Backcountry in Banff, Alberta (TR with p ics)

“LOL @ Roam

Think we would scare away the rest of the people living there?”

“nah - they're hardy folks.”

“hmmmmm.... If I lived in Polebridge I could have huckleberry bear claws for breakfast everyday...”

“yes u could.

and you could catch trout in the Flathead every afternoon.”

“I am so envious of you right now...I live in New Brunswick, Canada and I have been dreaming of the day I can go there. The air fair alone can be as high as 2000$ so it's not cheap and I would not have to go through the hassle at the border.

I send to you my deepest thank you's for sharing your trips with us like you did. I hung of each word. Trip Reports are the best. They kinda keep you going until your next trip.

Regards,”

““F’ing Canadian shrubbery sh*t!” ~ all of us

I was up first this morning but had no clue what time it was. I opened the vestibule and was greeted by thick fog. I could see nothing but our three tents. Where the hell did our view go?!? Within 5-10 minutes, Alpha was awake as well so he and I went over to get the food. It wasn’t raining but it was miserable and cold, windy and blah. Today ought to be a real treat! It was spooky to walk in because you couldn’t see anything. Remembering the digging, I was leary of what might be lurking just a few feet away. Fortunately, our food was intact so we were happy campers.

We sat on our packs and quickly made breakfast ~ Alpha’s scrambled eggs looked really good on this cold morning as I munched on a Pop Tart. Double yick. We were all able to eat breakfast before the rain came. It was 9am and we decided to lay low in our tents until 10am to see what the day would bring. MsKB bundled up in our bags and chatted while the wind and rain whipped around the tent. At 9:30, there was a break. We scrambled up quickly and packed everything up tight hoping the rain would burn off. I looked over Clearwater Pass and saw blue sky and in seconds…it was gone. It was surreal how quickly the view disappeared into the fog.

We were bundled up and cold as we made our way back over Clearwater to join the main trail to Siffleur again. We were happy to have the rain keeping the bugs away but it was still damn chilly! It felt like hours that we were pushing through low shrubs and trees. We were wet within the hour and our legs were stinging from being slapped by the shrubs. They were like little switches on our cold, wet legs. Poor Monty was still feeling sick, not really keeping much down and feeling weak, I’m sure. The rain just added insult to injury at this point. With no porn to look at, we just trucked along trying to make our destination. Cameras stayed in the safety of dry packs as we made our way through yet another valley.

Around noontime, there was a break in the rain. We decided to stop then and there to eat lunch. Alpha and I started a fire with his cotton ball/Vaseline firestarters in a little boulder field. At least we would again have some warmth while we ate. The smoke did wonders for keeping the pesky skeeters away as well. They were more of a nuisance to me than the rain at that point. We barely had time to eat when the clouds opened up again, stifling the fire and indicating that we should move along.

We decided that it would be best to keep hiking since the weather was crappy. We were scheduled to come out of the back country on Saturday but Alpha, MsKB and I still wanted to do Eiffel Peak so we made the decision to forego our light layover day of 3 miles and get out on Friday instead. Today was the day to cover some ground. Though we were hoping to make it to Isabella, Monty was feeling awful so we decided to just get to Siffleur and camp there for the evening.

It was horrible to hike knowing what beauty surrounds you and being 100% unable to see any of it. So depressing in it’s own right. Alpha decided today was the “wet tee-shirt” day because you know what is there, but you just can’t see it all. No backpacking porn for us! Around 3pm we reached an old warden’s cabin that was falling apart. It would have bee nice to have the shelter. The nearby fire pit suggested camping but the wet weather made it difficult to find a suitable place to put our tents. Where the hell did all of this moss come from? Not finding the sign for Siffleur campground, as the ranger had indicated there would be, we ventured further up the trail. Still nothing. At one point, we heard a yell and then “Come back!” Alpha and I thought the camp had been found (random camping but a site nonetheless). We backtracked only to discover MsKB had taken one heck of a tumble in the mud and rocks. She had lost her footing and cracked her forehead on a rock ~ the immediate goose egg appeared over her left eye. After shaking it off, we continued on, determined to just set up camp.

