Day 5 - Tuesday, September 11^th

Mt. Robson Campground

Brrr… I went to bed with cold feet and now I am waking up with cold feet, although I am wrapped up in a liner inside a 20°F Cat’s Meow. Looking at the ceiling I can see drops of condensation just waiting to land on us the moment either one of us stir! It is still dark and cold outside. All it took was a short look at each other and we silently agreed it was not yet time to get up. I burrowed deep down into the warm comfy bag and went back to sleep. An hour passes before I once again bravely stick my head out. Brr. Where is that sunshine? Jerry gathers all his courage and crawls outside. I can see his breath as it hits the cold air and what is that white stuff on the windshield?  ICE!!!  We had gone from 75°F to 30°F overnight. Don’t think I want to hang around here to cook breakfast, so we pour into the car turn on the heater and head for the sunshine, wherever it may be hiding.

                The road follows the winding valley and as we drive along I can follow the sun, as it travels down from the top of the mountains along the ridges and ledges hitting the glaciers and tree tops and finally flooding the valley with the golden morning sun.

Peyto Lake was our first destination. It was but a short steep hike on a paved trail, though, Jerry definitely thought it “breathless”. The lake was like a hidden gem just waiting to be discovered. There were steep mountain walls on two sides, a huge glacier depositing silt into the lake at one end, and the other end of the lake was running into a creek, which flowed on into the canyon. We took a few pictures and wondered why so few people were willing to exchange a “good morning”, well; at least Jerry and I did our best to spread that Southern Hospitality.  

                Breakfast was grits and oats cooked at a million-dollar view of a lake. Ahh – the simple pleasures of life. No wonder why oatmeal taste so good out here – you are so busy looking everywhere that you forget to taste your food!

                Having satisfied our stomachs, we were off again. On one of the picture stops we found a trail leading into the forest. Our curiosity was awoken – had to find out where it went. It was an easy walk downhill and before long we were standing at a stream rushing by with great force. The current had overtime carved a deep path in the rocks like a canyon. Walking along the bank of the glacier-green water with the trees behind me and snow covered mountain tops up in front of me gave me back that sense of peace, freedom, and belonging that I had felt while thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail; however this time it was with all of my senses on alert scanning the scenery for Grizzly bears, mountain lions, and COGs!  Yet it was so awesome I just had to go on following that creek around the next bend to see what nature had in hiding. If only everybody could have the chance to see and feel the beauty of nature.

                A short snack helped us by the afternoon as we stopped to see a few more lakes. The late afternoon show was the huge Athabasca Glacier. It is so amazing and sad to see how fast the glaciers have receded. The landscape beneath the glacier at the terminal Moraine was filled with gravel, dirt, and big rocks with scratches, where the glacier had scraped the rocks during its retreat. I did not want to walk on the glacier as several pieces seemed to have caved in recently, and I had no one to go in a rope team with – as Jerry did not have his crampons. Better safe than sorry.

                When you enter Banff national Park you have 24 hrs before your entrance pass expires – we had to be out by 4:00pm. It was 4:05pm before we quietly sneaked out, pheew!!! Made it – barely!

                Entering Jasper we had to get gas – at the price of $1.13 per Liter, which is $4.35 per Gallon, not exactly, Tennessee prices around here. With those gasoline prices we better hurry and get to Mt Robson. Entering British Columbia from Alberta we gained an hour and easily made it to Mt Robson already at 5:30pm. Check-in at the campground was easy as all the spots were available. We chose one relatively close to the showers. While the black clouds accumulated we hurried up getting our gear ready for tomorrow’s adventures up to Berg Lake. The Mountain House meals had just gotten rehydrated as the clouds broke loose and a torrent of rain started pelting us. Quick, quick… Inside the car we jumped with all our stuff. I was cramped in a passenger seat with two big duffel bags, a daypack, and two dinners, while trying to balance a cup full of tea! The balance act was not made any easier by Jerry laughing at us. Luckily the rain subsided as soon as it had started. We got repacked, ate our dinner, and went for the showers. Yes, this time I got a nice long hot shower too.