Saturday, August 25th: We woke up that morning to find that the clothes we had hung throughout the camper were still damp due to the chill in the air. Dry enough to fold without risk of molding, we packed them away along with all of the other loose items laying around. Tom was openly paranoid about getting everything buttoned up due to a poor border experience years prior. He and his college buddies had driven up from Montana and were berated and searched with no explanation. 10 miles south of the border, we sat and attempted to prepare any potentially necessary documents to ease his worries and expedite the process. The one thing we didn’t have was the truck’s proof of registration and we crossed our fingers that they wouldn’t request to see it. As we pulled up to the customs window, the woman sitting on the other side immediately began her routine list of questions; where we were coming from, where we were going, how long we planned to stay and what we had with us. Once each was answered, she took our passports and instructed us to park and come in for further questioning. Tom held his composure but was uncomfortable with the thought of being interrogated. The officer assigned to us gently inquired about personal information and our travel plans. Once satisfied, he “verified” our story while we patiently sat in the waiting room along with multiple other couples and individuals. Before long, we were called out, given back our passports and sent on our way. Both relieved to be out of there, we enthusiastically began our drive to Calgary. It didn’t take long before the smokey skies and long flat lands killed our vibe, each settling into a quiet and thoughtful state. After hours of driving, we arrived in the metropolis that is Calgary. Houses were stacked within each complex and various businesses filled in the rest of the landscape. Quickly becoming overwhelmed, our goal was to grab groceries and ditch the city. Since our food options had recently been limited, the expansive and colorful produce section made us feel like kids in a candy store. We bought it all and then some, careful not to get more than we could eat. Using the store’s wi-fi we found that our camping options would be limited. After extensive research that got us no where, we agreed to stay in the Stoney Nakoda Casino parking lot. Trying to be optimistic about where we were spending the night, we got back in the car and soon found ourselves lost in downtown Calgary. Since our atlas wasn’t detailed enough to help, we had to stop and find wi-fi in order to get back on track. I began making jokes about what we would be doing on a Saturday night if we were at home; “We definitely wouldn’t be driving around with no place to sleep and no friends.” Although the thought was slightly disheartening, it also reminded us not to take the whole situation too seriously. We arrived at the casino to find a sea of campers parked near the back of the lot. At this point, it was late and made no difference where we stayed. There was a rafting fundraiser going on in the field next to the casino that appeared to be a good time. We would have joined the festivities had tickets not been $60. Needing to move my legs after a day in the car, I took Mogli for run, lapping the road that encircled the casino. A DJ had begun spinning techno music at the event, providing me with a soundtrack for my jog. I smiled as I thought: “In what world would I be running around a building, with techno music blaring, had we not taken this trip?” Life really is full of surprises.
The next morning, we quickly became aware that the open land behind us was used as a helicopter landing zone. With our canvas fully dropped in order to block out the floodlights, it was nice to have a wake up call. After eating breakfast, we went inside to FaceTime Devyn and wish her a happy birthday. We also brought our swimsuits in at the slight chance that someone might confuse us as guests and let us into the pool. Our plan worked flawlessly as the door to the pool was serendipitously open. We soaked up the steaming hot tub water before taking the tunnel slide down into the pool. We were both giddy at both the pleasant surprise and welcomed reprieve from the chilly outdoors. After swimming, we rinsed the built up grime out of our hair and off of our bodies. Feeling clean is something that I no longer take for granted. Our friends who are also on the road had posted a picture of them climbing in a nearby area. Since we still had wi-fi in the casino, we messaged them to see if we could meet up. It worked out perfectly to spend the afternoon hanging out and climbing with them. When finished, we parted ways with plans to meet up later in the week. That night, Tom and I slept in the Canmore Visitor’s Center parking lot. There, we played games in the camper, protected from the rain that fell outside.
On Monday, Tom and I had grand plans of finding sneaky places to camp that weren’t listed online. Unfortunately we came up with nothing but were happy to at least have tried. Later in the afternoon, I went for a run while Tom biked besides me. Canmore is a beautiful town that is completely surrounded by unbelievable mountains. They also have an amazing trail system that extends for miles in all directions. Once I adequately stretched, we drove to the Nordic Centre right out of town where they have an 18 hole frisbee golf course. Since the course runs through the forest, we let Mogli roam off-leash, which we later regretted, finding out after he took off chasing a deer, that his shock collar was out of battery. Although we had the mishap with Mogli and neither of us played spectacularly, it was the most beautiful course I have ever played and the time spent together was irreplaceable.
