An Epic Journey - The Canadian Rockies
September 19, 2004. 03:08 PM
September 19, 2004. 03:08 PM
8/27/4 - Friday
The flight was good. I sat beside a girl who had just finished her masts in biochemistry. Her major focus was membranal proteins. We had a bit of a chat about university and talked a fair bit about membranal proteins. She was quite nice. I was a little disappointed when I asked her which membranal protein was her favourite and she had none. Talking making a flight goes by so much quicker. 6 hours later, I am in Calgary.
8/28/4 - Saturday
It has rained all night. The weather for this week is looking pretty bleak. The morning was all drizzle. At least we found an awesome little pub in the town of Field, BC. It was called the Truffle Pig. Inside, they had all the alcohols and wines on display all over the place, as they didn't have extra space for a storage room. There were probably 6 tables inside and it was real cozy. The atmosphere was very chilling, with some funky music in the background that just fitted the place perfectly.
We ordered their Breaky Bagels, which was a warm toasted bagel with tomatoes, lettuce, mustard, ham, egg, and cheese. Only $5 too. It was the best bagel I've ever had. Hot chocolate was pricey at $2.75, but it was deliciously warm. There were three jumbo marshmallows on top with chocolate shavings. I asked specially for the marshmallows; I think they are a necessity to hot chocolate. Little did I know, we would be back later.
That afternoon it was really cold and cloudy. We were hiking the Iceline trail in Yoho National Park. There was a big storm that seemed to be making a run toward us - full charge. Should we turn around? The clouds are so dark.
Maybe we'll just go until it gets bad. In an exposed area above the treeline with only boulders around can be a bad place to weather a storm. Let's hope we get lucky. Pushing on, we pursue adventure down the rocky ridge. There are glaciers everywhere. We can actually see tiny people at the base of Takkakaw falls (taken from the Iceline trail). They are smaller than ants; they are aphids. We are the mountain ridges and they are the tourists. We walked over many moraines and stone-hopped our way across glacial streams. The air is so crisp, dry, and thin. It's like a desert up here. But the weather is changing so quickly. We are boiling hot one minute in our rain jackets, then we are chilled to the bones, then we are getting steadily rained on as we hike. We're almost like in a dream though - the scenery is unbelievable. The weather is so unpredictable - it's best we take things one day at a time.
We hiked the Iceline for about 20km and it took from last morning to dinner time. What a +++++landscape.
8/29/4 - Sunday
It's our first day here at Lake O'Hara. We arrived at the information center early, ensuring us two nights stay at the exclusive campground. The area is under special protection by the government and only allows a certain amount of people in at a time.
As a side note, on the bus ride up, our driver Amy told us how beautiful the Berg Lake backpacking trail is. We've decided to tackle the route late on in the week.
O'Hara is a very cozy and pristine place, at the bases of the mountains at least. I'm sitting here writing in the cold, watching rain drizzle down from one of the cooking shelters (to reduce the impact of attracting animals by cooking). I'm waiting for another hiker to start up the wood stove in here, but he only has some wet kindling to work with. Down here, it looks like this place never dries out. It's so damp that long strings of pale green moss dangle down from the spruce branches.
Our hike today up to the Opabin (o-PAY-bin) was very rewarding. Going up the +++++West Opabin Trail was very steep with lots of switchbacks up a large rockfall/scree slope. The cliff walls were tar-black with exotic lichen, dripping with fresh moisture from the rain. The view was beautiful, as the rain cleared out shortly after we started hiking. I can deal with overcast skies. I tell you, it's the first day and the scenery rocks.
The nine of us in this shelter look like we're all just wishing for sunny blue skies. Hopefully tomorrow the high, extremely exposed ridges will be clear - because we are definitely going up. Logged 6.5km today and 3hrs of hiking.
8/30/4 - Monday
The morning is very bleak, the rain drizzling down strong and the sky is gray and dreary. I don't think the rain is going to stop.
We have left for the alpine circuit anyway. If the weather turns worse we're probably going to have to bail out. It isn't too nice out, but we keep going. Switchbacking up the grueling goat trail to Wiwaxy pass, it's a long fall to the bottom. The rain is coming down real hard and the rock ledges are soaking wet. I thought I was no longer afraid of heights, but these ledges give me the creeps.
Up at Wiwaxy pass (the high ridge around the middle-top of the picture) it's cold. The buffeting winds are giving me the chills, especially because so much of my sweat has condensed on the inside of my jacket (dripping). I can see why the route is called "alpine". On the trailhead there was a symbol of a guy walking at a cliff (not touching the cliff though). This is not a place for beginners.
After Wiwaxy pass, we traversed high (2530m+) across the Huber Ledges. It was harrowing at some points with the ledge being only a boot-width wide at times. You don't want to slip here either - tat would mean death as you rag dolled down the cliffside. What a view though, this place is breathtaking.
Now we are heading down into the valley to go to Lake Oesa (O-Eeee-sa). It's a deep aquamarine colour, tinted from the glacial melt particles. The finest grains of minerals are so light they get suspended in the water, reflecting off certain wavelengths of light. Bagels and beef jerky was served here for lunch. As for climate, the valley is hot, humid - very rainforest like -, and quite soggy in some places too. The environment is a stark contrast from the dry, arid, and cool uppers of the higher-than alpine zone. Soon we will going back up the steep valley to the Yukness (yuck-ness) Ledge.
The view here is equally exotic as the other ledges, except that the weather has cleared up! Blue sky is peeking through the clouds and things are a lot less wet. This is awesome. Now looking across the valley, we see where we have been. I can scarcely believe we went up the Wiwaxy Pass. It was probably half the total height of the mountain. All I can see is a teeny thread of switchbacks leading up the mountain. Lake O'Hara's aqua colour is amazing from up here. Right now I can see two red specks across the valley and on a scree boulderfield high on the side of the mountain. It seems so far away.
We descended into the Opabin Valley with our European companions (we met a couple from Leeds who hiked at the same pace as us on the trail, so we joined groups). Lake Opabin was surreal.
On the way through the valley, we stumbled upon an endangered Hoary Marmot feasting on alpine meadow plants. It just walked about full on chomping the finest plants in the area! It was so indulged in eating the plants that we got up to about 10ft away before it headed off. After seeing the Marmot, the trail fork for the All Souls Alpine route was upon us.
