Rocking the Rockies in summer with Mum and Sis - Part 2

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I had spoken about a fear that was growing inside of me, a fear that make people desperate, make them panic, behave in ways that are not natural to them. That fear is created by the true ruler of our world, and the invisible poison that can dictate people's actions, opinions, socio economic status. It is Money! I had never really seen money as something hugely important. I've only ever wanted enough to survive and live a happy and healthy life. That might sound pretty selfish considering the number of people I have seen right around the world who live on the streets, begging for just a single dollar, preying for a bite to eat and a warm and comfortable place to sleep. In some cases, this has been a fate placed on people that can't be helped, but in other cases, its decisions that have caused them to end up like they have.



I had only come to Canada with a certain amount of money, thinking that would be more than enough. At the time, I had not planned to buy a car, or play Aussie Rules Football. Lucky for me I had done both of these as I saw more of Alberta than I would have otherwise and met some great people through the footy group. My bank account was running thin. Circumstances I had never considered or predicted had eaten up some of my funds and I my mind was flipping on opinions to do a New York tour that included Niagara Falls and Toronto, all places I wished to see. I feared that if I wasn't careful, I would have nothing left. Now you may say, you could sell your car in Canada, your car back home, no issues there. What are you worried about? A carefree person with a more positive outlook on life would probably adjust and consider this option if they needed to, but I had never felt in a position where I felt like money was leaking through the small cracks of my bank account. In fact, how I was perceiving the situation, it felt like I was hemorrhaging money! I was scared, and combine this with a hint of tiredness and driving fatigue, I was concocting the emotion of anger. As my closest mates would tell you, this is not the first time I have done this. It is a fault in my genetic make up and one always brought on the onset where a sensible solution is clouded and I feel trapped and panic. I fear this my have dampened my time with my mum and sis and when I look back on it now, I feel nothing more than regret about how I handled some situations.



LAKE LOUISE - CANOEING, THE SIX GLACIER TEA WALK, LAKE AGNUS, MIRROR LAKE, HIGHWAY 93

Enough of the back story for now, the next morning in Lake Louise and I had managed to convince a somewhat skeptical mum into canoeing on the beautiful Lake Louise. As some people know, including some teacher mates I went Kayaking with in Kangaroo Island some 9 years ago, I like to do thing like a bull at the gate. Fast and at my best. Never relaxed and enjoy the experience. Whether it was maturity, or just the hypnotism of the beauty that surrounded us, this experience I was able to soak up and wish it would never end. Paddling the amazing turquoise blue water caused by the silt concentration in the water that comes from the runoff from the mountains was a dream I have had since I first saw a picture in the paper of Lake Louise, some years ago. It was just so therapeutic to look at the surroundings of the steep, vertical mountain edge on our left, the thousands of green trees that blanketed the mountains on the left and the Victoria Glacier that fought hard through the cloudy sky to give us a view of its beauty as we paddled towards it. It was really good to share this moment with mum and sis, I was so proud that mum had given it a go. As much as she will deny it, her paddling got better and it was great to work as a team as we paddled. It was one of my favourite experiences of my whole trip, and not even the damp, cloudy, weather could wipe the smile off my face. The view on the return paddle of the Fairmont Chateau was simply awesome and it is an experience I recommend you put on your bucket list.



