To Newfoundland!

1 More week of work (double shifts most days - urgh) before we depart for Newfoundland!

Thoughts from the Highway:
- Pig Trucks Stink (mostly the turbulant air behind the truck)
- Cattle Trucks Stink too
- Many drivers find it diffucult to stay within the lane.
- Many drivers tailgate like lemmings
- It's getting cold, with morning frosts

Camping at Lake O'Hara

Before the summer ended we were hoping to get in at least one camping trip and we are so glad that we did. Lake O'Hara in Yoho National park is a place many people recommended to us.. it's one of those places where spaces are limited to minmise the environmental impact and it's hard to get a spot without booking way in advance. Josh and I managed to nab the last spot on a weekend in September and got really excited about a weekend away.


There's a lodge right here on the lake that we would like to cross country ski into this winter and stay in..

Then we saw the weather forecast: wet, turning to snow, snow turning to ice!!! EEEeeekkk...
but it was one of those moments when the weather forecast was completely wrong. All we got was a smattering of snow on Saturday (that of course for us Aussies was really exciting) and then for the rest of the weekend it was clear, sunny and brilliant.



The -5 degree nights were a bit cold in the tent (we were informed by fellow campers that what we had was a "four season tent" -josh). Thank god we borrowed good sleeping bags!! The area was beautiful. We didn't quite get the colours changing on the deciduous Larch trees but you could see it starting to happen all around us.. Such beautiful lakes, trees and valleys - it was good for the soul I tell you. And also nice to spend some solid time with Josh. We had a great time!!

In a typical Kelly and Josh moment. On the way to the campground we both realised we'd forgotten our cameras (we had worked a lot of double shifts leading up to the weekend). Lucky for us, our good friends who drove us there lent us their camera and even though it hardly had any battery left we managed to squeeze out enough shots. The rest were taken with a disposable - not bad hey! (resourceful heh? - josh)


View of Lake Ohara 'Bowl' from Opabin Plateau.

We were there for three days and every day we did another amazing hike. The best was on Sunday (Day2) when we did this hike called the Highline trail or Alpine Loop. You climb up to this pass and then for the rest of the day you follow a trail along mountainside ledges, rock screed, boulder fields. The trail loops around the Lake O'Hara 'basin', and ducks onto the beautiful glacial platteau's with gorgeous streams, Larch, meadows and glacial lakes up really high.
it doesn't end here. the story continues below the wonderful photographs...

Trails map (pdf)
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DAY 1: Opabin Plateau and Lakes..

Yay - snow that looks like polystyrene balls!! It wasn't even cold and there was blue sky and sun on either side of the cloud..

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Day 2: Highline Trail / Alpine Loop

steep climb #1 to Wiwaxy Gap


the view across to Opabin Platteau ... this is not a good trail for people with vertigo.

with views to Lake Osea and lake O'Hara Below

....more steepness..

At the top of Wiwaxy Gap...

Lake Oesa

Leaving Lake Osea across the Yukness Mountain Ledges


That's me on the ridgeline of Mt Schaeffer.. (All Souls Alpine Route) and Josh at the cairn on the same ridge.




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DAY3: Lake McArthur


Schaeffer Lake , the steep Mt Schaeffer ridgeline decent from the highline trail on the right and the backside of Mt Victoria in the background.


Now back in Banff one week since later and the Larch trees like these are turning the upper mountainsides of the Bow Valley a rusty gold..

Lake McArthur (not a bad place to take your books and spend a lazy Monday). We couldn't get over the colour blue that it was..

Our other adventure was trying to get home. We were supposed to be picked up by a friend of ours (who I must say does seem to attract random scenarios). After waiting one and a half hours to be picked up and no sign of him, we came to the conclusion that he must've forgotten us.. there was nothing else we could do but go hitchhiking!! Lucky for us we were picked up really quickly by a lovely guy who dropped us right back to our doorstep. HOurs later when we were wondering what the hell had happened to our friend - we receieved a call from him. Turns out he had been at the carpark for us. He decided to get there early and and go for a short hike himself with his dog. He ended up getting lost, having to wade through a chest high creek (in the middle of which his dog freaked out and refused to budge from a rock for a while with fangs bared), fell over and activated bear spray on himself (it's like pepper spray and burns a lot) and basically didn't get back to his car until 7 hours later!! Meanwhile - Josh and i were long gone.. we thought that was a pretty good excuse for not getting us!