For most trail signs, it has a picture of a little man with a walking stick. As you saw earlier, the Wiwaxy Pass trail sign had a picture of a little man with a stick climbing up steep rocks. The Huber ledges trail sign had a picture of a little man with a stick hiking beside a vertical jaggy cliff. The All Souls Alpine route had a picture of a little man with a stick climbing with his hands and feet up this vertical jaggy cliff. Nobody had said anything about rock climbing.
The All Souls Route turns out to be extremely steep, very slippery, and quite dangerous. At one point, we got a bit off trail and ended up climbing down huge boulders and down a loose scree slope to get on track. Going down the scree slope, smaller rocks slid and started to tumble easily. One large rock, the size of half a kitchen table, slid effortlessly when I stepped on it. I would say that it was quite nerve-racking. There are no pictures from that part of the journey because it was just too dangerous.
The rest of the route was no walk either - we had to crouch and use both our hands and feet to get up a lot of the sections. Things were getting much easier now though, as the clouds have cleared up and the rock is drying up. I see blue sky and puffy white clouds! This is spectacular. Although a step off the trail would surely result in critical injury/death, I 'm much more confident in my steps. As for the couple we are hiking with - the husband has part of the sole of his boot falling off. It's flapping about like Pacman. This spells trouble - you can't hike with a boot like that because you're bound to trip and cascade down the mountainside. Luckily, a piece of string from his map-holder and a knife fixed up his boot right quick.
Being stuck on such an exposed ledge would be so brutal. There is no shelter here. I can't imagine how wild and harsh it is up on the top of Mt. Everest.
At the All Souls Prospect (lookout), the view was exquisite. You could see the whole valley - 270 degrees. We stayed for a bit to take some pictures. I can't believe how far we've come (up and down around the lake area mountains).
The way down from the prospect looked almost like some mean trick: the trail marker pointed right off what looked like the edge of a cliff. Luckily, it wasn't too bad. It just went down the side of the cliff instead. The steep and lengthy descent had my knees yelling at me to stop. The ol body is feeling a bit tired and sore now.
After walking around the valley and back along Lake O'Hara, we concluded our journey. 7 hours of hiking, including breaks and photography. It's a relief to sit down after such a long day. Truly the Alpine Circuit has been the most spectacular hike I have ever done.
13.2km later, I am stoked for dinner. Hopefully this freeze-dried dinner will score higher than a 2 out of 10, unlike last night's freeze-dried dinner.
8/31/4 - Tuesday
A fire to ourselves. We're now car-camping at Wapita Campground in Jasper National Park. The town of Jasper is only about 3km away, but it's still deep in the wilderness where coyotes prowl the grounds and everything must be put into bear proof containers (that means lots of thick heavy steel). We actually saw two coyotes just as we were leaving the area to resupply in Jasper. Thought they were wolves at first, but they were a little too small looking. This is still a very wild place (even though some RV's have taken sites just a little ways down the road).
My dad is heckling me about the fire. It seems that the wood is having a hard time to really "catch". He questions my fire-making abilities, but I think I have everything under control. The wood is hardwood, which makes getting the fire going a little harder.
It was a bit of a bummer today because we had to leave the vistas of Lake O'Hara. Now I can see why the area is so highly regarded and protected by professionals, conservationists, researchers, and backpackers alike. Today was the first blue sky day the place has seen in almost three weeks. And we are leaving. Such luck eh?
We also stopped by the Alpine Club of Canada's Elizabeth Parker hut on the way out of Lake O'Hara. Man, what a terrible place to stay. The main hut has a capacity of 24 I think. I had imagined bunks going around the whole perimeter of the room, but it was far different. There was one bunk bed that stretched wall to wall. You seriously would be sleeping shoulder to shoulder with 24 other snoringly loud hikers. I definitely don't want some stinky stranger that close to me. I'll ditch their propane stove and oven for our MSR Dragonfly stove (top of the line pretty much).
But back at Wapita, I like the "luxuries" of car camping. A buffalo burger at the truffle pig and a thick $7 steak cooked over a real wood campfire (with potatoes, tomatoes, and onions). My muscles are going to thank me for this high-protein diet. Hopefully they'll be recovered enough for the big backpack into Berg Lake tomorrow. Hope the awesome weather (shorts and a tshirt currently) sticks with us. Firemaster out.
Distance hiked today <2km. My legs and feet are happy.
9/1/4 - Wednesday
Trip times:
11:00am departure from trailhead
12:30pm Kinney Lake Campground
2:30pm Whitehorn Campground
5:00pm Emperor Falls Campground
5:30pm Marmot Campground
6:00pm Berg Lake Campground
Total hiking time: 7:00hrs
The warmth is so incredibly welcome. A wood stove crackles slightly behind me, gently warming my back. We're in the Berg Lake cooking shelter right now after a great day of backpacking. But the day didn't start off so promising...
The morning was disappointing. It was a steady drizzle the whole time, just like every day we set out to hike on. We spitefully packed the tent away wet, for the third or whatevereth time. What a pain. The drive to Mt. Robson Provincial Park was a lot longer than expected - rolling us into the info center at almost 11am. After a quick route check and weather report (rain for the next 4 days), we watched the 13 minute mandatory backpacking orientation video and left for the trailhead. Oh, Mt. Robson is one of the tallest mountains in the entire range of the Rockies.
11am starts our journey. The hike up to Kinney Lake was pretty easy, although my muscles were still sore and tired from our tough hiking at Lake O'Hara. My legs complained and I was skeptical about even getting to the 10.5km mark of Whitehorn campground.
Kinney lake, know for it's stunning reflections, was a whitish light aqua blue. It was beautiful and reminded me of why I was up here working my butt off. I can do this.
Maybe not. the weather decided to spite us and throw 10 gallon pails of water on our heads. Our backpacks were getting wet. We spent 10 frantic minutes under this very leaky tree fixing and rigging up our garbage-bag covered backpacks. After finishing up and starting hiking again, we found this big cooking shelter not 2 minutes down the trail - damn!
The hike up to Emperor Falls was very nice. We walked across some alpine river-flats with milky aqua tributaries wandering and branching about everywhere. Driftwood and small boulders littered the valley floor area. Such an interesting landscape.
The valley here is nicknamed "The Valley of a Thousand Falls". Well named! There are ribbon waterfalls carving down the mountainside and cliffs everywhere. So many waterfalls all around us. It's quite cool. After hiking up a decent set of switchbacks, much easier than expected (wow, that's scary), we got to check out the falls and the valley. Those mysterious clouds create such an atmosphere. Not so disappointingly, the clouds broke apart and we got a glimpse of the elusive peak of Mt Robson for about 40 minutes before a violent looking storm starting barreling into the valley. Emperor Falls Campground didn't have a cooking shelter either (the lady at the info center lied!).