The rigorous exercise resume that my mum and sister thought I was putting them through continued as we started the 3km hike, again up a moderately steep, continuous incline towards Lake Agnus. I was very much looking forward to seeing this in the summer, as well Mirror Lake as I had seen them both covered in ice and snow and also studied pictures of their beauty in summer. However the blue water, the colour much stronger and clearer than those who possess amazing blue eyes would fail to present itself. The sunlight is a major factor in creating such colours and since the clouds had once again decided to hide the sky from eye sight, the true potential of its beauty could not be seen on this day. Having said that, both spots were still very nice and worth the walk to visit. Unlike other hikes we had done, this one did have flat spots and can also be done by horse back as well, if you wish to enjoy such experiences. At Lake Agnus, the unloved, tatted wooden cabin I had seen in March, was now a flourishing tea house, that had flowers surrounding it, and looked clean and well presented. It was also a popular spot for people to visit while venturing to Lake Louise. There was also another tea house a further 6km from where we were. This walk was known as the Six Glacier Tea House walk and this was one I had scheduled into our itinerary. By the time we had wound our way up the hills, through the trees that surrounded us, admired the breathtaking views that revealed themselves at certain stages of the walk, it was lunch time in mum and sis's view. So again we parted ways for the short term and I went on the adventure of the walk to the second tea house, while mum and sis enjoyed the beautiful serenity around them and the produce that the Lake Agnus tea house provided them.



I had seen pictures of the footy boys hike that I would have gone on had I not been with mum and sis and coming here 3 days later. They were lucky to have amazing weather to hike up to the Big Beehive which was a further extension of the Lake Agnus walk and on the way to the second tea house further on. This is one view of Lake Louise you must experience, maybe the best view of it in my opinion. The photo I will supply will not do it justice as the weather has corrupted its beauty. The weather tried valiantly to impact on my walk and in some ways it succeeded. The continuous rain made the steep track slippery, drenched me so that its chill would soak through to my bones, but I was not going to be restrained by excuses from what i had set out to do. On a great day, you would be privileged to see amazing flora and fauna, amazing views of ice glaciers but instead I saw cloud and used my imagination to picture the rest. It seemed that I was not the only one to ignore the weather as people, whether it be on horseback or hiking had come in their droves to see the tea house that was surrounded by the six glaciers at the end of the valley. I did want to stop to get a hot chocolate or coffee but the tea house was packed and again, the time I had agreed to meet mum and sis was fast approaching. The view on the way back of Lake Louise with the Chateau in the background was also quite breathtaking as was the treat I was provided with by the slightly clearer weather that produced amazing patchy cloud formations that combined with the mountains and the glaciers to provide some impressive sights.



The drive down Highway 93 was not what i had hoped it would be! It was very similar to my first drive along this famous highway in March. The curtains of clouds once again where only revealing some of its riches and I had hoped to try and get through the Athabasca Glacier at Columbia Icefield, Sunwapta and Athabasca Falls before reaching Jasper, but time and weather only allowed for on stop. We did manage a quick stop at Crowfoot Glacier and Bow Lake, as the weather at the time was quite good. On our return from Jasper, I was going to drive to Johnson Lake and Kamloops when traveling to Revelstoke, but since we did not get the full experience of the highway, I changed those plans.



JASPER - THE OLD FORT, MALIGNE CANYON, MALIGNE LAKE, PYRAMID ISLAND

The next days adventures were nearly all experiences I had enjoyed before, but today I was going to experience Maligne Lake, another recommended spot for sight seeing enthusiasts to explore. The day did not start as well as I would have liked and this is where the money story becomes relevant. I had only a small amount left in my savings, which was barely enough cover what I needed for the New York tour. I also had realised that the Deer Foot Lodge had pre-authorized for most of the money from my everyday account and taken out what I needed to pay for the hotel. It was $600 I could not touch for a week. Little did I know that the Wallier Stube had pre-authorized $260 from my account as well. I had assumed they hadn't taken out the tip, so I thought I had at least $200 in my account, which would be enough for petrol and food until payday if I was sensible. So I went to get petrol and pay for it on my card! Declined! What the? Went to pay for $20 worth of petrol again. Declined! I started to panic, I feel an aggressive nature take control of my body. How could this be possible. Deep breaths were what I needed and a calm mind, but a poor nights sleep as well as the the holiday catching up with me had blocked that mind set from my conscious state. I went to pay inside and again, the words declined appeared on the screen. Angrily I through my other card down which only had money to pay for my Australian bills on it, such as insurance, and other things. Just enough for that only! I did apologise for my little tanty, but the bloke serving behind the counter would be quite within his right to call me something that rhymes with anchor!!!!! I got in the car and slammed the door. The silence as we drove to the old fort was awkward and I could feel mum and sis not feeling safe as I drove, rather sensibly considering my state, to our next stop. I parked the car and checked my bank accounts and saw that the Walliser Stube had taken out the $290 dollars on top of their pre-authorized amount. So I had $900 I couldn't touch for about a week, and no money in my account and pay day was a week away! If my savings were a fuel tank, the empty light was flashing vigourously! I had never been so scared about finances in all my life! Now before you may have some form of pitty on me, I relate back to my earlier comments about decisions we make and this had placed extra stress that maybe I didn't need to place upon myself. I have invested in a project I wish to keep secret for now. Only my English Coordinator back home, my family and a friend back home know of what I am doing, and that's how I intend to keep it for now. This project also has eaten into part of my savings and something I will be paying off up until October. I had also applied for my tax return which I knew would be coming in a few weeks time! But right now, I needed money, otherwise the bills that waited when I returned would not be paid; never had I not paid a bill. Since mum had paid for my future Alaskan Cruise I said I would pay for all the hotels, petrol and some meals on this trip (the meals was shared throughout because of my situation), which now looked like I would struggle to pay for.



