Mt Assiniboine

Taryne saw a neat photo on instagram, so now we are here!

Day 1

We flew into Kelowna in the evening to meet up with everyone and get our gear sorted before the drive to Canmore. Everyone except for Matt had gone to bed though, so we did too in their very comfy camper. The next day we set off in 2 cars to enjoy the mountains views on our road trip. We had few stops along the way with lunch in Revelstoke and arrived in Canmore to our hostel where we had a private room with bunkbeds!

Day 2

Rain in the forecast, not a good thing for a helicopter ride. We drove along a dirt road to Shark mountain where a helicopter would hopefully take us into the park. After waiting a while, the cloud ceiling lifted just enough that the helicopters could fly! Jen was right, this was something that was worth paying extra for, even though we missed the money-shot of Assiniboine while flying in. After landing, we took the short 2km walk to our campground and claimed two spots with a very nice view of the surrounding mountains. We took a quick stroll up the glacial basin, where we ran into a few climbers beginning their 2 day ascent of Assiniboine. Golden hour happened during dinner and the campsite cleared out to take in the spectacular sunset views.

Day 3

Hiking! Today we tackle Nub Peak, a nice easy climb up to a beautiful panoramic view of the valley. We set off to some foggy weather and as we climbed, the fog would ebb and flow. There was a nice, but quite windy fist peak, and an intimidating trail off to the higher second peak that we pushed on toward. It was still windy at the top but that worked a bit in our favour clearing fog to provide glimpses of the mountain tops among the valley. On our hike back down, the wind finally blew in our favour, fully clearing out the fog at Niblet viewpoint allowing for stunning views of Mount Assiniboine and it’s gorgeous glacial blue surrounding lakes. We finished our day relaxing by Lake Magog at the base of Assiniboine where Jen introduced us to a game she liked to play called, dump all our wine on the beach. We were not too enthusiastic about that one.

Day 4

A change in scenery today since we were hiking out back to Shark mountain, we were not going to see Og Lake. We decided to hike through a different trail through a narrow pass and shrubby, almost fall coloured, plains to Og Lake. It was an easy hike with clearly marked trails ending with a deep blue luncheon lake. The hike back to our campsite gave the impression of what hikers in must experience when first seeing Assinboine towering in the distance. We ended the day again at the beach on Lake Magog where only Mike was brave enough to go for a dip.

Day 5

Last day in the park and many km’s ahead of us. We woke up to rain, but there was no time to wait it out in hopes of drier weather and set off as quickly as possible. It was quite nice over the pass out of the valley, with some easy switch backs through grizzly mating territory. With the weather never letting up, I think I had it the easiest; my raincoat has a single front pocket where I put could keep my hands to stay warm and dry. I also had brand new boots that where still nicely water proof after my last pair disintegrated in the NWT earlier in summer. Everyone else ended up quite cold and wet. It was 28km to the parking lot, and only in the last few km, after turning to hail, did the precipitation stop and the sun make a full appearance. When we finally made it back to the parking lot, we cheers with cold beers and tried to appease a determined squirrel from stealing my seat. we celebrated the end of the trip with a nice dinner in Canmore before Mike and Jen headed off home. The rest of us camped for one last night at Tunnel mountain, where I found that I did not escape the wetness as my sleeping bag ended up being half soaked. With temperatures forecasted of 0 that night, I expected a terrible, wet sleep. Fortunately, wearing my raincoat to bed surprisingly kept me drier and I didn’t freeze.

Day 6

We said an early goodbye to Matt and Lindsay as the headed back to Kelona. We had a delicious brunch after days of dried food and then took a leisurely stroll to explore downtown Banff. It was a cute little town filled with tourist shops that Taryne relentlessly dragged me into in search of a sweater as she was cold. We tried some local teas to warm up and Taryne did end up finding a sweater. We picked up some local art as souvenirs and explored the small gardens at the Parks Canada Administrative Building with a beautiful view looking back at the downtown and Cascade Mountain in the distance. We then made our way to the Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum and learned more about the aboriginal history of the area. We then made our way back to our rental car - a massive pickup truck - and drove the short distance to our cabin, excited to have a real bed for the next few nights. The cabin also had a fireplace so we bought some wood to enjoy a cozy fire in the evening.

Day 7

Lake Louise! We booked 2 last minute shuttle spots to avoid the parking havoc. I convinced Taryne that the lake Agnes tea house was a nice easy walk and there was tea! Unfortunately while it was an easy, uphill, 4km walk, the line was very long, we waited for 30 minutes while only moving 10 meters. I then convinced Taryne that the other teahouse at the Plain of Six Glaciers would probably be less busy, and it was only another 16km, downhill, probably. It was thankfully a beautiful day and we made it to the second, only partially uphill, much more beautiful tea house and had lunch. I got a free tea in exchange for carrying a bag of garbage back down. The shuttle also went to Moraine Lake which was equally spectacular to Lake Louise IMO.

Day 8

Last full Day in Banff. We opted for some rest and relaxation, starting with the Banff hot springs to loosen our muscles up. It is right next to the gondola so we enjoyed lunch and some refreshments overlooking the area. Some great panoramic views, even with the overcast skies we had. We finished off our day with a short hike through Johnston Canyon as recommended by Missy. It is very beautiful and the hiking is very easy, but very crowded. We had dinner at a Creole place in Banff which had a very enticing breakfast menu as well so we went back the next morning for breakfast before catching the airport shuttle to Calgary and our flight home.