Can we beat the storm?
It's another 5km to Berg Lake Campground - our originally planned destination. Let's haul ass. We did.
We hauled past the rocky and desolate river flats outside of Marmot campground, up past the Mist and Berg Glaciers, and finally around to the Berg Lake Campground.
The cooking up here has a gorgeous view, nice glass windows all around, a toasty wood stove, and about 12 other backpackers here for the company. I'd just like to note that the shelter here is not just to make our lives easier, but it's to minimize the attraction of wildlife (read: grizzly bears) by minimizing the impact of cooking in the backcountry. So, now to wait for the sun to set for some photography.
"21km, 7 hours in and I am out of words."
The flight was good. I sat beside a girl who had just finished her masts in biochemistry. Her major focus was membranal proteins. We had a bit of a chat about university and talked a fair bit about membranal proteins. She was quite nice. I was a little disappointed when I asked her which membranal protein was her favourite and she had none. Talking making a flight goes by so much quicker. 6 hours later, I am in Calgary.
8/28/4 - Saturday
It has rained all night. The weather for this week is looking pretty bleak. The morning was all drizzle. At least we found an awesome little pub in the town of Field, BC. It was called the Truffle Pig. Inside, they had all the alcohols and wines on display all over the place, as they didn't have extra space for a storage room. There were probably 6 tables inside and it was real cozy. The atmosphere was very chilling, with some funky music in the background that just fitted the place perfectly.
We ordered their Breaky Bagels, which was a warm toasted bagel with tomatoes, lettuce, mustard, ham, egg, and cheese. Only $5 too. It was the best bagel I've ever had. Hot chocolate was pricey at $2.75, but it was deliciously warm. There were three jumbo marshmallows on top with chocolate shavings. I asked specially for the marshmallows; I think they are a necessity to hot chocolate. Little did I know, we would be back later.
That afternoon it was really cold and cloudy. We were hiking the Iceline trail in Yoho National Park. There was a big storm that seemed to be making a run toward us - full charge. Should we turn around? The clouds are so dark.
Maybe we'll just go until it gets bad. In an exposed area above the treeline with only boulders around can be a bad place to weather a storm. Let's hope we get lucky. Pushing on, we pursue adventure down the rocky ridge. There are glaciers everywhere. We can actually see tiny people at the base of Takkakaw falls (taken from the Iceline trail). They are smaller than ants; they are aphids. We are the mountain ridges and they are the tourists. We walked over many moraines and stone-hopped our way across glacial streams. The air is so crisp, dry, and thin. It's like a desert up here. But the weather is changing so quickly. We are boiling hot one minute in our rain jackets, then we are chilled to the bones, then we are getting steadily rained on as we hike. We're almost like in a dream though - the scenery is unbelievable. The weather is so unpredictable - it's best we take things one day at a time.
We hiked the Iceline for about 20km and it took from last morning to dinner time. What a +++++landscape.
8/29/4 - Sunday
It's our first day here at Lake O'Hara. We arrived at the information center early, ensuring us two nights stay at the exclusive campground. The area is under special protection by the government and only allows a certain amount of people in at a time.
As a side note, on the bus ride up, our driver Amy told us how beautiful the Berg Lake backpacking trail is. We've decided to tackle the route late on in the week.
O'Hara is a very cozy and pristine place, at the bases of the mountains at least. I'm sitting here writing in the cold, watching rain drizzle down from one of the cooking shelters (to reduce the impact of attracting animals by cooking). I'm waiting for another hiker to start up the wood stove in here, but he only has some wet kindling to work with. Down here, it looks like this place never dries out. It's so damp that long strings of pale green moss dangle down from the spruce branches.
Our hike today up to the Opabin (o-PAY-bin) was very rewarding. Going up the +++++West Opabin Trail was very steep with lots of switchbacks up a large rockfall/scree slope. The cliff walls were tar-black with exotic lichen, dripping with fresh moisture from the rain. The view was beautiful, as the rain cleared out shortly after we started hiking. I can deal with overcast skies. I tell you, it's the first day and the scenery rocks.
The nine of us in this shelter look like we're all just wishing for sunny blue skies. Hopefully tomorrow the high, extremely exposed ridges will be clear - because we are definitely going up. Logged 6.5km today and 3hrs of hiking.
8/30/4 - Monday
The morning is very bleak, the rain drizzling down strong and the sky is gray and dreary. I don't think the rain is going to stop.
We have left for the alpine circuit anyway. If the weather turns worse we're probably going to have to bail out. It isn't too nice out, but we keep going. Switchbacking up the grueling goat trail to Wiwaxy pass, it's a long fall to the bottom. The rain is coming down real hard and the rock ledges are soaking wet. I thought I was no longer afraid of heights, but these ledges give me the creeps.
Up at Wiwaxy pass (the high ridge around the middle-top of the picture) it's cold. The buffeting winds are giving me the chills, especially because so much of my sweat has condensed on the inside of my jacket (dripping). I can see why the route is called "alpine". On the trailhead there was a symbol of a guy walking at a cliff (not touching the cliff though). This is not a place for beginners.
After Wiwaxy pass, we traversed high (2530m+) across the Huber Ledges. It was harrowing at some points with the ledge being only a boot-width wide at times. You don't want to slip here either - tat would mean death as you rag dolled down the cliffside. What a view though, this place is breathtaking.
Now we are heading down into the valley to go to Lake Oesa (O-Eeee-sa). It's a deep aquamarine colour, tinted from the glacial melt particles. The finest grains of minerals are so light they get suspended in the water, reflecting off certain wavelengths of light. Bagels and beef jerky was served here for lunch. As for climate, the valley is hot, humid - very rainforest like -, and quite soggy in some places too. The environment is a stark contrast from the dry, arid, and cool uppers of the higher-than alpine zone. Soon we will going back up the steep valley to the Yukness (yuck-ness) Ledge.
The view here is equally exotic as the other ledges, except that the weather has cleared up! Blue sky is peeking through the clouds and things are a lot less wet. This is awesome. Now looking across the valley, we see where we have been. I can scarcely believe we went up the Wiwaxy Pass. It was probably half the total height of the mountain. All I can see is a teeny thread of switchbacks leading up the mountain. Lake O'Hara's aqua colour is amazing from up here. Right now I can see two red specks across the valley and on a scree boulderfield high on the side of the mountain. It seems so far away.
