Eugene Visits the Canadian Rockies - Tri p Report

“Well, the Snow White thing didn’t work out too well for Eugene, so Phil, Phil’s Son (David), and Eugene flew from Los Angeles to Vancouver for a fabulous trip to British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies. Hodgeman met us at the airport in Vancouver on August 5 and the adventure began. Fortunately, Eugene was not made of beef so we got through customs without any trouble. We eventually met up with Canadians: Shaggy, Trail Flower, The Hiker, Del Sol, and Trail Bum for a great trip in the Yoho Valley and Little Yoho Valley areas of Yoho National Park.

First, a glossary of Canadian Rockies hiking jargon.

Flat trail – Trail is uphill with at least 5% grade

Easy trail – Trail is uphill with at least 5% grade

Slightly uphill trail – Trail is uphill with at least 10% grade

Easy switchbacks – Trail switchbacks uphill with at least 15% grade

Uphill – Buttkicker with at least 20% grade uphill

Steep – 30% to 100% grade. (suggestion: use the stairs kicked in next to the trail by previous hikers.)

Downhill – Uphill (downhill is not defined in the Canadian Rockies…all trails are uphill)

Biffy – Toilet, latrine, head, kybo

Backpacker (not in bluejeans) – Highest order of human being. Superior to all other life forms. Always deserves the right-of-way.

Backpacker (wearing bluejeans) – pseudo-backpacker who probably sleeps with food in their tent. Most likely strayed away from the Red-Green film set or one of the Prairie Provinces

Day hiker – Inferior life form taking up space on the trail and upsetting the balance of life

Lodge Guy – Person who dreams about or actually stays at lodges, huts, or tea houses instead of in a tent. With proper encouragement a “lodge guy” could become a “lodge worker” as a transitional life form.

Chateau Guy – Similar to a lodge guy, but with money coming out of selected orifices

Pasta - pasta (but pronounced wrong)

Privacy moment – polite way of saying that someone has disappeared from the trail to relieve themselves

Photo album:
http://community.webshots.com/album/426502901OoJfjM

Trip Report

Friday, August 5 – Flew from Ontario International Airport near Los Angeles to Vancouver. Hodgeman met us. After dropping off our gear at his place in Port Coquitlom, we went out for some awesome fish and chips at the wharf. Yummy!

Saturday, August 6 – Met up with Shaggy and Trail Flower at their home in Langley and piled into their Ford Excursion. Trail Flower is a real babe and if she ever dumps Shaggy, Eugene plans to move in on her. Drove to Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park where we stayed at the Glacer Park Lodge. Visited the train museum in Revelstoke along the way. Great museum and definitely worth the stop. Enjoyed some time in the pool and hot tub. After our swim we devoured the buffet dinner at the lodge…what a spread. Phil’s Son really liked the carved beef feeding frenzy. The search for a maple leaf began, as well as Eugene’s fantasy affair with Trail Flower.

Sunday, August 7 – After a great buffet breakfast at the lodge, we drove to Yoho National Park picking up more souvenirs along the way. Still couldn’t find a maple leaf for me. We hiked in 300 meters from the parking lot to our first campsite at Takakkaw Falls Campground. 300 meters is a great way to ease into a week long hike…not too short—not too long. Hiked a short distance to Takakkaw Falls where were all took entirely too many pictures. The falls were spectacular. “Tak Falls” is fed by melt from the Daly Glacier, which is a finger of the Waputik Ice Field. Glacier melt contains silt which makes the river water a pale blue. Glacier water is cloudy and looks different than snow melt. Likewise, the lakes fed by glacier melt are more green than blue…and very beautiful. Not long after we got to the campground, Trail Bum showed up. Not long after that The Hiker and Del Sol also arrived…our group was complete. Eugene begins to sense that he would like to get to know Trail Flower a little better.

Monday, August 8 – Hiked 6.6 km to Twin Falls Campground. Campgrounds in the park have pit toilets, picnic benches, and bear poles!!! Awesome! After setting up camp we day hiked 2.7 km toward Yoho Glacier. We got some great views of the old glacier field and the Yoho River. Back at camp Phil met some nice people from Saskatchewan. Passing hikers seem to be amused that I am along on the trip. Eugene and Trail Flower continue to get acquainted.

