Now, I absolutely love camping. I love waking up when the sun has just risen, going for a weary eyed walk down to a lake to splash my face, then make breakfast over some sort of fire (because of the fire ban it was the BBQ). But, there is one thing that I do not love, and that is long drops. It has been that way since I was a little girl, and I know I will hold strongly to this feeling. But, I shall tell the tales of the wonderful parts of camping.
Picture this: a gravel road that runs through the Forrest. Many camping sights branching off the road. On your left it a crystal lake, reflecting the mountains; people are fishing off the rocks, kayakers are gliding and one single person is canoeing, making ripples with each paddle. There is the sound of squirrels bitting of acorns and dropping them to the ground, at times you wonder if they are aiming for you. Best of all, there are friendly chipmunks popping out of the rocks, wiggling their tails in welcome.
Day One:
The sun had just risen, which meant we needed to sit on the rocks and watch the day get lighter. We heard howls and chirps of all kinds, most worrying was the loud call of what we 95% sure were some wolves.
After breakfast was time for a walk around the lake. Coming from NZ, where there is nothing that you have to worry about, we just trotted along, not a care in the world. We stopped for Lars and Annie to try and make a bridge out of logs and stumps. I declared my scarediness, but was dismissed. We later found out that the track was closed on the other side, but we didn't see the signs by going around the lake.
Later in the day, Lars and I were coming back from the info centre, and to my right I saw a large, caramel beast. It was a Moose! It was the one animal I did not think I would see whilst here. Either a juvenile or a lady Moose it was, feasting on leaves and grass. She didn't mind us, and we were able to have a mini party (from a distance). We rushed back to pick up the others, and had another Moose party. As we had finished our A-Moose-Boushes, a car pulled over to warn us about the bear that was in the campsite; and she is charging at white cars. So, there was a big grizzly, in our campsite, charging at cars the same colour as ours. Never have I gripped so tightly to something as I did to the bear spray.
That evening the bear worry had subsided, we had gone for a mightily cold swim in the lake and were then playing a friendly game of frisbee. Along came the ranger, she parked outside our camp lot, got out her bear radar, and told us that Mumma bear has crossed the road to our side of the Forrest and is near by.
We spent the rest of the night inside our camper van, and the walk to the long drop was the scariest thing I have ever done.
Day Two:
The sun shine upon us on our second day of camping, but he was shielded by the smoke of the fires. This would not stop us from our adventures. Wanting Ingrid to join in the fun, we built a shelter from the elements. Our chipmunk friend was kind enough to let us be neighbours.
With the Go Pro set to timelapse, we started to use the sleet rocks to make an Inukshuk. An Inukshuk is an Inuit symbol that is built out of rocks. It is the symbol for hope and friendship, and it has a longer, thinner arm that points to the direction that you need to go. In the past it was used as a direction post. As I am a bit of a weakling, Lars and Annie did all the heavy lifting. We felt very proud of our creation, let's hope that he stays standing for a long time.
Now, building a stone symbol is hot work, so a swim was the natural progression after. The clouds soon came rolling in and the temperature dropped dramatically. This seemed to happen every afternoon, and it was heading our way. The only way to remedy being confined under an awning is to have an Oreo challenge. Our choices were: Birthday Cake, Fireworks and Cinnamon Roll. All heinously unhealthy and rolling in sugar, but a fun challenge none the less.
The evening was a feast of beer and card games, no other way to camp.
Day Three:
It was our last day camping in the Kananaskis. We had to farewell our lovely camp lot, happy with the fact we hadn't had a dance off with a grizzly bear, then up the winding roads toward Boulton Trading Post. Here is a shop full of knick knacks, interesting ice cream flavours, but most importantly - Canoe Hire. With there being 5 of us, we needed the largest type of canoe, called a Mackenzie. It is meant to fit 6, but 5 was a bit of a squish. I was right at the front, wedged in. This gave me a valid excuse to not be rowing. The small, wooden paddle I took from the shop seemed to just be an ornament anyway.
The lake was called Canyon and it has been damed up further along. The winds were not being helpful, but the crew members were strong. We zig zagged our way to see different parts of the lake: there were a few Canadian geese and some sheltered coves. We sat at one point and let the water rock the canoe. Right above our heads came screaming, two Bald Eagles. They seemed to be having a friendly race, then all of a sudden, one of the eagles does a 360 barrel roll, just like a fighter plane. Perhaps the first time anyone has ever witnessed this?
We pulled up to shore for a snack, all on full lookout for cougars. When on our row back in, a kayaker passed us and let us know that we had just missed a grizzly bear. The bear came out of the trees, splashed into the water to cool down, then back into safety. Not a worry about the humans around. We took a page out of the bear's book and cooled ourselves off in the water.
Then, time to make our way from the Kananaskis, back to Canmore.
Away from long drops.
Labels: Canada 2017