We descended into the Opabin Valley with our European companions (we met a couple from Leeds who hiked at the same pace as us on the trail, so we joined groups). Lake Opabin was surreal.
On the way through the valley, we stumbled upon an endangered Hoary Marmot feasting on alpine meadow plants. It just walked about full on chomping the finest plants in the area! It was so indulged in eating the plants that we got up to about 10ft away before it headed off. After seeing the Marmot, the trail fork for the All Souls Alpine route was upon us.
For most trail signs, it has a picture of a little man with a walking stick. As you saw earlier, the Wiwaxy Pass trail sign had a picture of a little man with a stick climbing up steep rocks. The Huber ledges trail sign had a picture of a little man with a stick hiking beside a vertical jaggy cliff. The All Souls Alpine route had a picture of a little man with a stick climbing with his hands and feet up this vertical jaggy cliff. Nobody had said anything about rock climbing.
The All Souls Route turns out to be extremely steep, very slippery, and quite dangerous. At one point, we got a bit off trail and ended up climbing down huge boulders and down a loose scree slope to get on track. Going down the scree slope, smaller rocks slid and started to tumble easily. One large rock, the size of half a kitchen table, slid effortlessly when I stepped on it. I would say that it was quite nerve-racking. There are no pictures from that part of the journey because it was just too dangerous.
The rest of the route was no walk either - we had to crouch and use both our hands and feet to get up a lot of the sections. Things were getting much easier now though, as the clouds have cleared up and the rock is drying up. I see blue sky and puffy white clouds! This is spectacular. Although a step off the trail would surely result in critical injury/death, I 'm much more confident in my steps. As for the couple we are hiking with - the husband has part of the sole of his boot falling off. It's flapping about like Pacman. This spells trouble - you can't hike with a boot like that because you're bound to trip and cascade down the mountainside. Luckily, a piece of string from his map-holder and a knife fixed up his boot right quick.
Being stuck on such an exposed ledge would be so brutal. There is no shelter here. I can't imagine how wild and harsh it is up on the top of Mt. Everest.
At the All Souls Prospect (lookout), the view was exquisite. You could see the whole valley - 270 degrees. We stayed for a bit to take some pictures. I can't believe how far we've come (up and down around the lake area mountains).
The way down from the prospect looked almost like some mean trick: the trail marker pointed right off what looked like the edge of a cliff. Luckily, it wasn't too bad. It just went down the side of the cliff instead. The steep and lengthy descent had my knees yelling at me to stop. The ol body is feeling a bit tired and sore now.
After walking around the valley and back along Lake O'Hara, we concluded our journey. 7 hours of hiking, including breaks and photography. It's a relief to sit down after such a long day. Truly the Alpine Circuit has been the most spectacular hike I have ever done.
13.2km later, I am stoked for dinner. Hopefully this freeze-dried dinner will score higher than a 2 out of 10, unlike last night's freeze-dried dinner.
8/31/4 - Tuesday
A fire to ourselves. We're now car-camping at Wapita Campground in Jasper National Park. The town of Jasper is only about 3km away, but it's still deep in the wilderness where coyotes prowl the grounds and everything must be put into bear proof containers (that means lots of thick heavy steel). We actually saw two coyotes just as we were leaving the area to resupply in Jasper. Thought they were wolves at first, but they were a little too small looking. This is still a very wild place (even though some RV's have taken sites just a little ways down the road).
My dad is heckling me about the fire. It seems that the wood is having a hard time to really "catch". He questions my fire-making abilities, but I think I have everything under control. The wood is hardwood, which makes getting the fire going a little harder.
It was a bit of a bummer today because we had to leave the vistas of Lake O'Hara. Now I can see why the area is so highly regarded and protected by professionals, conservationists, researchers, and backpackers alike. Today was the first blue sky day the place has seen in almost three weeks. And we are leaving. Such luck eh?
We also stopped by the Alpine Club of Canada's Elizabeth Parker hut on the way out of Lake O'Hara. Man, what a terrible place to stay. The main hut has a capacity of 24 I think. I had imagined bunks going around the whole perimeter of the room, but it was far different. There was one bunk bed that stretched wall to wall. You seriously would be sleeping shoulder to shoulder with 24 other snoringly loud hikers. I definitely don't want some stinky stranger that close to me. I'll ditch their propane stove and oven for our MSR Dragonfly stove (top of the line pretty much).
But back at Wapita, I like the "luxuries" of car camping. A buffalo burger at the truffle pig and a thick $7 steak cooked over a real wood campfire (with potatoes, tomatoes, and onions). My muscles are going to thank me for this high-protein diet. Hopefully they'll be recovered enough for the big backpack into Berg Lake tomorrow. Hope the awesome weather (shorts and a tshirt currently) sticks with us. Firemaster out.
Distance hiked today <2km. My legs and feet are happy.
9/1/4 - Wednesday
Trip times:
11:00am departure from trailhead
12:30pm Kinney Lake Campground
2:30pm Whitehorn Campground
5:00pm Emperor Falls Campground
5:30pm Marmot Campground
6:00pm Berg Lake Campground
Total hiking time: 7:00hrs
The warmth is so incredibly welcome. A wood stove crackles slightly behind me, gently warming my back. We're in the Berg Lake cooking shelter right now after a great day of backpacking. But the day didn't start off so promising...
The morning was disappointing. It was a steady drizzle the whole time, just like every day we set out to hike on. We spitefully packed the tent away wet, for the third or whatevereth time. What a pain. The drive to Mt. Robson Provincial Park was a lot longer than expected - rolling us into the info center at almost 11am. After a quick route check and weather report (rain for the next 4 days), we watched the 13 minute mandatory backpacking orientation video and left for the trailhead. Oh, Mt. Robson is one of the tallest mountains in the entire range of the Rockies.
11am starts our journey. The hike up to Kinney Lake was pretty easy, although my muscles were still sore and tired from our tough hiking at Lake O'Hara. My legs complained and I was skeptical about even getting to the 10.5km mark of Whitehorn campground.
Kinney lake, know for it's stunning reflections, was a whitish light aqua blue. It was beautiful and reminded me of why I was up here working my butt off. I can do this.
Maybe not. the weather decided to spite us and throw 10 gallon pails of water on our heads. Our backpacks were getting wet. We spent 10 frantic minutes under this very leaky tree fixing and rigging up our garbage-bag covered backpacks. After finishing up and starting hiking again, we found this big cooking shelter not 2 minutes down the trail - damn!