What I needed was a walk to calm me down and the old fort, as I have mentioned in a previous blog has a 135 metre elevation but is only 600m long. Mum and sis tool one look at the elevation and said they would chose the longer route to the top. Whether adrenaline was controlling my body functions or I had become alot fitter since I last hiked it, I found myself racing up to the top. I waited for a while for mum and sis and had feared they had got lost. So I started to walk the long route towards them. The extra walk gave me time to reflect, calm down and sort my selfish, frustrated mind out and after walking a good kilometre and a half, I saw mum and sis working their way to the top of a steep climb. I lead them to the top of the old fort where they got to see the views of Jasper, Bellevue, Eden and Annette Lakes and further beyond. The walk back along the furthest route surprised me in how many people were mountain biking this section. The hill that mum and sis had walked up was steep, very uneven with tree routes and large rocks pocking out of the track surface and had sharp corners. It reminded me of my accident earlier in the year and made me cringe at the thought of riders who went past riding up it, or worse, down it.



Maligne Lake was beautiful! Although the weather was again cloudy and didn't bless us with sunshine, it was nice just to walk around its picturesque surroundings and read about the history and tales of its discovery. I was envious of those who were Kayaking on the beautiful blue water and wished I had more time, and money, to experience it. There was also the small boat cruise you could do, with I think a guided tour as the boat flowed against the harmless waters of the lake. We enjoyed the walk and also saw the raging rapids that started the flow of water along the road that we drive up and lead towards Maligne Canyon 40km up the road. This would be our next stop. I hadn't seen mum as impressed with what she had seen until now. She loved the canyon! Unlike Johnston Canyon, I feel that Maligne was much more impressive now that it was in winter. It was more adventurous in winter but the power that flowed through the water was spellbinding. The walk was a lot safer than it was when I had walked its icy slopes in March, just like Johnston, the sound was deafening but soothing and the green of the trees added to the ambiance of the area. Mum couldn't help but video the waterfall and capture its true self in action, feeling that a picture just didn't do it justice. She was right, a picture did not justify its impressive characteristics. As we walked along the canyon, mum and sis were a bit unsure how I could have walked these waters when they were frozen solid. I assured them it was fairly safe then but I don't think I convinced them. We finished up the beautiful walk with yet another up hill climb and yet another group of bikes braving the terrain as they road on by. By now, mum and sis were not to impressed with bikes, both in Calgary and out in the national parks, thinking they were quite rude and confusing on where to move out of their path.