Tuesday, August 9 – Big Day!! 11 km of uphill and contouring around Whaleback Mountain. First we hiked uphill to the Twin Falls Teahouse…looked like a great place to stay if you want someone to cook for you! From there we had great views of Twin Falls. Next we switch-backed up the mountain to the top of the falls where we had a long break. Great views and lots of water to enjoy. Next stop was the summit of the Whaleback Mountain trail (7250 ft.) for incredible views and lunch. Our final leg of the day was a beautiful hike down to Little Yoho Valley with incredible views of wildflowers and greenery. Just before entering the Little Yoho Valley Campground we passed the Stanley Mitchell Hut which is part of the Alpine Club of Canada hut system. We had to share our camp with Cadets from Quebec who were in training. Wouldn’t have been so bad, but they always got up at 4 a.m. Trail Flower is looking better to Eugene every day.

Wednesday, August 10 – 8 km round trip side hike to Kiwetinok Lake and Kiwetinok Pass for incredible views and total privacy. All uphill, of course. Hodgeman, Trail Bum, Shaggy, and Del Sol scrambled up Mt. Kerr like it was made out of stairs! Great job! Bad weather started to come in as indicated by hail that began to fall. We hurried back to camp. Hodgeman set up a tarp over our picnic table and we were able to congregate and watch the rain and hail. Too bad those cadets didn’t have a tarp…they had to bivouac in their tents. Temperatures dropped below freezing overnight. Those young French-speaking girls don’t seem to be interested in gnomes…what’s up with that?

Thursday, August 11 – Packed up and headed out on a glorious day of hiking over the Iceline Trail. The trail skirted the bottom of the Emerald Glacier. We hiked 10 km with constant stopping for pictures and great views. The high point was 7250 ft with a 360 view of Yoho and Little Yoho Valleys and at least four glacier fields. Definitely the premier photo op of the trip. After encountering numerous day-hikers who thought they had the right to see those views also, we made it to Little Yoho Lake Campground. The lake was beautiful and different than all the rest. Little Yoho Lake is fed by icemelt only, not glacier melt. This is were we met the weirdos. One guy was camping nearby and let his dog run around like it was cute or something. We think his “belt had missed a few loops.” We met a few other campers who seemed to like to keep their food in their tents…bad idea in grizzly country. The Hiker and Shaggy went skinny dipping in Little Yoho Lake. They seemed to enjoy it (show offs!).

Friday, August 12 – 13 km round trip day hike along the Wapta Highline to Burgess Pass. We passed the Burgess Shale Field which is world famous for fossils. Visits to the shale fields are only by permission, so we could not go up. We did see some fossils in the shale along the trail. We had great views of Emerald Lake for most of the day. Sadly, Del Sol and The Hiker had to take off for home to attend a wedding on Saturday. It was too bad because they wanted to stay with us. That night Trail Bum and Phil’s Son spent almost 2 hours with their cameras and tripods trying to capture pictures of the meteor shower and other night shots. They seemed to have fun in the freezing temps.

Saturday, August 13 – Hiked to the parking lot (4 km). After a quick clean up and short drive we were in Field where we ate Buffalo Burgers at the Kicking Horse Lodge. What a great meal! More souvenirs, of course, at the visitor’s center. Then we headed to the West Louise Lodge where we were going to spend the night. We showered and took dip in the pool before heading out to shopping and to Lake Louise itself. Hooray! In West Lake Louise we finally found a maple leaf for Eugene! We visited Moraine Lake next, then spent some time at the Chateau Lake Louise…quite a place. The crowds at Moraine Lake and Lake Louise were a bit much and the sun position was not good for pics. We went to dinner at one of the nearby lodges and had a great time. After we got back to the lodge we were amused watching Trail Bum cram all his stuff into his backpacks…never knew you could stuff a backpack like that!

Sunday, August 14 – Shaggy shuttled Trail Bum to Lake Louise so he could catch a bus to the airport later that day. The rest of us headed back to Vancouver, stopping for lunch in Merritt. Phil and Phil’s Son couldn’t resist the fish and chips, although not quite as memorable as their dinner in Port Coquitlam. After a 9 hour drive and watching some of an airshow as we passed by, we parted company with Shaggy and Trail Flower in Langley. Eugene’s heart sank as I said good bye to Trail Flower…nuff said. Phil, David, and Hodgeman dropped off their stuff at Hodgeman’s place and went in search of BC Salmon. They found a great restaurant and enjoyed a fine meal complete with appetizers and dessert.

Monday, August 15 – Hodgeman deposited Eugene, Phil and David at the airport around 5:30 a.m. After standing in numerous queues then made it on the plane and arrived home safely with all their baggage!

