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Yesterday, after dropping the hitchhiker downtown Prince George, I drove South for another hour before stopping. It was getting really foggy and dark so there wasn’t much to see.

The car was all frosty when I woke up but the night was warmer than any other. I’m peeling my layers as I get closer to Vancouver.

The morning was simply a photo treat. Low warm light, fog, it snowed during the night but there were a few patches of blue sky, just perfect.

I’m not sure if it’s easy to see on this photo, but most of the trees burnt, ashes leaving the face of the mountain all gray.

Today’s stop is by 100 Mile House, a little town along the highway. I stopped there for no other reason than its name. And again I managed to find a nice place full of locals, free wireless internet, and most importantly: a great pecan pie. It’s called the Chartreuse Moose.

I’m then going to continue getting closer to Vancouver, as tomorrow I’ll have to give the car back. I think I’ll spend the night near Hope, not too far from Vancouver to be able to get there quickly tomorrow morning, but far enough to feel that I’m not there just yet. There’s definitely some melancholy in the air, but a possible trip to Whitehorse keeps me smiling :)

I was originally told to check out Terrace, rather than Smithers. But I ended up there for two reasons. First, time. I just didn’t have the time to go to Terrace. Secondly, while talking to someone about my trip and the places I wanted to see, I mentioned Terrace. Her eyes grew bigger and she told me about Smithers, insisting that it was an even nicer place than Terrace.

I didn’t see much of it but have no regrets. I asked about a place where I could sit down and drink something while plugging my laptop and access internet, and all replied “Mountain Eagle” book shop. It’s a great place to meet locals, and if you’re into books, it’s paradise.  I ended up spending most of the day there and had just enough time to check out Old Hazelton. Strangely, after talking all morning, my head was full of thoughts and I didn’t feel much like taking photos, but I do recommend checking it out.

PS: I was just checking out Smithers on the wikipedia and the movie Eight Below was filmed there.

I then assisted to the most beautiful sunset ever. Again, no photos, but for a different reason this time, I took a hitchhiker with me all the way to Prince George. It was interesting to talk with someone local but he quickly fell asleep only to wake up a few kilometers before we arrived.

(road to Lake Jasper)

After a quick break in Jasper to have breakfast, I drove to Lake Jasper (on the Road to Edmonton).

(wildlife by Lake Jasper)

I was told I would see wildlife in Jasper, I sure did.

(wildlife by Lake Jasper)

I didn’t hike anywhere, the road just follows the Lake. Back to Jasper and direction Prince George.

(lunch break on the way to Prince George)

I’ll arrive in Prince George in the evening and will continue to Smithers where I’ll spend the warmest night so far. Temperatures are way warmer here.

I now understand what explorer Mary Schäffer meant when she wrote “There burst upon us… the finest view any of us had ever beheld in the Rockies”. I suppose it would look even better in summer time, but still, even being all white, this place is just amazing. So quiet, peaceful.

(road to Lake Maligne)

(Maligne river)

Now off to check out Lake Jasper.

(road to Jasper)

This road has the most amazing views I have ever seen. If there is one road that will let you in awe, it’s this one.

I finally arrive in Jasper, and I’m glad I asked Brett about its size because I would have been surprised. It’s a village, or a town if you want, but it’s small, way smaller than Banff. I’m not sure why I expected it to be much bigger.

(road from Lake Louise to Jasper)

(arriving in Jasper)

Stop number, gaz, and another $85 out. I arrived in Jasper with only a few spare litters. Then food, and finally I enquire about internet. I check google maps to find out where I could spend the night, and maybe with a bit of luck see the rest of the sunset and the sunrise tomorrow morning. My pick will be Pyramid Lake. It should be quiet there, it’s at the end of a road (at least at the end of the part of the road which isn’t under few feet of snow). I’ll have my dinner there, with a nice with on the lake, and plan the rest of the trip.

I’m not sure if this will work, but here is the plan. First, Lake Maligne, then, Lake Jasper. After that I’ll go by Jasper to update the blog and drive as much as I can before the night towards Prince George. Maybe even pass Prince George and start making my way to Smithers and Terrace which are the two last places I want to see before going back to Vancouver.