The hike up to Emperor Falls was very nice. We walked across some alpine river-flats with milky aqua tributaries wandering and branching about everywhere. Driftwood and small boulders littered the valley floor area. Such an interesting landscape.
The valley here is nicknamed "The Valley of a Thousand Falls". Well named! There are ribbon waterfalls carving down the mountainside and cliffs everywhere. So many waterfalls all around us. It's quite cool. After hiking up a decent set of switchbacks, much easier than expected (wow, that's scary), we got to check out the falls and the valley. Those mysterious clouds create such an atmosphere. Not so disappointingly, the clouds broke apart and we got a glimpse of the elusive peak of Mt Robson for about 40 minutes before a violent looking storm starting barreling into the valley. Emperor Falls Campground didn't have a cooking shelter either (the lady at the info center lied!).
Can we beat the storm?
It's another 5km to Berg Lake Campground - our originally planned destination. Let's haul ass. We did.
We hauled past the rocky and desolate river flats outside of Marmot campground, up past the Mist and Berg Glaciers, and finally around to the Berg Lake Campground.
The cooking up here has a gorgeous view, nice glass windows all around, a toasty wood stove, and about 12 other backpackers here for the company. I'd just like to note that the shelter here is not just to make our lives easier, but it's to minimize the attraction of wildlife (read: grizzly bears) by minimizing the impact of cooking in the backcountry. So, now to wait for the sun to set for some photography.
"21km, 7 hours in and I am out of words."
An Epic Journey - Continued
September 19, 2004. 03:07 PM
September 19, 2004. 03:07 PM
9/2/4 - Thursday
Crappiest morning ever. It was pouring rain and the entire valley was a thick, dense rain cloud. 8am -> the weather looks bad. Despite this, I am sick sitting around in this toasty, comfortable shelter. Sounds crazy, but I just want to get out! After badgering my dad to get ready and go out, we departed into thick rain at 9:30am. Not even after 1hr, my high-tech rain jacket is soaked and my socks were getting wet. 6 days of rain and dry feet until today, bleh. We dropped by the fancy solar-powered ranger's cabin on the way up the mountain to let the rangers know that we had moved up to the higher Berg Lake Campground. We also got the latest weather report: extremely steady barometer and heavy rain warnings. This is a bit crushing. Not much further was another campground (empty except one tent) with bear poles to prevent your food from being eaten by grizzlies or black bears.
Still, we trudge down the river flats and then up the very slipper slopes of the Mumm Basin. Very muddy, very wet, very slippery switchbacks up the mountainside. About 2 hours of dousing rain up the mountain, the weather changed.
Into snow. White, wet, and fluffy flakes drifting down from the very cloud we were hiking in. Soon all the trees were covered in snow - things were looking like Christmas. In fact, better than Christmas, except that the snow was slushing up the already muddy slippery steeps of the trail. We went from trudging to slogging to crawling to creeping. Once we hit the sub-alpine zone, we lost the trail in the snowy rocks. Getting lost in a snowstorm on the mountain could get real bad fast. Extremely bad.
Not a minute and ten steps later, my dad spots the trail: highlighted by very fresh grizzly bear tracks. Probably not 10-15 minutes ahead of us because they weren't filled in at all. Scary. Looks like cub tracks too... One picture later, we are hightailing it down the mountain. Grizzlies aren't the cuddly type. We shout and holler and yell so our presence and location is known - don't want to sneak up on a bear by accident - as we descend. Carefully and quickly. And slipperily.
Now soaking, we get back to the shelter. Defeated. Dad hassles me saying that we should have started later. My boots are quite wet too. Ugh. Definitely disapmpointing.
But do not lose hope. We sat things out in the shelter for 3 hours, trying to dry up my boots and socks.
Alas! The weather has broken and we are going up again. Not to mention our failed second attempt to leave in a slight break around the 2 hour waiting mark. We have decided to take a different route up the mountainside this time: we are going up beside Toboggan Falls, a very exotic sluice / cascading waterfall. The water cut into the sharp layers of rocks, as well as slid and danced over the rock slabs all the way down the mountainside.
Another hour up the trail and we broke through the tree line and into the alpine zone. We went out of our way to check out some natural caves in the side of the mountain. The cave was cool, but extremely dark. Even with a headlamp, the walls seemed to suck the light away. A German hiker, armed with a Gore-Tex jacket and some thermal tights helped me take a picture in the dark (which didn't actually turn out). Nice guy, although he looked quite rugged and a little crazy. Fortunately, he was very friendly and nice. He also let us know that the best part of the Mumm Basin trail was only about 20mins away!
We waved goodbye (see you later at camp) and descended and re-ascended the mountainside in beautiful weather - an awesome clear valley too. The boulder field on the Mumm Basin mountainside was a strange sight, reminding me of a ramshackle scatterous garbage dump. It's amazing how these parks are so close but have such contrasting landscapes. Especially when you consider the main components (rocks, glaciers, blue lakes, and mountains) are all the same!
My dad and I ended up admiring Mt. Robson, the Berg and Mist Glaciers, and the valley from the alpines for 40 minutes. Cold, yes, but that made the whole day (including the huge morning of disappointment) worthwhile. 18km, two trails half done and backtracked, in 6:33hr. What a very trying yet rewarding day. The sights we saw today were simply unbelievable.
9/3/4 - Friday
We woke up at 6:30am to bits of blue and orange sky peeking into our tent window. Blue and orange?? Sunrise!
I grabbed and tossed on my boots, not bothering to tie them up. My dad and I raced down to the lake for a gorgeous sunrise tinting the clouds a vibrant orange. Gold light lit up the unobscured Mt. Robson Peak. We could see down the entire valley. Bands of mysterious grey clouds loomed over different ridges and peaks in the valley. There was so much mood and atmosphere. I think the pictures I took should be amazing. Down at the shelter, an Australian man who had been up there for a day more than us (and who we had talked to quite a bit) actually gave me his email address right after he saw the pictures on my camera LCD. That was good.
After packing up all our things, we started to descendthe valley by 9:40am. Not a few hours from my stunning vistas this morning, the valley and mountains had a thick white drape drawn over them. About 20 minutes later I so eloquently stated, "Hey dad, WHAT mountain?"
The whole area had been swallowed by enveloping whiteness. It was like the world was being erased all around us.
It was eerie.
Not much later, it started to drizzle. You can always count on a bit of rain in the Rockies. There must be something inherent in the Rockies that causes rain. Haha (no really, there is). Despite the rain and fog, the trip down was quite scenic. A little side trail took us to the base of Emperor Falls. An enormous amount of water was being sprayed upwards by a giant rock in the middle of the falls. At another point on the way down, the fog and clouds broke into suspenseful bands, making for a beautiful sight of the valley and glacial delta.