Eugene, Phil & David had a great time in Canada and looks forward to seeing their Canadian friends again.
last edited: 8/18/05 6:31:32 PM”

“thanks for the glossary!”

“Oh, man, I'm havin' flashbacks!

Nice country, eh?”

“Great pics! It looks different without all of the forest fire smoke....”

“Welcome back! Those are some awesome views. The glaciers look really healthy compared to what we saw in the Wind Rivers last year. Do you know if that's because of this winter or being further north?”

“You forgot one type of uphill:

New York Style: This is the steepest possible type of uphill, and occurs when the grade actually exceeds 100%, making you wish you had brought your climbing rope

You also forgot the most inferior life form:

Tourons: Lower than a lodge dweller, these scaredy cats don't even dare to step off of paved surfaces and get out of sight of their $40,000+ gas-guzzling SUV's”

“I could stay all day at a place like this...eh?

Great pix and report!”

“You said it Wind Walker!

Amazing!”

“Windwalker - that pic looked more like a painting to me, not a photo!

The ice fields were amazing when you got high enough to get a good view.

PhantomSoul - We saw tons of Tourons at Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. Interesting note: The day we hiked to Kiwetinok Pass we saw only one other person after we forked off the main trail.

wannabp - We were up north with the ice fields and glaciers...something we don't see on that scale in the states.”

“At first glance it does look like a Hollywood backdrop placed behind you :)”

“LMAO - I love the glossary Phil, and the report.

It's so hard to take a bad photo up there that I'm going to have a heck of a time paring it down to a reasonable number. This was my first trip into Yoho with a digital camera and I shot a lot of panoramas as well. Hopefully I'll have some ready to go over the wekend.

I'm so glad you guys enjoyed your visit here. It was great to have you along !”

“Hodgeman - Glad you liked the Glossary...could probably add a few more things. In fact, I forgot the most important one:

eh? - huh? don'tchaknow, hey, yaknow, (and so on).

Also, that was only Eugene's album...I still plan to make another one for David and I!”

“And Hodge--We had a GREAT time. Thank you so much for taking care of us!”

“Life is just good after a Canadian experience and Hodgman's hospitality. Its amazing how he can do it seeing how all he makes off the deal is your spare Canada coins that you don't have time to exchange. Glad you're home safe and the Griz didn't get ya. Awsome pics.”

“AWESOME pics....and a great trip report....thanks for sharing!!!”

“Oh, How I love BC! Awesome pictures and TR Phil.

We have to get back that way next summer!”

“Eugene......I miss you!!!!! I'll let you know when my flight arrives, this time apart is excruciating ;-)

If Eugene doesn't already have a fan club, can I be Prez? Pretty please with sugar on top.

On second thoughts, maybe I need to join EugeneAnon.

I have some pics, posted early for my non-hiking friends (yes, we all have them).
http://www.shargool.com/YohoAugust2005A.htm

Hodgeman, it was a fantastic trip, as always. Phil & David, it was terrific meeting & hiking & eating & chatting with you.”

“trailflower - Great to see your post! Nice pics!

Yes, it was great meeting you and Simon! Looking forward to a future hike!

P.S. Eugene misses you. He just stands there staring into the distance.”

“"lunch with a view" unn hunnn


shorts a little tight huh?”

“Beauty eh!”

“Eugene, or his double apppeared on WGN this morning. Can't find the link. It was a spot about "slave trolls!" :-0”

“excellent TR and pics Phil.

dang two threads in a week about the Canadian Rockies. Next yr I will be up there.”

“Got some good shots there, trailflower
:-)

.... and welcome to TT !
last edited: 8/19/05 5:39:49 PM”

“Phil - some additional "Hodge" definition add-on's:

Easy to Medium Difficulty Trail - Look for climbing rope dangling from tree while neck hurts from looking up at trail.

Rain forest trail - Pack Hip Waders!

Northern Exposure - Don't look down! You've GOT to be kidding!

Great pictures! Fun trip report! Hopefully Hodge had vinegar for his fish & chips! (It can get ugly!) Glad you had a great time! (Didn't you have fires in that area last year Hodge?)”

“Great TR and Pics, Phil. I so miss BC. Gotta get up thar next summer.

Trailflower, great trilobite! Were you guys hiking in the Burgess shale Fm?”

“Rockman - Yes, we walked past the Burgess Shale Field, but could not go in without special permission. I got several fossil pics from the shale along the trail also.