We finally found a suitable place for camp, hidden under the spruce trees and right next to a creek. It was going to have to work for tonight. Once we set up our already wet tents, Alpha and I once again set out to build a fire. There was plenty of dead wood in the area and we got a nice little blaze going under the shelter of some branches. Poor Anna, without a pack cover, had nothing but wet clothes and a wet bag. Alpha lended her some dry clothing while we all stood around the fire holding articles of clothing and sleeping bags to dry. We had the Great Boot Drying Session going on as well. Boots, insoles and socks littered the fire area. As the fog lifted, blue sky began to peak through the clouds and the sun made it’s first appearance all day. I can’t tell you what a relief that was. Our spirits were immediately lifted by the new day, although it was already 5pm.

We relaxed again and chatted some more. MsKB finally dubbed Anna with the well deserved trailname of Mockingbird. Perfect! Six hours around the campfire and we were almost out of wood! I think we forced ourselves to stay up until about 9:20pm before calling it quits for the night. Rainier Rice for dinner with smoked tuna. It was edible but it wasn’t that great.

We retreated into our tents where Monty and Mockingbird proceeded to giggle themselves to sleep. It was a nightly activity for these two! As predictable as Alpha and I whipping out the topos at every chance. After a “Goodnight Mary Ellen, Goodnight JohnBoy, Goodnight Elizabeth”, we settled down for good. The shortest mileage day we had, but so long because of the weather. Tomorrow is a new day!

All of my pics are now up at (3 albums):
http://community.webshots.com/user/kla1973-date
I ran out of memory card on the last day so I can't post the Eiffel Peak ones until I get Brad's photo CD. :|

Day 4 incoming...”

““Climb every mountain, ford every stream…”

Up and at ‘em fairly early this morning! I was the first one up and it was damn cold out there. The rain appeared to be gone but the dampness remained in the air. I noticed the fire pit was still hot so I quickly went about rekindling it. I thought the fire would be welcomed by everyone as they peeled out of their warm cocoons.

After 30 minutes or so, Alpha emerged from his tent. He said he hearf the twigs crackling and knew there was a warm fire to wake up to. Ya. Thanks for playing! MsKB was up a few minutes later, followed by Monty and Anna. Quick breakfasts this morning, no hot cocoa and no fussing! We were set to be at Isabella Lake for the evening to meet NorthernGuy but knew we would be hiking beyond that to make up for lost time. By 9:40am, we were on the trail. A new record for our group! Yay us!

Alpha opted to wear his Chacos to hike in for the morning since we had a stream to ford a few kilometers up theh trail. The hday was clear and we had amazing views once again. Our plan was to get to the Lake Alice area where random camping is accepted. It was going to make for a longer day but only about 7-8 miles out tomorrow (important if we wanted to secure a site at the Lake Louise Campground). We set out and got about 500 yards down the trail, only to discover the elusive Siffleur Campground. Are you flippin’ kidding me? We missed it?!?!? ARGH! Bad Mr. & Mrs. Topo! Bad! I did snap a lovely shot of Alpha saluting the sign though.

After about 2km or so, we hit our first ford at Siffleur Creek. It was relatively easy which made all of us, especially MsKB, very happy. We dried our feet, rebooted and headed onward. I found myself in a zone where I was moving along occasionally hearing Alpha whistling behind me as he walked. “Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy….” The thick shrubbery finally gave way to clearer trails which made it much more enjoyable and easy going.

At about 12pm Alpha and I reached Dolomite Creek and what looked like a really nasty, deep and swift ford. We decided to break for lunch and as I unpacked my wet tent to air out, Alpha scouted the best place to cross the creek. He reported back an area that was knee deep on him (thigh deep for the rest of us) but not too bad. When the rest of the group joined us, we happily sat down for lunch. Once again, the mosquitoes were brutal. I did the mosquito version of the fly-dance before giving up and starting a fire in the pit. Fire #2 today, thank you very much.