Time switch to after getting back. Now it's dinner time.
Now my stomach is quite full, as I am in a Smithy's Family Restaurant. I have just enjoyed their crispy chicken mushroom dish. Fried chicken breast (battered slightly somehow I think) with mushrooms, gravy, and some fries. Mashed potatoes were an option, but the waiter assured me - when I asked how they were - that they were "mix". Yuck. Fries and ketchup too.
My body is quite happy with the new food - there wasn't much to eat at all on the hike back. We were starving without having packed lunches for the way home, except a few cashew nuts and some chocolate. The whole day I could feel my muscles complaining for glycogen, yet the rest of my body insisted that there was no more. No food means burning reserve fat. And very sore muscles afterwards too. I'd say it was worth it.
My dad says that the last 10km of a marathon is the toughest. We were on the last 10km of 60km in three days and it was definitely the toughest. The last stretch from Kinney Lake to the parking lot seemed to stretch for tens of kilometers. We just kept saying "just over the next hill" or "it has to be close, real close".
Eventually, decades later, we reached the car and finally got to rest. Off comes the stinky boots and socks (yes, they were quite stinky). I usually don't have smelly footwear, but the sweat, rain, and snow all contributed for a few days of dampness. Upon getting back to camp, a nice warm shower, clean change of clothes, and ultra light trail running shoes, I feel so cozy.
The summary: Walked half a marathon (21km) in 5:30 hrs. What a trip. It's odd to think of all the people doing day hiking that we ran into on the way down. They have no idea, not even the slightest inkling on what we've seen and how far we've gone.
9/4/4 - Saturday
Today is Tourist Day. We are going to see all the popular tourist Rockies destinations. I'm not sure how all these places will be, impression-wise, but I am still anxious to revisit the spots I had visited 6 years ago.
... The day passes by ...
Every stop we made, except Tangle Creek Falls, had tour busses at them. I guess we were just adding to the whole tourist "problem".
Medicine Lake was our first stop, not an especially exciting view at first, but the mountain cliffs adjacent to the lake were just simply massive. It looks like a glacier just came and sheared off half the mountain. Not much further down the road was Maligne Lake famous for its Spirit Island. Too bad it's $32 per person to take the 14km boat ride down the lake to see it. That might have made the trip to the lake worthwhile. Oh, I forgot to mention it's raining in the Rockies again this morning, lots. We left rather quickly due to the rampant boringness and cold. Off to Banff!
The road to Banff was scenic, although it was very muchly better the last time we were driving under blue skies. I think we've been desensitized to the rain now (I'm not too mad at the rain). On the way to Banff we came across a very artistic set of falls: the Tangle Creek Falls. It's a very popular spot with cars and trailers peeling out of the highway and stopping abruptly to avoid running over the pedestrians walking about trying to take. I remember seeing a nice postcard of the falls in the Field Gas Station.
After this stop, we were off to the extremely popular spot of Lake Louise. It was quite ridiculously busy with tour busses everywhere; tourist swarming and snapping photos of the lake and themselves in a frenzy. It was quite chaotic. I managed to snap a picture of a Japanese lady wearing a fancy dress and high heels taking pictures with her tripod-toting and picture stooping husband. I didn't even find the area of Lake Louise that nice. The lake was a bit of a pasty blue and the peaks were lacking character. Lake Louise - what a place of excessive hype.
Close to Lake Louise is of course Moraine Lake, also a big tourist spot (but now quite to touristy). I wonder about why Lake Louise is more famous - Moraine is so much more beautiful. At the lake, I did a very short <5 minute hike called "the rockpile". It's a quite descriptive name, as was in fact a short hike up a rock pile of talus (broken rocks left by glaciers). I took two pictures for myself and two pictures for these two ladies who were up there as well. I enjoy taking pictures for people. Hopefully they will develop their film and think how nice their picture looks.
6 years ago, we did an awesome and highly regarded hike up to Sentinel Pass. Unfortunately, the area is now closed under the restriction that your hiking party must be of at least 6 people. This is so you don't get mauled by grizzly bears. Starting 5 years ago, the grizzlies moved into the area and have been becoming more and more accustomed to humans. That means more bear encounters and more chances that you will get killed. Not a good thing. I remember the hike from when I did it before - it took you up many different ecosystems and landscapes. It was supercool. Oh well, there's always another time?
Instead of this great hike, we drove back to the town of Field and then to Emerald Lake. There was a tour bus there, but the place was still serene. The emerald colour of the lake was beautiful. Definitely a nice place, even as a tourist spot.
We stayed the night at Tunnel Mountain Campground in Banff. Total kilometers hiked was ‹2km. Did a bit of shopping in the town of Banff, but extravagant prices stopped me from getting anything. Sadly, the store I bought my first snowboard from has stopped carrying snowboard equipment (interestingly enough, they stopped the year after I bought my board). This year's Burton Custom snowboard was priced at $699.
Really, I'm sad that this is my last night in the Rockies.
9/5/4 - Sunday
Of course, leaving the Rockies there were bluebird skies and a screaming sun. After three weeks of having at least some amount of rain, it breaks nicely on our day of departure. I hope it rains tomorrow for all those people still up in the mountains, heh. The weather really likes to taunt you.
If it's raining in Hamilton when we get back I will be mad. I demand sun!
For now, at least, there's plenty of sun because I am above the clouds.
I am above the clouds in an aluminum shell, getting shaken by updrafts, downdrafts, and sidedrafts. Turbulence. WestJet flight #554 from Calgary to Hamilton. It's a little unnerving seeing the plane's wings being jostled up and down, even though I know it's safe. Really, I'm hurtling through the atmosphere in a glorified aluminum can with wings. Nevertheless, it's my dream to design one of these airplanes.
To my left is a guy, probably 23, who is a little coarse and crude, but straight to the point. He owns a car lot and knows a guy who works with WestJet - thus securing him supercheap plane tickets. He also likes his food, as he's devoured half of a very massive sandwich since we got onboard. I think he had a pretty enjoyable weekend because he actually chuckled to himself as he napped.
To my left left sits a quiet girl who doesn't look too sure about anything. She must be one of those quiet and shy people until you really get to know them. I'm betting she's actually quite and interesting person. How? I found out she was listening to the band "The Arrogant Worms", which is a far cry from mainstream music. It's pretty hilarious stuff, although I couldn't listen to it for a long time. All the same, I wonder what they think of me, listening to my discman, wearing khaki quick-dry pants (not usually my style), a bike chain bracelet, and a Tim Hortons visor.