A group of people behind us was on a tour with the National Park Guide. They did go up to the fossil beds for a good part of the day. They passed our campground both ways. My idea would be to book spots on that tour next time and join them. That would be awesome. I found this: "The hikes are led by licenced guides and limited to groups of 15. Hikes to both locations are lengthy, strenuous all-day endeavours on the steep, scree-covered slopes of Mount Field above Emerald Lake. The tours begin in June and continue through October, weather permitting. For fees, schedules, and reservations, contact the Yoho Burgess Shale Foundation, (800) 343-3006" The cost is $70 Canadian.”

“Hi Phil !

Thanks for the report !”

“Lady Hiker - Actually it was 2 years ago that we had the really bad fire year, and the Vermilion & Beaverfoot fires among others smoked out or closed the parks and forests. Although last year was quite dry also.

This year has been a little more typical in that regard.”

“
I like the sound of this one...
Michael Peak”

“I love the Eugene photos! The scale model, in front of the glacial lakes, he adds color to everything! That was a great trip! It looks better without the smoke we had 2 yrs ago!

The falls by Yoho (trailflowers pics) have a lot more water than when we were there.

Great trip report and pics! Good job as always, Hodge!”

“SN makes a good point, if it hasn't been made before: Hodgeman does a super job of trip planning and making sure everyone is having a good time. From transportation and lodging to eating at the best places, he did a great job. Another nice touch was bringing his siltarp along...great for providing a dining cover, shower curtain, or sleeping shelter when needed.

Thanks again!”

“I really do enjoy showing off the neighbourhood. The next best thing to seeing it for the first time is taking friends who have never been
:-)”

“Got the group page started and the first half of my photos are up
:-)

Yoho 2005”

“yeah.. and I didnt want to leave!

must build a lodge in backcountry.”

“For some reason, the thread title reminded me of a John Prine song....”

“Hodge - Like your pics! Can't wait for Part 2!”

“Ditto!”

“Okay.... finally got a chance to finish my photos

Part 2

Hey Phil's Son - I've been waiting to see your shots :-)
Did you get the email I sent ya?
last edited: 8/24/05 4:52:24 PM”

“All of them great Hodge but the moonrise is worth special mention. I'm getting a passport. Tarzan out!”

“Holy crap...how did we NOT run into y'all? Ok, besides not knowing what you looked like. When were y'all at the Outpost? We ate there on Saturday night after hiking Eiffel. Good pizza and Grasshopper beer. ;)

Beautiful pictures, btw! :D”

“We ate there on Saturday night also...several had pizza and grasshopper beer. My son and I really enjoyed the prime rib.

Our food server was cute French girl we were trying to hook up with our French Canadian, Martin...but she claimed she already had a boyfriend.

Can't believe how close we were at Moraine Lake and the Outpost!!!”

“Did you happen to notice a semi-rowdy bunch sitting at the bar? Where were you sitting? There were a couple of groups in there at the time.

We split a couple of pizzas and had a few Grasshopper's (my new favorite beer!) http://community.webshots.com/photo/425819126/425843107GzdkSP

[cue "It's a Small World"]”

“We did have another group sitting beside us. We were actually tucked in around the corner to the right as you come in the front door !

Small world for sure !”

“Wow, Phil. That sealed the deal on me going hiking in the Canadian Rockies sometime soon.

I really enjoyed the pics! Very, very nice!”

“lilmountaingirl - OK. From now on you need to wear a hat that has a great big TT on it somewhere so we can see you!! Too bad we didn't have Eugene with us at those places!

Roseymonster - Yoho was quite a place. The scenery was different than the Sierras. Clouds were very picturesque the whole time.”

“Great report Phil. Del Sol and I had a fun time hiking with you guys and it will remain one of my best trips this year. My photos will be posted soon on the group page.
Here is a link to my report on Club Tread.
http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12890

Also you can see what we did the week before we met up with the group.
http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12739

It's been a fantastic summer this year so sorry for the long delay in posting.
Russ
http://vancouverhiking.tripod.com/”

“Woah..... it's like a blast from the past ... The Hiker posts on Trail Talk !!
;-)”

“Thanks! Always nice to look at more pics from the summer's adventures! Great hiking with the Canadian group. Say hi to Del Sol.
last edited: 9/08/05 9:10:36 AM”

“FYI: Eugene enjoyed Canada so much he went out and bought a new keyboard for his computer:


last edited: 9/10/05 2:38:36 PM”

“good one Phil..lol”