After lunch, we reluctantly packed our gear up and stared at the creek we were about to ford. Alpha gave Mockingbird his trekking poles while he used a new version of an ultralight pole himself. hehe He led the way and the rest of us followed suit. Although it was a bit nervewracking, it wasn’t entirely too bad. The water wasn’t as swift as it looked and the large rocks on the base of the river gave us good traction and stability. We did it!

Booted up yet again, we were off for Lake Isabella. Alpha and I found a nice steady pace and got deep into conversation about family, hunting, trails and whatever crossed our minds. I love hiking with people I don’t know because I always come away learning so much about them, as well as knowledge that they pass along. It’s refreshing. Neither of us were paying attention to the surroundings I guess because I happened to look left and noticed we were already about ½ way past Lake Isabella. “Um…look…isn’t that the lake?” We need to pay more attention to the porn!

We regrouped at Isabella and took an opportunity to take some more pictures. When the sun came out, so did the cameras. We had a huge marshy area that we needed to cross but struggled to find the correct trail. Ugh! Both Alpha and I scouted but to no avail. We decided to skirt the marsh as close to the trees as possible. All was okay as we found a completely unmaintained half-assed miserable side trail. Complete with blowdowns and hornets nests that become enraged when you walk past them. We had no idea where the trail was and kept checking the topos for verification and location. We hiked through marsh and dry creek beds, trying to find the cross connector trail once again. I faltered here but Alpha lived up to his new name by leading us through the wooded area until we finally heard “WOO HOO!” Ah! The trail! What a glorious sight after such wicked bushwhacking. It lifted the spirits of five bruised and wet backpackers.

As we made our way, we pulled off the trail to allow about 15 horses loaded with gear pass. They were on their way to the horse camp at Lake Isabella apparently. We stopped at a dry riverbed for a quick snack…still hoping to hike until about 6pm, since we lost time at the marsh area fiasco. We were pretty consistent with out order. Myself, Alpha, MsKB, Mockingbird and Monty. I’m not sure we broke that very often ~ force of habit after a few days I suppose. In another hour or so, we reached our final ford of the day. This one was much more manageable (not as swift or as deep), though it was the second time in the day we were crossing Dolomite Creek. Couldn’t we have just stayed on the same side?!?

On the other side of the creek there was a firepit and some logs. We sat there to dry our feet, apply more duct tape and reboot. As we did, another group of horses came through loaded with people this time! We joked that “next year…we get horses.” As they stopped to let the horses drink, we disappeared into the wilderness again. Within 10 minutes, Alpha and I came across a solo hiker that we stopped to chat with. Turns out he wasn’t really solo ~ he was with his Dad…who happened to be NorthernGuy! YAY! We found them! We were worried we had passed them without realizing it when we were in the marsh. NG came along just as MsKB and Monty reached us. After introductions, NG pulled 6 Labatts Genuine Ales out of his pack. Holy poo and yum! They were still cold! He joined us in a drink since there was an extra…so there we stood in the drizzling rain, gulping down Canadian beer in the middle of the trail. Life is good.

We chatted for 15-20 minutes before parting ways. Originally we were all going to be at Lake Isabella but because of our twice altered plans, we were forging on ahead. NG gave us a heads up on what we were facing (switchbacks, loose dirt and rocks, a creek and an obvious campsite to stay at). We figured about another 1-1 ½ km until the campsite at that point. Just needed to get ourselves over the ridgeline. Hiking in the evening after 4 days in the backcountry with 12 ounces of beer in you makes for interesting walking. All of us were loopy and lightheaded which made the climbing pretty funny. I was just trying to keep one foot in front of the other at that point. Alpha and I scooted ahead to find the site and stake our claim. We knew it was over the ridge. We found it! Eerie place though, flat dirt, big muddy puddles (?), scree piles and dead trees all over the place. It was a bbit creepy but it worked. Firebug at it again, I collected wood and we made a fire ring under the shelter of some trees. We set up our socks on sticks and our boots fireside to commence the Second Great Boot Drying Session.