15:17 Alberta time, Manitoba is cloudy and a bumpy ride.
*Aluminum can with wings is jostling*
I have now noticed that the WestJet safety booklet is for the wrong model of aircraft we are flying. This play I am on has smaller wings with tall wingtip stabilizers. It also has a quite different engine design. I mean, it looks kinda the same, but it certainly isn't the same aircraft in it's entirety. Comforting. As a side note, I have no fear of flying.
""Sunny [pretzel] snacks" are eaten and we're entering Ontario. Aluminum over glorified can with wings away!"
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The End
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Crappiest morning ever. It was pouring rain and the entire valley was a thick, dense rain cloud. 8am -> the weather looks bad. Despite this, I am sick sitting around in this toasty, comfortable shelter. Sounds crazy, but I just want to get out! After badgering my dad to get ready and go out, we departed into thick rain at 9:30am. Not even after 1hr, my high-tech rain jacket is soaked and my socks were getting wet. 6 days of rain and dry feet until today, bleh. We dropped by the fancy solar-powered ranger's cabin on the way up the mountain to let the rangers know that we had moved up to the higher Berg Lake Campground. We also got the latest weather report: extremely steady barometer and heavy rain warnings. This is a bit crushing. Not much further was another campground (empty except one tent) with bear poles to prevent your food from being eaten by grizzlies or black bears.
Still, we trudge down the river flats and then up the very slipper slopes of the Mumm Basin. Very muddy, very wet, very slippery switchbacks up the mountainside. About 2 hours of dousing rain up the mountain, the weather changed.
Into snow. White, wet, and fluffy flakes drifting down from the very cloud we were hiking in. Soon all the trees were covered in snow - things were looking like Christmas. In fact, better than Christmas, except that the snow was slushing up the already muddy slippery steeps of the trail. We went from trudging to slogging to crawling to creeping. Once we hit the sub-alpine zone, we lost the trail in the snowy rocks. Getting lost in a snowstorm on the mountain could get real bad fast. Extremely bad.
Not a minute and ten steps later, my dad spots the trail: highlighted by very fresh grizzly bear tracks. Probably not 10-15 minutes ahead of us because they weren't filled in at all. Scary. Looks like cub tracks too... One picture later, we are hightailing it down the mountain. Grizzlies aren't the cuddly type. We shout and holler and yell so our presence and location is known - don't want to sneak up on a bear by accident - as we descend. Carefully and quickly. And slipperily.
Now soaking, we get back to the shelter. Defeated. Dad hassles me saying that we should have started later. My boots are quite wet too. Ugh. Definitely disapmpointing.
But do not lose hope. We sat things out in the shelter for 3 hours, trying to dry up my boots and socks.
Alas! The weather has broken and we are going up again. Not to mention our failed second attempt to leave in a slight break around the 2 hour waiting mark. We have decided to take a different route up the mountainside this time: we are going up beside Toboggan Falls, a very exotic sluice / cascading waterfall. The water cut into the sharp layers of rocks, as well as slid and danced over the rock slabs all the way down the mountainside.
Another hour up the trail and we broke through the tree line and into the alpine zone. We went out of our way to check out some natural caves in the side of the mountain. The cave was cool, but extremely dark. Even with a headlamp, the walls seemed to suck the light away. A German hiker, armed with a Gore-Tex jacket and some thermal tights helped me take a picture in the dark (which didn't actually turn out). Nice guy, although he looked quite rugged and a little crazy. Fortunately, he was very friendly and nice. He also let us know that the best part of the Mumm Basin trail was only about 20mins away!
We waved goodbye (see you later at camp) and descended and re-ascended the mountainside in beautiful weather - an awesome clear valley too. The boulder field on the Mumm Basin mountainside was a strange sight, reminding me of a ramshackle scatterous garbage dump. It's amazing how these parks are so close but have such contrasting landscapes. Especially when you consider the main components (rocks, glaciers, blue lakes, and mountains) are all the same!
My dad and I ended up admiring Mt. Robson, the Berg and Mist Glaciers, and the valley from the alpines for 40 minutes. Cold, yes, but that made the whole day (including the huge morning of disappointment) worthwhile. 18km, two trails half done and backtracked, in 6:33hr. What a very trying yet rewarding day. The sights we saw today were simply unbelievable.
9/3/4 - Friday
We woke up at 6:30am to bits of blue and orange sky peeking into our tent window. Blue and orange?? Sunrise!
I grabbed and tossed on my boots, not bothering to tie them up. My dad and I raced down to the lake for a gorgeous sunrise tinting the clouds a vibrant orange. Gold light lit up the unobscured Mt. Robson Peak. We could see down the entire valley. Bands of mysterious grey clouds loomed over different ridges and peaks in the valley. There was so much mood and atmosphere. I think the pictures I took should be amazing. Down at the shelter, an Australian man who had been up there for a day more than us (and who we had talked to quite a bit) actually gave me his email address right after he saw the pictures on my camera LCD. That was good.
After packing up all our things, we started to descendthe valley by 9:40am. Not a few hours from my stunning vistas this morning, the valley and mountains had a thick white drape drawn over them. About 20 minutes later I so eloquently stated, "Hey dad, WHAT mountain?"
The whole area had been swallowed by enveloping whiteness. It was like the world was being erased all around us.
It was eerie.
Not much later, it started to drizzle. You can always count on a bit of rain in the Rockies. There must be something inherent in the Rockies that causes rain. Haha (no really, there is). Despite the rain and fog, the trip down was quite scenic. A little side trail took us to the base of Emperor Falls. An enormous amount of water was being sprayed upwards by a giant rock in the middle of the falls. At another point on the way down, the fog and clouds broke into suspenseful bands, making for a beautiful sight of the valley and glacial delta.
Time switch to after getting back. Now it's dinner time.
Now my stomach is quite full, as I am in a Smithy's Family Restaurant. I have just enjoyed their crispy chicken mushroom dish. Fried chicken breast (battered slightly somehow I think) with mushrooms, gravy, and some fries. Mashed potatoes were an option, but the waiter assured me - when I asked how they were - that they were "mix". Yuck. Fries and ketchup too.