The day was finished off by showing the Pyramid Island where they enjoyed the mountainous views and enjoyed the golden rock colour created by the 'fools gold' ion oxide of Pyramid Mountain. The island I had visited before and again I enjoyed the memories of the different viewing spots that you could relax and enjoy. I probably preferred the view of in in winter but not seeing it on a bright sunny day in summer may have impacted on my decision. I thought before this place was awesome in the snow so I feel that even if it was a bright day, it would not of influenced my opinion. It was a shame it was a cloudy night and this was one of the night provincial parks that Jasper was known for and a great place to see the amazing night sky undisturbed by the glow of city lights. I had planned to take mum and sis back here for that experience but alas, the weather was not on our side. One final surprise was that we saw some deer on the road near the Pyramid Lake Lodge which mum and sis were able to get quite close and take photos of which ended the day of travels on a higher note than what it started.



THE JOURNEY TO REVELSTOKE - HIGHWAY 93 and HIGHWAY 1

Its not often that a 600km drive will keep you captivated for its entire duration. This particular drive has the capacity to do so! We began the drive stopping at the Athabasca Falls which was interesting to see its contrast from winter to summer. Again the power of the water just blew you away and it was easy to see how the water had shaped the rock walls in some parts into pot holes, a fascinating circular shape that you couldn't help but admire. We were even able to walk down a section that had been closed off in winter which gave us a few different views of the falls themselves and the ability to get to the banks of the river that lead back towards Jasper. We also stopped at Sunwapta Falls but only enjoyed the spectacular show of the Upper Falls as time again, was not our friend. Again, its powerful spray of water through the gorge impressed me and I enjoyed the chance again to make the contrast and comparison with what I had seen earlier in the year.



The Columbia Icefields were actually quite interesting. As we drove up to park then walk towards the Athabasca Glacier, you saw a series of dates on placed along the road side. It ranged from as early as 1840 by memory and went right up to the present day. These were the marking of where the glacier had once come to. As we walked up towards where it presently stood, it was interesting to read about the reasoning for its decrease over the years and the scientific explanation for its behaviour over the last few thousand years. Standing in front of this glacier is something to behold. You could see those who had paid to walk on the glacier and even enjoyed the experience of the special buses that drive further up just so they could experience the thrill of walking on its icy surface. Mum and sis were a little concerned about how people ignored the crevice warnings that hid under the unstable and in some cases icy surface just so they could get a better view, but it had suggested that at least two people a year could be rescued from such dangers and even had signs of stories of recent fatal accidents. That was enough for me to make sure I stayed inside the desired boundaries, plus not sure mum and sis would have been very happy with me if I had. Another interesting fact about the glacier was that it was two thousand metres above see level where we walked too and that altitude would play a factor on breathing and the health of some individuals who attempted to view this amazing natural sight. Ironically, whether or not the words were in the back of your mind, you could feel the difference in the air as you walked up to the foot of the glacier. After a quick bite to eat and a chance to enjoy the views from the Columbia Icefields Centre, we were on our way to Revelstoke.



The journey did not take long to provide us with a moment I was glad mum got to witness. Unfortunately for sis, she was asleep in the back of the car and she may have just woken up in time to a shadow or a blur of what we had seen. I had told both of them that I had seen a bear in the distance on the left hand side of the road near the Columbia Icefields. Mum though I must have been hallucinating and had thought to this time that the stories of seeing bears on the side of the road was just a big fat tourist trap to lure them out to these parts. Only 30km away from connecting back onto Highway 1 and entering BC, I look out the corner of my eye and there, bounding towards the car only about 15 metres was a black bear. 'Bear' I yelled, like an involuntary action that occurred every time I had spotted a bear, the 6th of my adventures to date. It was literally bounding towards us at speed and so I thought it best to drive on by rather than stop for photographs. Mum, who had been asleep by memory, woke up in time to capture a glimpse of this fully grown black bear and watched as it run past the back of the car and disappeared into the bushes. Even with a crook neck she still managed to follow its movements until it was out of sight. Although we drove through the green and picturesque Highway 1, and into BC, the bear still played on my mind and I had hoped to see another before Three Valley Gap. Instead all we were given was the amazing views of the green trees that climbed up the mountains as we made our way to Revelstoke.

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