After some negotiating with our extra food (out a day early is a beautiful thing!), we cooked dinner. The witches all had Mac ‘n Cheese while Mockingbird gulped down Mountain House Beef Stew and Alpha treated himself to Parker Pass Potatoes with cheese. Our Token Testosterone kindly cooked us some backcountry chocolate chip cookies for dessert which we decided would make a great breakfast ~ they tarted like pancakes and just needed some maple syrup to complete the meal.

We didn’t linger too much after dinner since we wanted a very early AM start to get out of the backcountry and get a campsite at Lake Louise for Friday and Saturday evening. By 9pm, we were all snug in bed and ready to pass out. I took Monty’s watch and set the alarm for 5:30am, everyone was ecstatic about that. I could tell.

Day 5 on it's way too...”

““Oh. My. God.” ~ uttered by all

Awake. But the alarm didn’t go off so it’s not 5:30am, it’s 6:30am. Dang it! Hey y’all ~ time to get up and get moving! We awoke to blue sky and chilly weather. Breakfast in bed (hello water and Clif Bars) while MsKB and I played “Name that Backpacking Sound”. “He’s stuffing his tent!” “She’s getting out of her bag!” “A Thermarest being deflated! No…rolled! No…deflated!” Ah, good times. By 8am, we were back on the trail. I had mixed emotions about leaving the backcountry ~ I no longer look forward to reaching the trailhead at the end of a trip but I knew that Eiffel Peak was waiting for us tomorrow, so that helped motivate me. There shouldn’t be much elevation change today, right? Riii-iiight. Away we went into the woods which wasn’t so bad until about a half mile up when I said “Sonofa!!!” and Alpha replied “Let me guess…obvious fire ring?” For the second night in a row we had come within 500 yards or so of our intended campsite ~ but missed it. Mr. & Mrs. Topo were 0-2 in that right. Why do y’all listen and follow us?

We passed the site and headed down a small descent. The trail was pretty torn up from the horse traffic the day before so there was a lot of loose rock and soil. However, seeing the horse tracks made it much easier to navigate these trails that often just disappear for no reason. It’s like following a maze…pick one and hope it’s the right one to lead you out. On several occasions, we reached dead ends. After the descent, we reached our final ford of the trip, and just as NG had said, there was a log waiting which meant no more wet feet! Woo hoo! I volunteered to go first over the small and slippery log. With trekking poles extended to the max, I proceeded to inch my way across. It was a little tricky (especially when you’re a klutz) but it was doable. I tossed my poles back over the creek to Mockingbird. She, Alpha and MsKB followed over while Monty opted to ford it instead. MsKB had the greatest look on her face as she crossed. It was kind of like a “HA! Take THAT you freakin’ log!” look. And it was the last ford, so I know she was happy about that.

We regrouped again and looked ahead to our destiny. 450 feet of switchbacks painted on the side of the hill. Alpha and I were on them pretty quickly keeping a good steady pace onward and upward, fighting the wind and the clouds that threatened to damper our day. I’m sure it was this point where he said “this should pretty much be our last climb of the day.” Liar! The wind was whipping us like crazy as we forged up the loose dirt and rocks. The clouds that loomed finally opened a bit and as we reached the top of the switchbacks, we were greeted by sleet. Wonderful. The peaks that surrounded us were covered with a light snow dusting from the prior evening and made for some incredible sights to keep our mind off the task at hand.

As I stood there in shorts, my Precip and down gloves I thought, “Hmmmm…this is new.” For the next mile or so we traversed up and down, coming to a dry creek bed and walking across the boulders and the creek’s edge towards the waterfall that came down from Lake Alice. Although the falls were large, they looked so small against the giant peaks and rock formations. Once again, we climbed switchbacks thinking we just needed to get over this one last ridge. Topo check! Yup…looks like one last ridge…or not? The rocks gave way to more grassy meadows and the final steep ascent to Dolomite Pass. There was much rejoicing and high fiving when we reached the cairn indicating we had reached our final pass. We looked around still not wanting to take our eyes off of the landscape as we continued gradually up across the meadow before heading deep down into a valley where Lake Katherine stood. A marmot welcomed us to the area and a solitary loon made his way around the clear blue waters.