My body is quite happy with the new food - there wasn't much to eat at all on the hike back. We were starving without having packed lunches for the way home, except a few cashew nuts and some chocolate. The whole day I could feel my muscles complaining for glycogen, yet the rest of my body insisted that there was no more. No food means burning reserve fat. And very sore muscles afterwards too. I'd say it was worth it.
My dad says that the last 10km of a marathon is the toughest. We were on the last 10km of 60km in three days and it was definitely the toughest. The last stretch from Kinney Lake to the parking lot seemed to stretch for tens of kilometers. We just kept saying "just over the next hill" or "it has to be close, real close".
Eventually, decades later, we reached the car and finally got to rest. Off comes the stinky boots and socks (yes, they were quite stinky). I usually don't have smelly footwear, but the sweat, rain, and snow all contributed for a few days of dampness. Upon getting back to camp, a nice warm shower, clean change of clothes, and ultra light trail running shoes, I feel so cozy.
The summary: Walked half a marathon (21km) in 5:30 hrs. What a trip. It's odd to think of all the people doing day hiking that we ran into on the way down. They have no idea, not even the slightest inkling on what we've seen and how far we've gone.
9/4/4 - Saturday
Today is Tourist Day. We are going to see all the popular tourist Rockies destinations. I'm not sure how all these places will be, impression-wise, but I am still anxious to revisit the spots I had visited 6 years ago.
... The day passes by ...
Every stop we made, except Tangle Creek Falls, had tour busses at them. I guess we were just adding to the whole tourist "problem".
Medicine Lake was our first stop, not an especially exciting view at first, but the mountain cliffs adjacent to the lake were just simply massive. It looks like a glacier just came and sheared off half the mountain. Not much further down the road was Maligne Lake famous for its Spirit Island. Too bad it's $32 per person to take the 14km boat ride down the lake to see it. That might have made the trip to the lake worthwhile. Oh, I forgot to mention it's raining in the Rockies again this morning, lots. We left rather quickly due to the rampant boringness and cold. Off to Banff!
The road to Banff was scenic, although it was very muchly better the last time we were driving under blue skies. I think we've been desensitized to the rain now (I'm not too mad at the rain). On the way to Banff we came across a very artistic set of falls: the Tangle Creek Falls. It's a very popular spot with cars and trailers peeling out of the highway and stopping abruptly to avoid running over the pedestrians walking about trying to take. I remember seeing a nice postcard of the falls in the Field Gas Station.
After this stop, we were off to the extremely popular spot of Lake Louise. It was quite ridiculously busy with tour busses everywhere; tourist swarming and snapping photos of the lake and themselves in a frenzy. It was quite chaotic. I managed to snap a picture of a Japanese lady wearing a fancy dress and high heels taking pictures with her tripod-toting and picture stooping husband. I didn't even find the area of Lake Louise that nice. The lake was a bit of a pasty blue and the peaks were lacking character. Lake Louise - what a place of excessive hype.
Close to Lake Louise is of course Moraine Lake, also a big tourist spot (but now quite to touristy). I wonder about why Lake Louise is more famous - Moraine is so much more beautiful. At the lake, I did a very short <5 minute hike called "the rockpile". It's a quite descriptive name, as was in fact a short hike up a rock pile of talus (broken rocks left by glaciers). I took two pictures for myself and two pictures for these two ladies who were up there as well. I enjoy taking pictures for people. Hopefully they will develop their film and think how nice their picture looks.
6 years ago, we did an awesome and highly regarded hike up to Sentinel Pass. Unfortunately, the area is now closed under the restriction that your hiking party must be of at least 6 people. This is so you don't get mauled by grizzly bears. Starting 5 years ago, the grizzlies moved into the area and have been becoming more and more accustomed to humans. That means more bear encounters and more chances that you will get killed. Not a good thing. I remember the hike from when I did it before - it took you up many different ecosystems and landscapes. It was supercool. Oh well, there's always another time?
Instead of this great hike, we drove back to the town of Field and then to Emerald Lake. There was a tour bus there, but the place was still serene. The emerald colour of the lake was beautiful. Definitely a nice place, even as a tourist spot.
We stayed the night at Tunnel Mountain Campground in Banff. Total kilometers hiked was ‹2km. Did a bit of shopping in the town of Banff, but extravagant prices stopped me from getting anything. Sadly, the store I bought my first snowboard from has stopped carrying snowboard equipment (interestingly enough, they stopped the year after I bought my board). This year's Burton Custom snowboard was priced at $699.
Really, I'm sad that this is my last night in the Rockies.
9/5/4 - Sunday
Of course, leaving the Rockies there were bluebird skies and a screaming sun. After three weeks of having at least some amount of rain, it breaks nicely on our day of departure. I hope it rains tomorrow for all those people still up in the mountains, heh. The weather really likes to taunt you.
If it's raining in Hamilton when we get back I will be mad. I demand sun!
For now, at least, there's plenty of sun because I am above the clouds.
I am above the clouds in an aluminum shell, getting shaken by updrafts, downdrafts, and sidedrafts. Turbulence. WestJet flight #554 from Calgary to Hamilton. It's a little unnerving seeing the plane's wings being jostled up and down, even though I know it's safe. Really, I'm hurtling through the atmosphere in a glorified aluminum can with wings. Nevertheless, it's my dream to design one of these airplanes.
To my left is a guy, probably 23, who is a little coarse and crude, but straight to the point. He owns a car lot and knows a guy who works with WestJet - thus securing him supercheap plane tickets. He also likes his food, as he's devoured half of a very massive sandwich since we got onboard. I think he had a pretty enjoyable weekend because he actually chuckled to himself as he napped.
To my left left sits a quiet girl who doesn't look too sure about anything. She must be one of those quiet and shy people until you really get to know them. I'm betting she's actually quite and interesting person. How? I found out she was listening to the band "The Arrogant Worms", which is a far cry from mainstream music. It's pretty hilarious stuff, although I couldn't listen to it for a long time. All the same, I wonder what they think of me, listening to my discman, wearing khaki quick-dry pants (not usually my style), a bike chain bracelet, and a Tim Hortons visor.
15:17 Alberta time, Manitoba is cloudy and a bumpy ride.
*Aluminum can with wings is jostling*
I have now noticed that the WestJet safety booklet is for the wrong model of aircraft we are flying. This play I am on has smaller wings with tall wingtip stabilizers. It also has a quite different engine design. I mean, it looks kinda the same, but it certainly isn't the same aircraft in it's entirety. Comforting. As a side note, I have no fear of flying.
""Sunny [pretzel] snacks" are eaten and we're entering Ontario. Aluminum over glorified can with wings away!"
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The End
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