BC or Bust: Chaptre Un

 

Greetings Dear Reader, from close to Canmore, Alberta.  What?  Yes, my first BC or Bust post is being written from Alberta but I have crossed through (and stayed one night) in BC and will return in five nights; you can blame family for the hop into Alberta.

One family member said that, although he was born in Switzerland and lives now in BC, his favorite hiking area is Waterton Park, Alberta.  What?  Where?  Why have I never heard of it?  So naturally, that became a stop on my way north.  Then knowing I was going to be in Alberta, it was high time to arrange some family time with members who I have not seen in years, and one that I have never met—and he’s five!

But first I left Boise. 

I had two stops in Idaho, one at Ponderosa State Park in McCall, and the other in Farragut State Park in Athol, just south of Sandpoint.  I have blogged and raved and blogged and raved about both places in the past so will not do so again.  Suffice it to say, they remain #2 and #3 on my Idaho love list.  For multiple days my biggest concern was whether my bikini would dry before morning.

Then one night at a KOA in Cranbrook, BC, which was serviceable.  Sometimes you need to do laundry and plug in so you can turn on the AC – it was over ninety degrees!  (And if you are me, you also need a double chocolate donut from Tim Hortons.)

The drive from Cranbrook to Waterton Park was long and hot and filled with construction stoppages (sometimes for twenty minutes or more) which is to be expected when they only have a few months of workable weather.  My patience thin, I turned off into one of the many BC Provincial Parks for a break and a quick walk.  Folks, keep these parks in mind if you are on the highways in Canada:  Almost all of the Provincial Parks have day use areas and, if you wait for one that has camping and/or boat launch signage, you are guaranteed that you can get your trailer in there.  Lovely options when you need a break particularly when the two-lane highways have very few rest areas—and those are usually just a pull over spot adjacent to the lane.

Entering Alberta I was struck by how green everything was—much greener than BC which was odd.  (I have been coming to BC for decades and have never seen it so dry.)  The rolling fields of farmland drew my eyes for miles before running into the sharp peaks of the Rocky Mountains.  You see, Waterton National Park shares a lake with the US’s Glacier National Park.  And, like Niagra Falls, I think Canada got the better half. 

As the mountains slowly took up more of the sky, I found myself thinking of Highway 395 in Lone Pine, California.  It was the same look of long, empty prairie (in Lone Pine it is long, empty high desert) backdropped by sharply etched towering peaks (the Sierra Nevadas in California.)  Would the interior of the Waterton peaks yield the same wonder and awe that I discovered in the Sierra Nevadas?

Oh baby yes.

How did I never know this existed? 

On top of the stunning scenery (the campground was adjacent to Upper Waterton Lake) and world class hiking to gorgeous alpine lakes, there is a town there.  That’s right!  Right smack in the middle of the National Park.  An actual town with coffee shops, pubs, hotels, a charming pedestrian only street, a marina, even a Starbucks.  People live there!  And get this, it is all dog friendly:  Opus was welcomed aboard the evening lake cruise where, having received a break from the incessant gopher hunting at camp, he promptly fell asleep.   And night after night he joined me inside the ice cream parlor whose Lavender Lemonade ice cream tastes like you are eating a lemon creamsicle sitting in the middle of a wildflower-filled meadow.

Our first full day there, we hiked to Bertha Lake, pictures of which I have posted on Beagle’s IG account (@hmsbegl) which turned out to be just over nine miles—a long, hot, dusty hike in 85-degree temperatures but worth every single drop of sweat and blistered toe.

Day two we ventured up Akamina Pass so I could stand with one foot in BC and one in Alberta while I  contemplated my next step:  Would I continue on this hot, dusty trail down to Wall Lake?  Unfortunately, I had glimpsed Lake Cameron on the ascent, cool and glistening between the peaks, and so, hot and sweaty at 9:00 AM, with no cell service, and having seen two bear warning signs and not one single hiker after more than a mile, it was an easy decision to turn around and spend the day paddleboarding and sun bathing rather than hiking.

Standing at the shore of the stunning lake solidified my decision; as we walked out onto the dock we were welcomed with, “Is that Opus!?!”  We had run into a group we met hiking yesterday.  These Canadians, they are a friendly bunch!

And our day looked a lot like this (with intermittent sunbathing and swimming):

Waterton Park, with a campground (albeit crowded) within half a mile of a cute town, on the shores of one of the most stunning lakes I have ever seen, with many other stunning lakes within hiking distance, is my idea of paradise.  I will be back.  It will not be August, but I will be back.

And so here we are at Lac des Arcs campground, just west of Bow Valley Provincial Park and just east of Banff.  It is a delightful 70 degrees outside and word has it a “severe” thunder and rain storm should hit around 11:00 pm.  I cannot wait!  This air feels like heaven.

Family time tomorrow and then we will continue our way up into the Canadian Rockies.  None of the usual stops, so stay tuned! 

-K