The trail ahead lay flat through the valley, across the flats of Lake Katherine and up. No switchbacks in sight, this climb would surely test our legs. It was unforgiving and “relentless” (word of the week, perhaps?). Alpha and I summated the ridge first and found ourselves looking down on Helen Lake ~ the view in every direction took my breath away. There isn’t much you can say then except “Oh my God”. Magnificently high peaks, some snow covered, Crowfoot Glacier in the distance, all rising into the pristine blue sky. The vibrant colors never ceased to amaze me. We took a moment and just stared. We searched for a good place to take a break and wait for the group, but the wind was unforgiving so we decided to meet everyone at Helen Lake below. The dayhikers we could see at the lake crashed us back to reality with the realization that our backcountry explorations were coming to an end. We had spent 5 days marveling at scenery that very few people will ever see and now we were sharing the most amazing of the views with anyone that has a few hours to spare.

We descended rapidly down to the lake to await the arrival of the others ~ knowing they would take some time on the ridge to enjoy the view. Alpha and I were ready and raring to “haul ass” (or Hotel Alpha) to the trailhead now. He and I reached the lake and chatted very briefly with 2 foreigners who assured us the parking lot was not closed. Huh? We asked if it was CLOSE…not closed. No matter.

Within 20 minutes, our group was reunited and sprawled in the sun on the bank of Helen Lake. Dayhikers came in and we cautiously warned them to sit upwind from us. At 1:01pm, Alpha and I took off to the trailhead. We had NorthernGuy’s car keys and were going to take his car to the Mosquito Creek Trailhead, pick up Alpha’s car and zip to Lake Louise. Monty’s car was also at Helen Lake so it worked out perfectly for everyone. Our pace picked up substantially and at times it felt like we were floating down the trail. We continued to gawk at the landscape as several dayhikers cleared the way for the smelly duo. We paused briefly at two points for some photos of Crowfoot Glacier. The final descent was steep and a welcome sight. At long last, we saw the trailhead and let out a whoop! He-ey! We had gone 6km in one hour and 7 minutes. High fives exchanged, we jumped into NG’s car to shuttle it to Mosquito Creek. I remarked how odd it is to be back in a car and traveling so fast when we’d just spent 5 days walking.

By 3pm we were at the campground in Lake Louise and all checked in. What campsite? M-8. Mate? Uhhhh…yup! We hit the village for soap and cold drinks. We stopped quickly in the restroom and as I stood in line with 5 other women, I got a glimpse of myself in the mirror…as well as a good whiff of my 5 day out hiker stench. No wonder I was getting funny looks. MsKB, Monty and Mockingbird pulled in to the site around 4:30pm, as Alpha and I were hanging wet clothes and setting up damp tents. The shower that night was like something out of an Herbal Essence commercial ~ or it could have been. MsKB had gotten us little Burt’s Bees packages and the natural smelling soaps, shampoos and creams did wonders for our achy and tired selves.

Showered and clean, we headed into Lake Louise Village to have dinner and beer at the Pub to celebrate our trip and Mockingbird’s birthday all in one. Monty left shortly after dinner as she was still not feeling well and the rest of us went into the lounge for a few more drinks. We sat in the window that overlooked the parking lot laughing hysterically at the tourists. Skateboarders, the beige couple, the Saskatchewan lady (nice shirt!) and playing “Who Gets In What Car”. We were easily amused at that point but had a good laugh.

At 9:45pm we were back in the campsite. Eiffel Peak was waiting for our arrival. The temperature was to be dropping below freezing this night so Alpha, MsKB and I once again climbed into my NYX, with barebones set up, three people fit quite nicely. Another Alpha-wich for the night.

Final installment of Eiffel Peak Report next...”

“enjoyed your pics and TR. I had been working on some plans to hike the Canadian Rockies next yr. This just lets me know I made the right decision.”

