How do I write this post without going into a series of clichés and superlatives?? Duncan and I have hit the Canadian Rockies!

We were determined to enjoy ourselves to the point that we booked two log cabins way back at the beginning of the year so we wouldn’t miss out on the authentic Rockie experience (Adrian! … sorry, that was a really bad joke :s ). We had organised five days staying at Lake Louise in the south, and then a further five days in Jasper to the north.

The experience of the north and south were just what I had hoped for; both offering a completely different experience of the Canadian Rockies. We quickly surmised that the southern area had all the breathtaking scenery, packed with some of the big icons like Lake Louise and Banff. The people, towns and areas there are perhaps a little more sophisticated than Jasper, which for us had a nice ‘raw-ness’ about it which made for a more authentic experience.

Way back in the beginning of the year I carefully chose our cabins based upon location and facilities so that we could really treat ourselves after having spent the majority of our time under canvas. We drove up to our tree enclosed wooden cabin at Lake Louise and opened the door to what we honestly thought was paradise. With wonderful wooden features from the 1940’s (when the cabin was first built), including a huge double bed, a little kitchenette, a bathroom (yes – inside!! No going outside to the toilette in the middle of the night – no sir-ree!) and a lovely potbelly fireplace just to add even more cosiness to wonderfully tranquil setting.

When we drove into the Canadian Rocky Mountain National park we did heaps of ‘oooh’s’ ‘ahh’s’ as one does when you see some of the most dramatic mountains unfold themselves in front of your eyes, but the mountains around Lake Louise took those breaths away even further. It was the seemingly impossible glaciers defying gravity and somehow holding onto the side of the mountain that truly took our breath away. As we rounded the bend and exposing these magical mountains, there was silence in our car. Words really did fail us to describe the majesty of what we were seeing (and unfortunately so did the photos – not that you would believe it).

Duncan and I did a great 7km walk starting at the base of Lake Louise and walking steeply to the peaks above for a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains and glaciers. Best part though…. the tea house in a rustic cabin at the top! Best incentive ever to take a hike! The teahouse is only open in summer and they have all their supplies helicoptered in once a year, all the other smaller items get carried up on a horse! Unfortunately the weather needed to be a little cooler because by the time that we reached the top we were both a little hot and sweaty and a ice cool water would have been better. But with a selection of about 100 teas I was not going to pass the stellar opportunity up. Duncan opted for a cool refreshing Lemonade, but I had a pot of Lapsang Souchong with best view ever J

We had golden autumn weather while we were in Lake Louise, perfect weather to go up a gondola and take in the surrounding mountain from a slightly different vantage point. The Lake Louise gondola was super sweet, I was a little nervous at first when I saw the steepness of the mountain and how the little open air seat trapeezed up to the top. However, with the fresh air whipping at our faces, our feet dangling to the earth far below and glaciered mountains all around, my fear soon melted away. As we reached the summit, we had not even a moment to gasp, before we were shuttled into a 4WD and ferried to a viewing deck 10 meters down the track. Thinking they were just being ultra efficient, it wasn’t until we were cordoned off that we were told that the reason we were was because there were grizzly bears in the area – did they say grizzlies???!! Awesome!!

And so began the wait. Duncan, I and the entire tourist contingent of Lake Louise were stuck on the 5×5 meter viewing deck for an hour while we heard the rangers on the walkie talkies declaring all the positions of the now three grizzlies that were surrounding us. Shaking the feeling that this seemed a lot like a feeding pen of international cuisine (very multicultural), we kept our eyes peeled. They came close, so close, but we saw nothing, nothing at all. Finally being let off the deck, we moved to another viewing platform, and got talking to a group of tourists who were at the interpretative centre down the road. They had the fortune to be treated to stand in the comfort of a fully catered viewing platform as a pair of orphaned grizzly cubs walked right below their feet in perfect photo distance – oh man!!! The photos were AWESOME!

Our five days in the southern Rockies also included going over into British Columbia and into the Yoho National Park for more hiking to waterfalls and lakes. No bears or wildlife though L. We found it very re-energising walking through the earthy, fresh mountain countryside then coming back to our little cabin seeing our bed freshly made (oooh housekeeping one of the little things that we got a kick out of!) turning on the jazz music on our little sound system lighting the fire and sitting back on the sitting chairs and relaxing… ahhh! One night we were even lucky enough to catch a lecture on wildlife in the park which was held in the library of our lodge. We may or may not have been the youngest by about 30 years, but we still enjoyed it!

