Tag: Canadian Rockies

90 Days Of Camping

Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Mount Daniel, Spade Lake, Washington, tent, Cascades

One of many awesome campsites this summer!

Our 12,000 mile route from Colorado to Alaska and back. Red is the way up; blue the way back.

In June 2016 my wife Claudia and I took off on a summer-long road trip. Over the next 3 months or so we drove over 12,000 miles (19,000+ km), from Colorado to Nevada, northern California, Oregon, Washington, the Canadian Rockies, Yukon, Alaska, and back. In order to keep costs down – and just for the fun of it – we camped as much as possible along the way; in fact, over the course of the three months on the road we rented hotel rooms only four times, and stayed with relatives twice. So, we ended up camping about 90 days in total, either in the back of our Toyota Tundra or in a tent while backpacking.

I made a point of taking a camping picture [almost] every day, and here are all these photos. Some of them are creative and some are purely documentary, but as a whole I think they give a good impression of how we lived over the summer, and how much outdoor time we enjoyed!

>> SEE ALL THE PHOTOS HERE! <<

Mount Robson & Berg Lake

Berg Lake, British Columbia, Canada, Mount Robson Provincial Park, BC, sunset, panorama
Mount Robson Sunset Panorama : Prints Available

Sunset view of Berg Lake, Mount Robson (right) and Rearguard Mountain (left). The Robson Glacier is visible in the left valley.

The trek to Berg Lake and Mount Robson is one of the most famous backpacking treks in the Canadian Rockies, and one that was high on our backpacking wish list. But when we drove through Jasper on our way north in July, we were disappointed to discover that the backcountry permits there were 100% reserved. Later in September after our trek in the Tombstone Range in the Yukon, we checked again online and were stoked to finally be able to reserve some available permits to backpack to Mount Robson. So after five days straight driving down from Dawson in the Yukon, we found ourselves back in the town of Jasper again, this time ready and able to go backpacking!

At 3954m / 12,972 ft., Mount Robson is the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain is massive, rising abruptly over 10,000 vertical feet from the trailhead, and over 7,500 vertical feet directly above Berg Lake. Robson and some its neighboring peaks are so huge, rugged, and glaciated that they wouldn’t be out of place in the Himalaya! We spent four nights out there below Robson — the first night at Emperor Falls campsite, then three nights at the Berg Lake campsite. From our “basecamp” at Berg Lake we did some awesome day hikes to Hargreaves Lake, Robson Glacier, and Snowbird Pass.

>> SEE ALL THE PHOTOS AND FULL TRIP REPORT HERE! <<

Dayhiking in Banff National Park + Bonus Rant!

Alberta, Banff National Park, Canada, Canadian Rockies, Mount Temple, Pinnacle Mountain, hiking, panorama

A spectacular view of Pinnacle Mountain on the way up Mount Temple.

Alberta, Banff National Park, Canada, Canadian Rockies, Mount Temple, hiking

Looking southwest from near the summit of Mount Temple. Pinnacle Mountain and Eiffel Peak are in the center, Deltaform Mountain is the triangular one on the left, Mount Hungabee on the right. The rugged peak in the left distance is Mount Goodsir. Not only area all these peaks around here incredibly rugged, but they have a very unique and attractive character as well.

Alberta, Banff National Park, Canada, Canadian Rockies, Fairview Mountain, Haddo Peak, hiking

On the summit of Fairview Mountain (9002 ft / 2744 m), high above Lake Louise, looking towards Haddo Peak, Mount Aberdeen, Mount Lefroy, and Mount Victoria.

Alberta, Banff National Park, Canada, Canadian Rockies, Peyto Glacier, hiking

Hiking towards the Peyto Glacier.

Towards the end of July after our fantastic trek in the Height of the Rockies Provincial Park we ventured on to Banff, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. The Canadian Rockies are undoubtedly some of the most impressive mountains on the planet, like a mix of the rugged spires of the Dolomites and the wilds of Alaska or Montana. As you drive down the highways it’s just hit after hit, one awesome mountain after another. We had hopes to do some backpacking treks in Banff and Jasper National Parks, but unfortunately this proved to be nearly impossible due to a stifling new 100% backcountry reservation policy now in effect in those parks (read my rant about that at the link below). So, with no option to do any of the treks we wanted to do, we spent our time doing some day hikes instead before moving on.

>> SEE ALL THE PHOTOS AND EVEN A BONUS RANT HERE! <<

Backpacking In The Height Of The Rockies, Canada

British Columbia, Canada, Canadian Rockies, Height of the Rockies, Limestone Lakes, BC, panorama
Height of the Rockies Sunset Panorama : Prints Available

A spectacular sunset over some remote and pristine alpine lakes in Height of the Rockies Provincial Park.

In July we drove over the border into British Columbia, Canada and headed east towards the Height of the Rockies Provincial Park in eastern BC. The trek I had in mind is a somewhat obscure one involving several hours of driving along dirt forestry roads to access a seldom traveled trail which eventually fades into a convoluted off-trail routefinding adventure, finally arriving at a spectacular series of high lakes in a rugged glaciated basin.

>> SEE MORE PHOTOS AND THE ENTIRE TRIP REPORT HERE! <<