We met Brian and Hannah to climb at 10 the next day. We decided on Echo Canyon which requires a long, uphill hike in order to reach the climbs. Trusting the forecast for sunny weather, we all came unprepared for what ended up being cloudy and cold. We climbed for a while with frozen fingers before calling it a day and heading back to the truck. On our way back into town, we noticed a couple trying to push-start their car. We parked behind them and got out to assist in their efforts. After two failed attempts, the guy laughed at his own incompetence, realizing that the key hadn’t been in the ignition. Since we had pushed him uphill, he successfully started the car on the roll backwards. They introduced themselves as Bre and Alex and expressed their endless gratitude. Tom and I drove away, both experiencing the high that results from helping others. We later met Brian and Hannah at the visitor’s center where the four of us spent the night parked side by side.
We were told that if we wanted to spend a day climbing at Lake Louise, then we needed to get their early to beat the crowds and find a parking space. Heeding that advice, the four of us got up before 7 and drove to the lot where we secured a place to park and made breakfast. As the air warmed, we packed up our things and headed for the wall. Lake Louise is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Banff, and for good reason. The turquoise water is framed by the surrounding mountains, which, when we were there, had been dusted with snow. Crowds or not, it is an amazing site to see. Our friend Brian is a really strong climber and encourages Tom and I to push our limits. He eases our fear of the unknown by assisting us in navigating difficult routes. The level he can climb at is impressive and the result of his dedicated training, but instead of being intimidating, he makes everyone feel strong and capable. We all had a really good day of climbing and worked hard on our attempted routes before calling it a day. With perfect timing, rain began to fall right as we packed up our things and started our walk back. We drove back to the visitor’s center where we took Mogli for a walk and changed out of our wet clothes. Since it was our last night with Brian and Hannah, we sat in their immaculately outfitted van, talking about life and climbing while drinking whiskey.
Both sore from an intense day of climbing, we decided that we’d take the day easy. After saying goodbye to Brian and Hannah, we headed to the Kananaskis Visitor’s Center to try and get information/a permit to do some backcountry backpacking. We sat and asked the woman behind the desk a bunch of questions and her answers weren’t what we wanted to hear. Our hope was to do “random, dispersed” camping in order to explore more secluded areas, but the park won’t provide much information other than maps, since they don’t manage those lands. We looked online for a while to see if anyone had posted suggested areas or routes, but came up with nothing. Eventually we decided that further investigation wasn’t worth our time or efforts, so we bagged the idea, deciding to instead do day hikes and spend the rest of our time climbing. After running a few errands in town, we headed for British Columbia where wilderness car camping is much more accessible. It was a bit of a drive, but both Tom and I had been campfire deprived and wanted to burn up some of the wood that’s been cramping our space in the camper. After over an hour of highway driving, we slowed knowing that we neared our exit. Our dreams of a cold night spent around a fire were instantly crushed upon seeing a large, digital sign that read: “High Fire Danger, Fire Ban in Effect”. Although disappointing, we definitely didn’t go all that way for nothing. The area was beautiful and we were both grateful to be off of pavement.
Friday’s cold rain had us trapped in the camper for majority of the morning. We cozily read and journaled until lunchtime when the weather cleared up. At that point, we jumped out into the freshly cleansed air and went for a run/bike ride. Our jaunt landed us 6 miles away to an overlook that opened up to the Wapta Falls. We stood for a while, taking in the water’s full and yet delicate beauty, before realizing that our drying sweat had us both chilled. After retracing our steps, we were back at the campsite and ready for some dinner. We had just started prepping our meal, when a fellow camper walked over to introduce himself. His name was Simon and he just graduated from high school. Instead of making immediate plans for further education or a career, he’s taking some time to travel outside of Germany, where he’s from. We talked to him for a while before he left to rejoin his travel partners. Later that evening, as we finished up dinner, he and his two friends walked past the camper. We opened the door to greet them and invite them inside. They enthusiastically obliged, all grateful to get out of the cold. While sitting around our small table, we took some time to get to know Jasmine and Davide and inquired about their travel plans. Jasmine is from France and Davide is from Italy. The three of them connected on Facebook through a traveling page where Davide posted a message looking for companions. He planned on renting a car and visiting Vancouver and Banff but didn’t want to do it alone. Although they had only known each other for a matter of days, they seemed to have similar personalities and enjoy each other’s company. We shared stories, laughed and played Crazy Eights before they resigned to their tent and we headed to bed.
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