All too soon it was time to head up north, on the three hour drive to our second log cabin in Jasper. Of course Mother Nature put on another spectacular show for as we drove down the dramatic icefields parkway. Not 20 minutes along our drive we saw our first bear! There he was, sitting nibbling on some berries right on the side of the road. The moment unfortunately was slightly ruined by the hordes of (sorry, no other way to put it) stupid tourists. Since Yellowstone we have been lectured to about the way we should act around wildlife, especially bears. They are wild animals and if they feel threatened they will potentially lash out. SO, to all those idiot tourists who were there that day, encircling the bear on all sides, in such a way that he had no escape, getting far too close to an unpredictable wild animal, then yelling out “hey!” “hey!” “oi!” “oi!” at the top of their lungs, in the attempt that he would look up, just in time for you to get a perfectly framed photo of Mr Bear – you are all idiots!

Further down the road we saw a moose wallowing in the water, and then a bounding coyote hunting. The icefields parkways is a drive where mother nature is so flashy and majestic and close that your mind tries to tell you that this can’t be all real. How does this happen? How do we see wildlife, glaciers and impossibly tall mountains one after the other, after the other, after the other in one drive??? Sigh – it is just so bloody awesome.

After all the magical sightseeing we arrived late in Jasper to our next wonderful log cabin, this time complete with full open fire and oven (for Duncan to whirl up some pretty awesome home cooked amazing-ness). Our cabin was just over the road from the glacier fed river, however no need to consider a swim in the chilly weather because the lodge had a wonderfully hot hotpool. Duncan and I spent every night during our stay after a long day of hiking in the hotpool soothing our muscles and looking up at the stars.

Jasper’s landscape was stunning, one of our days we hiked to a glacier (Edith Cowen) and got to the edge of the glacier lake complete with glacier icebergs that were close enough for Duncan and to jump on!, however what little wildlife we saw at Lake Louise made up for it in Jasper and was our fondest and most memorable experiences by far.

Autumn Is rutting season for elk and Duncan and I have already see some pretty impressive sets of antlers on quite a few bulls, but, walking out of our cabin on our first evening, we came across two bull elks on the lawn in front of our cabin. Amazed at seeing 2 bulls, it wasn’t long before they were both going hammer and tongs at each other. Duncan and I with the other guests stood open mouthed as we watched the two bulls on the lawn of the lodge, size each other up and clash with their antlers making sickening ‘crack’ sound each time. It lasted about ten minutes, and I don’t know if being female I reacted to the testosterone in the air (elk have testosterone, don’t they?), but it was pure adrenalin excitement, the unadulterated clash of animal against animal was breathtaking.

A day or two later Duncan and I made our way up to Moraine Lake about 1 hours drive from Jasper. We felt a little brave and decided to take a hiking trail off the main trail which warned about the danger of rutting elk (what evs, we had already seen those outside our cabin). After half an hour or so or walking we reached this beautiful remote lake which we decided to pause and take in the view, the name was Moose Lake and we joke as we approached that “ho, ho, wouldn’t it be cool to see a Moose”. So, while I was standing on a little peninsula admiring the view I hear Duncan behind me quietly, but unmistakably “with stress” say my name. I turned around and saw something large and brown merge above Duncan. A Moose about a good foot taller than Duncan lumbered over to us, sniffed us out and then continued past us into the lake. The moment was so powerfully amazing that I had to sit down, I was grinning so much that (and I am not afraid to admit it) I was crying. It was our private moose moment, just for the Buchanan’s – and it was wonderful.

To ensure that we had wildlife overdose, driving back to our cabin, there was another huge moose with wonderfully impressive antlers standing on the side of the road. Relaying our story in the hottub that night to couple who had been coming to Japer for 13 years they were flabbergasted at our experience. They had not even come close to seeing a moose – it seems we were very lucky. A memory that I will take with to the grave.

Of course it seems as though landscape is always trying to compete against wildlife to gain your attention and give you the best memories. On our way up along the Icefields Parkway we booked a 6 hour trek along the Columbia Icefield about an hour and half from Jasper. The Tour was a little expensive, but Duncan and I believed worth the expense considering the glacier has receded about a kilometre in the last 15 years, so our justification was that this was an experience that we could that we could tell our children about because it is very likely they will not be able to walk on this glacier or perhaps any glacier. It would be a guided tour right up into the depth of the glacier where we would experience crevasses, waterfalls and many other glacier phenomenons. Duncan and I were super excited. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas and we happened upon the 2^nd worst day of weather for the entire season (or so our guide told us). It was pretty terrible, but we certainly got the glacier ‘extreme’ experience. Every step was difficult because the strong wind could easily push you along the ice. As time passed more and more snow filled in bigger and bigger crevasses to a point that our guide reluctantly had to call the tour off because of safety concerns. We trekked about 4 km onto the glacier and saw sites that blew our mind. Although cut short we had an experience that we would be excited to tell our children.

Duncan and I had been excited about the Canadian Rockies leg of our trip right from the beginning and the long awaited anticipation didn’t dampen our experience…. not by a long shot.