Featuring plenty of biking and hiking adventures, and some speed crawling.
Category: moosling
I’d been led to believe Wasootch Slabs in K-Country were an awful festering pit of slick slabby awfulness. In reality, it’s really not that bad out there. Sure, they’re slabs, and maybe the top-roping area is a bit polished, but it’s a pretty nice option for climbing with a Cragbaby.
However, the day we chose got kind of cold and windy, so we didn’t last long. And when I say windy, it was windy enough to blow over babies, and to make climbers cling to the wall like frightened geckos. At least there were still rocks to be eaten though.
This is where we went to test out the brand new down quilt and brand new tent.
Not to the middle of that lake, but to the Okanagan, camping in a friend’s backyard. We did things like cycle around to wineries…
Leading to a stash in the Chariot looking a little something like this…
The tent worked a treat (although we really have to remember to seam seal it)…
And the down quilt worked too…
We also did things like play in one of those splash park things that are a fantastic idea and I guess the only reason they were never around in Australia was water shortage issues. And enjoy the hot weather. And had fireworks. And ate proper home-made sorbet. And went and saw some goats. Then got stuck in traffic for an extra four hours on the way home due to an accident. But, we were in the middle of Yoho National Park, so the scenery was lovely, and we made it back to Canmore just ten minutes before the pizza place closed, just in time to pick up the pizza we’d cunningly ordered.
[Gah, finally the domain is up and running again – anyone reading on RSS will have no idea what I’m talking about. Everyone else, we’re back to regular service now I hope]It didn’t really help that it was unexpectedly cold. Riding from Canmore up to Whiteman’s Gap towing a Chariot was good training for Alex. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I’d never biked Goat Creek before and was surprised by how rocky and rough it was (although the photo below was taken on a smooth section, there were rocks, honestly).
Definitely do-able with the Chariot, but all descents had to be taken slowly, and the riding really isn’t that exciting, with views of trees, trees and more trees along the way (also for a ‘downhill’ ride, there’s a lot of uphills). Finn did like the creeks though.
Stopping in the sun in Banff was pleasant enough, but then returning via the Legacy Trail was just beginning to get a bit tedious, probably because I was cold and cranky by that point. All in all, ride rating was a solid ‘meh’. Now I’ve done it I need never do it again.
Our day-after-solstice hike was up Mount Allan (named for the first professor of geology at the University of Alberta, he was responsible for going “Hey, there’s coal here… and here… and here…” all around this area).
There’s a good description of the trail at trailpeak, but in general: you follow Centennial Trail. There’s an old mine. It’s quite steep. Then it’s not for a bit, and there are nice views, and some meadows. Then there are some funky rocks. Then there’s some scree. Then you’re at the top.
For a 16km hike with 1350 metres of elevation gain it really didn’t seem that long. Although it took us seven hours, so perhaps it was just the gorgeous day making time fly. It was the first day after the end of the seasonal closure for the area (so the Rocky Mountain Sheep can raise their lambs in peace), and there were just two other people on the mountain with us. And apparently a bear, although we never saw him.
Summit: 2819m
Return distance: 16km
Elevation gain: 1350m
Trip time: 7 hours (with plenty of breaks for snacks, photos, changing baby, lazing in sun, admiring marmots and wildflowers etc)
Snow levels: There are a few snow patches, but nothing you can’t get around with ease