“Glad you enjoyed it. I was pretty diligent about writing this one because it was so amazing and I didn't want to forget anything. ;)

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Banff, take it. And take me with you. The Canadian Rockies are truly incredible. Driving might be cheaper for you! ;)

And I agree about reports holding you over. I keep looking at my report and pics and thinking "holy crap! I was there!" :D”

“Sounds like a fantastic trip guys. I don't mind if I was never invited ::sniff sniff:: ;o)”

“I'm glad my ford faces amuse you. I personally think I do a pretty good Michael Jordan tongue imitation :P

We are so easily amused: "Name that Backpacking Sound", "Guess the Touron Car".....we are so ADD.”

““This whole damn peak is just a giant cairn!” ~ Alpha

Morning broke and I wearily crawled out of the tent. Alpha and MsKB soon followed. It was 6:45am so we were right on schedule to be at Lake Morraine and the trailhead by 7:30am. We are required by law to hike in groups of 6 until out of tree line so we wanted to get there early to buddy up with people. Monty and Mockingbird had decided to not do Eiffel and went into the town of Banff to do some shopping instead. The rest of us gathered our snacks, daypacks and water bottles (ahhh sweet freedom from the pack!) and headed out.

It seemed that everyone in Banff was at Lake Morraine that morning though they were all there to hike Temple, which is about 500 meters higher than Eiffel and requires an ice ax, helmet and crampons. We were perfectly content to stick with Eiffel. We met up with George and Cameron, a duo from Calgary, as well as 2 others to form a legal group of 7 for the “relentless” switchbacks (boy…the guidebook was dead on there). Alpha and I shot each other glances as one of the guys had his bear bell on his pack. “Dinner…is served!” Within the first 20 yards, we were down to five people. Bear Bell Boy and his friend dropped back immediately. 2.4km of switchbacks at a steady pace and we were at the junction trail of Larch Valley and Eiffel Lake Trial. One more kilometer until our spur where we would separate for the day. Yeah…we missed the spur and ended up bushwhacking yet again from Larch Valley to the Eiffel Ridge. I kept waiting for a bear to appear amidst the trees but no sign of wildlife. It wasn’t meant to be.

Once on the ridge, we stopped for an energy bar and to tape our feet up. The summit loomed about 3500 feet (in a little under a mile) above. The initial climb wasn’t too trying with some boulder scrambles and plenty of switchbacks to ease the ascent. The higher we went, the steeper the climb and the more difficult the scree scrambling. I felt great at this point and Alpha stayed pretty much on my heels. MsKB was having a good time and was determined but mentioned that her calves were aching from having to climb basically on her toes. I’ve never seen so much scree in my life. We had the entire peak to ourselves and loved that. The crowds had all gone to Temple, which we could see clearly from where we were. Better them than us!

The scree was extremely loose most of the way up making for very shaky footing and many accidental slides. I was glad no one was below because they probably would have been getting rained on by loose pebbles and rocks. We noted that helmets should be required on trails like this.

At aboot 8200’, MsKB said she wasn’t sure she was going to make the summit. Her legs were aching and she was tired, yet she pressed on. We hit some seriously shady places that made me nervous too. Descending the peak will prove to be a real ball of fun, I’m sure. At 9500’, MsKB made the decision to stop. I was sad that she wasn’t going to reach the summit but we had a heck of a climb, the trail was getting hairier, and she is smart to listen to her body and know her limitations. The view at 9500’ wasn’t too shabby anyway, and she had bypassed her previous highest elevation by almost 500’. I admired her at that moment and respected her decision to stay and wait for us to return.

Alpha teetered on the verge, for a moment I thought I would be hitting the summit by myself but soon enough, he began to follow. I stated “I’m too close, I can see it, there is no way in hell I am stopping now.” The last 600’ were pretty awful. Vertical climbing on loose scree sent many rocks zipping down the ridge. Some of the slight boulder scrambles were tricky, simply because if you lost footing, you could literally fall off the mountain. As I crested the first part and saw Temple, Pinnacle and sheer pay-per-view porn, my step quickened. Finally, the summit was in our sights. A giant cairn was about 100’ up. We are going to do this!

