Whew! Since I only took off a couple days from the Riverboat this summer – one for a wedding and one to run/walk the Equinox Marathon – it seemed like I should see the Canmore/Banff area and enjoy myself as part of a mini-vacation.
With days to kill before leaving Canada, my first adventure came in the form of a free ride to Banff and Lake Louise. Flo, a woman staying in the same room at my hostel, had a rental car and wanted to see some scenery before heading back to eastern Canada. She offered a ride that included gas and the Banff NP entry fee, so how could I really turn her down?
*Notice the weather, my clothing, and snowfall in these pictures.* We had a lovely drive that showed me just how much my travel style probably seems unplanned and random, but I find it rather relaxing. As my friend Tad says, “Whatever happens, happens.” (Really, how else would I have reached this point?)
We drove through the town of Banff and realized just how touristy it was compared to Canmore. Being an avid fan of the Banff Mountain Film Festival, I had high hopes for an outdoors-oriented town with few shops, but I was very much mistaken. Yes, Banff is surrounded by mountains, including the impressive Mount Rundle, but there’s nothing special about the many blocks of tourism. Sometimes when I see places like this I wonder which came first, the tourist or the shop?
From there we headed north to Lake Louise, the home of a gorgeous lake tucked in the mountains… and a giant chateau. Honestly, can’t a little cabin in the mountains offer just as good of a night’s sleep?
Even though I thought it would have been fun to drive just a little further north to the BC border, we instead turned back for Canmore. My whole “must see around the next corner” mentality is better when I’m traveling solo… otherwise drivers can discover I’m crazy. The weather became our other reason for turning around, for as we had gained elevation on the drive, we found snow!! It snowed a fair bit at Lake Louise and for a good chunk of the drive back to Canmore. I didn’t mind! I love New Zealand, but I was not in the right regions at the right times for snow, so a healthy dose of fresh snow was very welcome.
In the following days I got to know the cute little town that wouldn’t be my new base. Canmore has the natural beauty of Banff without the tourist hype. The name means “big head,” so I guess the people of the town decided that needed to be clearly displayed in art.
After walking down main street one day, I continued my walk to reach the Canmore Nordic Centre and Provincial Park, which served as the site of 1988’s Olympic nordic events. There I found what appeared to be a cross country meet! Now if I had raced on courses with those hills and that scenery, I would have been (a) even more in shape and (b) either motivated or distracted by the scenery.
When I decided it was time to go check out Banff, I learned I had a number of travel options for getting there. I could…
- pay for a bus
- find a ride from someone at the hostel (and help pay the admission to enter the park)
- hitch a ride (and help pay the admission)
- walk the trail that follows the highway (and avoid paying admission)
OR choose between hiking the Rundle Riverside or Goat Creek Trails, which meant no admission fee + a day-long “backpacking” trip + photo opportunities + peace/quiet for the win!
I left my body bag in storage at The Hostel Bear and proceeded to walk through Canmore, up the hill to the Nordic Centre, and out on the Banff Trail, which ended at the entrance to Banff National Park and became the Rundle Riverside. Sadly (but not surprisingly) it took me all of the first 30 minutes to decide my pack would not be comfortable due to my large laptop and strange array of gear. Of course, it didn’t help that my sternum strap was still broken from adventures in NZ. Oops!
Adventure!
About 23 kilometers of trail lie between Canmore and Banff. The first section was through the spiderweb of trails at the Nordic Centre. Unfortunately there are so many trails that it was a bit hard to tell what was what on maps, but by using common sense and my sense of direction (thanks Bubs!) I rather easily navigated my way to the right trails. The scenery varied from spruce woods to burn areas to riverside forest with partial views of the mountains throughout.
I underestimated how long it would take to reach the trailhead, so that fact + my pack made me keep on the move a bit more than usual. Although one shoulder was quite unhappy with me by the end, hiking was definitely the way to travel. I didn’t have time or the gear for actual backpacking in the area, so this allowed me to get out and just move myself from one bed to the next – and realize what I really shouldn’t have bothered to carry or probably should have carried. I was definitely traveling solo in bear country and ended up having some nice conversations with imaginary bears to keep them away!
Ultimately I did reach Banff in one piece and pleasantly surprised by the last section of trail/road. The Riverside Trail ends on the Banff Springs Golf Course road, which I quickly learned is home to a variety of wildlife. As I arrived in the early evening, I was lucky enough to see a coyote in the woods (photo with little camera only – not very good) and also a LOT of elk all over the golf course. People sometimes drive around the course as a wildlife viewing loop, and early on my walk I was told there were elk at hole 5. That sounded pretty cool to me… until I noticed there were elk at almost every hole. 🙂 They’re essentially ever-present spectators, from what I gathered.
Although my plan had been to Couchsurf for the first time while in Banff, my planned host let me know he was sick, so I ended up in the Banff Y Mountain Lodge, which looks like this inside:
Whoops, my bad. That’s the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel! More on that later. 🙂