(planning the rest of the trip)

Before heading to the lake, I need to check my emails to find out about the trails I’ve been advised to take (since I stupidly didn’t write it down). I can’t find an open network nor a place with free wifi and end up at the Post Office (called the Depot, which is also a bank amongst other things, Lake Louise being a small village). No free wifi but I don’t want to pay just to check this one email I need, so I explain the situation to the man in charge. He will first try to convince me to take his advice about the trail, but as I insist he will let me check my emails for free.

Another stop by the public toilets to refill my water bottles and direction the lake. I arrive before the crowd, there is almost no car on the parking. Time to hike.

(arriving at the Tea House in Lake Louise)

The first person I’ll meet on the trails will be Brett, with whom I’ll spend a few hours, first going to the small Beehive, then to the Tea house by Lake Agnes, and following his advice I will go and check out the waterfall located on the right side of the Lake.

(waterfall by Lake Louise)

Now direction Jasper.

(The Summit Cafe and Three Sisters in the background, as I wake up)

Destiny wanted me to try the Magic bar from “The Summit Cafe”. It’s located 1001 Cougar Street, at the corner of Benchlands, and it’s already opened when I wake up (before 7am). I can’t remember exactly what it is made of, but there is some chocolate chunks, some condensed milk and some nuts. Boy what it good!

I’m driving around Canmore trying to get a nice view of the sun rising on the pink mountains but I’ll giving up and head to Lake Louise. But this time, instead of taking the highway, I managed to find a small road that goes all the way to Lake Louise, by the Bow Vallery. Road 1a. 48km through the forest with less traffic and better views.

(Three Sisters, taken from the car on the way to Calgary)

21h30 is time for goodbyes. I leave Adrian at Calgary International Airport from where he will fly back to Vancouver and the next day to Europe. The car is suddenly very empty and I almost miss Adrian’s mess. But the journey continues, back to the Rockies.

(arriving in Calgary)

After driving for a while in the Three Sisters village (thinking that it would be up in the mountains, near the Three Sisters rocks) I end up spending the night in Canmore. Believe it or not, I will park in front of a bakery as I am already thinking about tomorrow’s breakfast.

We’re now in Calgary, and I managed to find a nice little place to sit down, asking people in the street. The people here are so friendly that I really wanted to mention the place. It’s called “Steeps Tea” (google map link to Steeps Tea), located at the corner of the 16th and 8th and they have Wifi, and an amazing selection of teas and really friendly staff. Ask Chantelle anything about any tea and I bet she’ll be able to amaze with her knowledge.

Update: I recommend the Blueberry Square which is made according to an old recipe coming from Czech Republic (neighbor with Adrian’s country, Slovakia. Small world)

After spending the afternoon strolling in Banff we drove to the bottom of Sunshine where we parked the car and slept. As I couldn’t find a quiet spot to pitch my tent we both slept in the car. Well, when I say slept, Adrian slept and snored while I tried to sleep. I could only stop him for a few seconds by making noise or kicking him but he started again almost immediately. The snow plow woke us up, and as it did, I noticed I couldn’t see outside. The windows were covered in snow. I had a bad feeling yesterday when Adrian left the car’s roof window opened to let some air in, so I wasn’t too surprised to see a few centimeters of snow in the car in the morning.

We quickly drove to the parking as it’s Saturday and people were already starting to arrive. After getting cleaned up we took the Gondola and started exploring the runs. We first took the Angel Express chair lift and the Continental Divide Express to get a view from the top. Once down we went on the opposite side, by the Wama Quad Chair where we met locals who noticed our back country gear and gave us some good tips to find powder. So we hiked for an hour to the top of the mountain and from there we had one of the best powder runs, no tracks and plenty of powder. That made our day.

That’s two sides explored, we then headed down to the Goat’s Eye Mountain. As we were ridding down we bumped into a ski patrol and once again, found some good powder with only a few tracks (and many rocks and trees) and I even managed to get some really deep fresh powder by going on the very side.

(Adrian arriving at the top)

It’s already 2pm and we both need a break so we head down to get some food and drinks and waitress tells us about her trip to Fernie and how much powder she had over there yesterday.

(coming back to the runs after our powder run)

I have to drive Adrian back to Calgary, but after that, I think I might change my plan and go to Fernie instead of Lake Louise. I’m also keeping an eye on the weather in Kicking Horse as this would be an awesome resort to ride if they get fresh snow.

(Adrian out of bounds)

(Three sisters, from the car window)