Then it happened. I stepped up onto the summit and gasped. Alpha, right behind me, was silent for a moment. My hands immediately went to my head and I just stood there, rotating 360*, awestruck and speechless by what was in front of me. The moment was surreal. This was my highest elevation to date, by a long shot at 10,124 feet. Peaks jutted out everywhere and you could see for miles and miles in every direction. Lake Morraine lay so far below us, gleaming the most amazing shade of turquoise I have ever seen. The 10 Peaks stood at almost eye level and Fay Glacier was bright in the sun. We could not have had better weather and a more perfect day for this summit. There is no word I could use to describe the scene or the feeling other than surreal. Alpha and I high-fived each other though I think I was on the verge of tears, unsure of what to do next. Alpha took a bunch of pictures, as I had used up all of my memory card (512mb!). We snapped photos of each other on the ledges and got one of the both of us with Temple in the background (and then there were 2…). I was so proud of both of us at that moment and it was definitely the highlight of my trip. Every scratch, bruise, burn, ache and pain became a distant memory as I sat in awe.

We leaned against the cairn, after laying our own rocks on it, had a snack and some Gatorade and chatted. Alpha thanked me for motivating him to get up there and with my confused look he responded “There was no way in hell I was going to let a girl get to the summit without me…I’d never live it down.” Probably didn’t help I was wearing a pink shirt. I was so glad to be able to share the summit and the moment with someone who appreciated it and respected it as much as I did, because it helped me to know it was real. We said goodbye to Eiffel Peak, Alpha did a little butt-slap dance (haha) and we began our descent back to MsKB.

But I missed the trail and we ended up in a not-so-fun, steep boulder scramble for a bit. Wedged in a rock crevasse, we inched our way down as I wished for Go Go Gadget legs. Some loose rocks came crashing down, hitting my leg before sailing down the face. Surely MsKB would know we were descending now. I lost all modesty on one scramble where Alpha commented I looked like I was in labor and my feet were up on rock stirrups. “Let me go take a picture” Ah … hell no! Once back on the trail, it’s wasn’t too bad. Steep, loose and slow, but we took our time and reached MsKB who had awoken from a little nap when she heard the falling rock. Onward and downward we went. 1km of vertical descent with only a couple of slides, falls and one pirouette, we landed safely on the ridge once and for all. Eiffel loomed behind us as we set across the meadow. MsKB and I did some twirling a la Sound of Music in honor of Frostyhiker.

We sang and laughed our way back to the Larch Valley Trail and in general had an amazing time. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. The 10 Peaks and Lake Morraine were spectacular from Eiffel. We even saw a snow slide off of one of the glaciers on 10 Peaks, it sounded like thunder booming in the distance.

We stopped briefly in the deli to grab cokes and check out the gift shop before heading back to Lake Louise Campground. At 4:30pm, we pulled in. Monty and Mockingburg were hanging out back from a full day of shopping in Banff. We loaded up the car and went for pizza and beer at the Pub in Hotel Louise. Grasshopper Beer is sooooo good. A quick stop in the village for some more beer and back to camp.

Our last night we stayed up laughing about the week and talking about the adventure and the porn. We looked at pictures on the digital cameras and noted that it seemed so long ago when we started but it went by so fast. MsKB, Monty and I were already close before this trip…but it was so great to meet Mockingbird and Alpha. We bonded, we laughed, we cried and we did it. The entire trip, travel issues, technical difficulties, backpacking and scenic porn could be summed up in one word that’s on the tee-shirt I bought in Lake Louise. “UNFUKNBLVBL”

Link to my pictures again:
http://community.webshots.com/user/kla1973-date

The End. :D”

“y2 ~ I'm quite certain we'll ALL be going back there someday. Wanna come? ;)

Katie ~ that was the greatest face ever! "HA! You freakin' ford! Take that!" :D Fords are your b*tch now.”

“Thanks LMG, I feel much better now.”

