bad. We both made mistakes. I could have searched the lake better, and they could have told me that they were going in one direction. But as I said, with the two of them, you can communicate such things very openly, it's just that on two consecutive days, unfortunate mishaps occurred that could have been prevented with better communication.

To learn from our mistakes, we decided to go for another short hike around a lake nearby. 😂

In the evening, we had a nice encounter with wildlife. Our campsite was known for its deer population, and in the evening, I spotted a deer (Elk as it's called here) sitting in the bushes and was able to delight Kate with her camera.

We started the Wednesday with a visit to a café before strolling through the farmer's market. Then we hiked to the lake we had circled the day before. The completely beautiful blue lake was just incredibly cold, and I took forever to fully submerge myself for only 5 seconds. It was too bad that I didn't have a diving mask because even underwater, it looked amazingly beautiful. CJ then came up with the glorious idea of swimming from one side to the other. I knew he wouldn't make it, but I thought I'd let him try. Actually, CJ didn't make it, and on the way back, he had significant problems, so much so that I considered going to meet him. But since he never sent clear signals, I stayed where I was. CJ then emerged from the water and said it was the worst decision of his life and that he had almost died. Actually, he had huge problems and fought panic the whole time to avoid drowning. The situation is briefly described here, but CJ had a hard time with it afterwards. He needed five minutes alone and couldn't cope with it, so I hiked back into town alone and picked up the car to pick them up afterward.

I also told CJ to see this as a lesson and that sometimes he thinks too big. After this event, we didn't do anything anymore.

For the last day in Jasper, I chose a hike that runs continuously through an area with a very large wildlife population. CJ and Kate wanted to join me, so we drove to the parking lot. However, on this day, I had attached my bear spray in a different place on my backpack, and just as I was about to close it, there was a PUFF, and a considerable amount of bear spray escaped. I accidentally pressed the button lightly, and CJ got a full load on his left thigh. Kate only had minimal traces, and luckily, I also only had minimal inhalation and irritation in my eyes. CJ then had to wash his pants as well as possible in the river before I gave him mine, and then we started the hike. At least both of them got to experience the effect of bear spray. 😂

However, the wildlife population was so large that the hike was closed to normal people, so we couldn't hike along the trail. So we drove to the town for a short while, and when we met at the car again, we didn't drive to the next hike but to the campsite because CJ had done something you definitely shouldn't do.

If you come into contact with bear spray, you should definitely leave your eyes, mouth, and the area between your legs alone. Let's just say: CJ got it pretty hot between his legs 🔥😅 And so we went to the campsite for him to take a shower.

Unfortunately, we didn't go hiking afterward, so we spent the last evening together at the campfire. We also had very good conversations, which you can have very well with both of them because they are both very open and honest people.

Later in the evening, there was rain in Jasper for the first time, which was really good because there was a new forest fire nearby, and the visibility was rather poor. This rain turned into a thunderstorm, which I had never seen before. It was so bright because of the lightning that I woke up at night and couldn't fall back asleep. Plus, it was super loud because the rain was lashing against my car and the thunder did the rest. I have never experienced such a violent thunderstorm.

Unfortunately, the rain continued, so we left the campsite early in the morning towards

Edmonton

(Don't worry, almost done)

The approximately 3 ½ hour drive was accompanied by rain, rain, and more rain. It was already very exhausting to drive this route because you could hardly see anything, and the low-hanging clouds made me sleepy quickly. Eventually, I reached the provincial capital of Alberta, which is considered the largest northern city in Canada with about 1.2 million inhabitants. Then I dropped off CJ and Kate at the hotel and went my own way. This city looks so ugly that I didn't want to do much there. My first stop was the West Edmonton Mall. This mall was the largest shopping center in the world for 23 years (now sixth place). This 500,000 m2 shopping center includes not only about 800 shops and 110 restaurants but also two movie theaters, an amusement park, a water park, an aquarium, an ice hockey stadium, a lake, and a replica of Columbus' flagship "Santa Maria". In addition to numerous "normal" stores, there are also stores where no price tags are necessary because people there have enough money anyway. I walked through the building for more than 1 ½ hours without doing anything. However, the last half-hour is due to the search for the right exit 😅 As it got later and later, I only drove to the Elk National Park because my sleeping spot was nearby, and what can I say. After just a few meters, I had to stop because a herd of bison blocked my way. I actually saw bison, that was so cool. To be honest, I had imagined them a bit bigger, but still, I wouldn't want them in front of my car 😅

Today, it's really time to say goodbye, so CJ, Kate, and I will visit this park once again, have dinner together, and then probably say farewell.

All in all, I can say that the Rocky Mountains were an absolute dream. Nature showed itself from its incredibly beautiful side, and I couldn't stop being amazed. Traveling with CJ and Kate was mostly perfect too because we got along really well. Of course, there were some difficulties, but at least we could openly communicate about them. However, I also told them that I probably would have seen more wildlife if I had been alone because I would have done a lot more hiking; this has decreased especially in Jasper.

That's actually the only negative point: I had expected a lot more wildlife. Not that I didn't see any, but I really thought that while hiking, I would at least be able to spot black bears or even grizzly bears from a distance, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. That's really the only big negative point because I had hoped for a lot more. But you can't have everything, and nature was also quite nice to look at. :p

So, if you still have time after reading all this, you can take a look at my pictures. 😋

For me, it's time to continue today or tomorrow, and the next blog post could be written at a place where I feel right at home.

Nature-loving greetings

Samuel🙌