Crumpets are sort of like tough pancakes.  Eatable but not something I will go out of my
way for.

On that same hike we did quite a bit of singing to the bears and even decided to turn around when we found big areas of dug up meadow land (grizzly bears dig for roots and bulbs and make a big mess) and a big pile of bear poop in the middle of the trail and we were heading right into a berry thicket.  We didn’t see him but he is out
there.

Locals we met in Lake Louise recommended the Lake Bourgeau hike.  The combination of a cloudy day and some altitude gain made it pretty chilly, about 45F, but it was a great one for animals.   We saw ptarmigan, mountain goats, and some really pesky gold mantled ground squirrels.  They are adorable and people feed them then they get annoying as they climb on you and get into your stuff.  Still, they were cute.

Study says, “groups of four”.

Banff National Park is the first Canadian nat’l park to implement mandatory grouping of hikers on the trails with high bear interaction risk. They have data that says it’s better for the bears and people to have fewer, tight groups than a continuous stream of individuals or smaller groups.  It sounded like kind of a hassle for us but worked out great.  We paired up with some folks from Vancouver and hiked out to Consolation Lakes from Morraine Lake. We never saw a bear, of course!
We did see deer, an American dipper, and a sandpiper (and I thought they
were just shore birds…wrong).

Animal overpasses and underpasses

The Trans-Canadian highway is becoming a four lane highway and has 8ft fence all along.  They have included lots of landscaped bridges and huge culverts to allow animals to get to the other side.  It’s amazing to see and they have some really cool motion triggered photography of animals actually using them.  This is a huge research
field….they need to track individuals to be sure there is enough movement to avoid in-breeding and to assure access to food.
Molly, looking for a big-animal vet/animal career?

Bears hit by trains….why on the tracks?

Dah………lots of grain spillage from grain hauler cars.  It lures them onto the tracks.  They are still working on what to do about that.  The parks and Provincial Gov’t and
Canadian Pacific Railroad have a big symposium in September to address bear deaths on the tracks.  Pretty unique topic I’d say.

We also learned why Moose have so much trouble with trains and automobiles.  In nature they are an apex animal so their instinct when confronted is to stand their ground or charge into the fray.  When they charge a train or auto they loose.  Oops!

The “Tea House” was built as a hiker’s guest house in the early 1900s. It still offers overnight lodging for hikers on multi-day trips. We were just out for the day but had to check it out. We relaxed in a cozy rustic log cabin, sipped coffee, and sampled home made sweets. It is a wonderfully relaxing place with a fantastic view of the towering twin falls that are just beyond the front door. Some rumbles of thunder kept us from dawdling too long though. We still got a little wet but not enough to dampen the day. Once again, we are tired but content.

$250.00 a night but “the outhouse and outdoor shower have
spectacular views”

That’s what a night at the tea House would cost you and it’s
a 2 night minimum too!   That does include meals but you still have to
hike in, with your stuff, about 2 ½ hours.
The hike does come with some wonderful views; lots of glacier fed
waterfalls, majestic mountains, and unbelievable examples of the power of
Mother Nature in the form of avalanche chutes and rock slides.  No bears today though!

We headed up to get a closer look at some of the many (over 100 they say) glaciers in the park. Unfortunately that meant a trail with 1000 meter climb in elevation. We just slowed the pace and were feeling petty good about our progress when….rats, there is still snow up here. Icy, steep snow over rough glacier moraine rock. So, we backtracked a mile or so and took the steeper route that was on the sunnier side of the ridge and made it to the top. The views were glorious. Stark grey rock and glacial snow creates an image that I think actually looks like a black and white photo. The bright clear blue sky looks surprising. Anyway, we are tired but content. We joined in at the sing-a-long campfire program and will probably crash before long.

I am sure that given enough time I could muster my now-dormant engineering brain cells to write the thermo-dynamic equation to answer the pressing question of…
Just how cold is this water that I am splashing my feet around in?
I pulled off my sneakers and socks and stepped into the rushing water of the Illecillewaet River. If you have been reading closely, you will recall that is the name of the glacier we hiked to yesterday. So I needed to know, if it was that beautiful dense blue ice just 5 KM up those rocks, what temperature is it here as it flows by camp?

Well, really cold! Kent carries a little thermometer/compass thingy and it said 38F. His foot agreed, really cold.
The other pressing question (this is one for fluid mechanics I guess) is: exactly how long ago was this water ice? Ah, life is full of questions.

We trekked past the foundations of Glacier House, a 1900’s Canadian Pacific RR resort, now just a historical marker and the foundations remain. Apparently it was quite the resort for about 25 years until relocation of the rail line through a tunnel by the Canadian Pacific RR cut-off direct access to the resort. It closed in just a few years after the tunnel opened.

We got pretty close to the Illecillewaet Glacier and the valley was filled with the sound of dozens of melt water waterfalls streaming out across the scoured stone and glacier moraine. The contrast between the heavily wooded mountainsides and the gray ragged peaks is amazing. Just beautiful. We sat for a while just to take it all in.