“I hate The End :(”

“Me too :( I miss our happy little quintet. Nothing but each other for days and days and then...just...nothing. :(”

“I was wanting a picture of Katie's shiner :D

Obviously Kim isn't doesn't have any Japanese. I think I normally carry enough memory card space to fit about 1000 pictures :D”

“It's a beauty of a shiner :)

I keep laughing when I think about the trip but, no one else seems to appreciate my stories :(”

“I hate pausing in the middle of a sentence to answer someone's question who comes up to my desk and then screwing up the rest of the sentence. I do that way too often :D”

“I have a picture of Katie's shiner on my phone. When she calls me now, I get "Bruised Katie" looking at me.

She's right ~ it's a beauty!”

“My pictures are up on webshots now :)

http://community.webshots.com/album/425819126WKdYkB”

“Wow! We were in Yoho and Banff National Parks from Aug 7-14. We visited Lake Morraine and Lake Louise on August 13!

Had a great trip hiking in Yoho National Park. I am working on the photos and trip report now.

Awesome trip, and like you I am mentally still up there!”

“Holy crap! We were at Lake Morraine (for the second time) on the 13th...when we did Eiffel Peak. Came off the peak around 3:30pm. :)

So you want to go back too, eh? Not a shabby way to spend a week. I'll be keeping an eye out for your report and pics. :)”

“We should all just get a Ranch out by Polebridge for the summer. How cool would that be?

Not quite sure about winter in those parts though. I'm smellin' some serious cabin fever for winters up there...”

“OMG!!! lilmountaingirl, That campsight is the kind dreams are made of. Thanks for the TR and Pics, Hope you dont mind that one is now my Background : )”

“great trip report lmg!”

“Enjoyed the trip report and photos lilmountaingirl. I'm glad you had a good time out here.

Sorry we missed you on the 13th. We must have been there at Morraine right about the same time.”

“lilmountaingirl - When you were at Morraine did you see a group of Amish or Pennsylvania Dutch people there?

Kind of bizarre to think we were there at the same time!”

“Still waiting for the picture of Katie's shiner :D”

“That's funny - Phil doesn't strike me as the Amish type. He pretty much looked like a regular guy when I met him a few weeks ago....”

“PS ~ sounds like a good idea to me. No cabin fever with all those peaks around...winter camping, anyone?

jackstraw ~ ooooh which one did you use? I certainly don't mind anyone using them!”

“It is odd we were there at the same time!

So funny you mention the Amish/Dutch. I didn't see a group but I saw one girl dressed in head to toe white with the bonnet on. I remember her only because she looked sooooo out of place in comparison. :D”

“http://community.webshots.com/album/426487198ghCCmW

Courtesy of Alpha God. :)”

“the one with the Caption " I'm really proud of this campsite". It is AWESOME!!!”

“lilmoutaingirl - Yup, that was them. It was the one guy and about three wives and four children. Jeez... I guess we must have been right there with you !”

“Yep - The bonnets were on the Pennsylvania Dutch girls. We were there at the same time...go figure!!”

“My friend Martin was in Banff for a week, before joing us in Yoho. I think you'll enjoy his awesome photos !!

http://www.pbase.com/mlachance/banff”

“WOW! He got some really beautiful shots. Do you know if he used any type of filter for them? The colors are amazing. The Morraine Lake & Peyto Lake photos are incredible...well, they all are...but wow. Thanks!”

“Beautiful pictures!”

“Ya lilmountaingirl, he's one of those guys that carries more camera gear than food for a week”

“Those were great pics from Trail Bum. He could hike faster than me even with setting up his tripod every 15 minutes!”

“Sheesh ~ I wouldn't want to carry it but I'm glad he did because I enjoyed the photos. ;)

More photos of our trip from Alpha:
http://community.webshots.com/user/huskerfever2”

“WOW!”

“Yeah...pretty much. Though my word of the week was more like "unfuknblvbl".

Banff is insanity. Sheer insanity. :)”

“Did they let Bearmagnet back into The States??”

“There were some technical difficulties and Bearmagnet didn't make it to Banff with us. He had to return to DC before we even got out of MT. :(”