Friday 4th September 2015…Day 11!!!!

Had a good sleep and was up at 7am and out of the door at 8.15am I had a full day planned…..these were the mountains from down town!!

By the side of the road

My first stop was Medicine Lake

This is an amazing lake

This is the other end of the lake taken in the afternoon

I then reached the parking lot of Maligne lake and the start of the trail “Bald Hills”  listed as 10.6 km with 1900 feet elevation gain… a good work out by the sounds of it.

The problem was it was not quite 9am and quite cold so I dressed up warm but I knew after 20 minutes I would be sweating but it worked out…there are bear warning signs every where…

On the trail going up….

Reached the summit with lovely view of the lake

 

I rested and ate and then started to climb to the higher peak but with fresh snow and cold wind

I decided not a good idea..so turned around and took another loop down which was quite lovely!!!!

Just over three hours later I was back at the car and then I drove to my next hike about 30 minutes away…I must say at this point there is so much to see and do and it is not possible to do everything so I did some research on how best to spend my days.

My next hike was the 6 bridges leading to Maligne canyon for this I wish I had a better camera..

What I am going to tell you now happened in like a nano second…I turned the corner in the trail I had seen no one when I heard this like scratching noise from a tree on my left and I turned to look and there it was….you read about it in the books…. they warn you about these animals, the difference between the browns and the blacks and what evasive action to take but when you are confronted you literally freeze.

I was maybe 10 feet away and he or she was looking right at me…I read that you should not make eye contact so I tried to look away but that is hard to do…..all this flashed through my mind…should I stand tall and make loud noises…slowly back away singing…….play dead cover up my head as best I could…….he or she was looking right into me like inviting me to make the first move and I quickly decided to slowly back away I brought my hiking pole up to protect myself…..I never felt frightened or thinking this is the end I think instinct took over…then to my complete surprise I got my camera and took a photo…I could not believe I did that but I thought if this creature betters me then at least someone will know who it was…and then without any warning he or she suddenly turned and scampered away…I could not believe it..how lucky I was not only to come out unscathed but to have a memory on my camera…….

He or she looks really mean but meant their match with a Pearson boy!!!!

This was a beautiful hike…

This canyon was so deep.

On the main road about a mile out of town spotted these are they elk?????

What a wonderful but tiring day reckon I hiked around 20km….after last night’s disastrous meal I bought a salad and stayed home had a long hot shower and planned my day for tomorrow.

Yasho Kochi!!!!

Thursday 3rd September 2015….Day 10!!!

This morning was like yesterday a good sleep followed by a nice early morning walk….we had such fun last night that’s all we talked about this morning over breakfast how lucky I am to have special friends in all parts of the country!!!!

I said my fond farewells and was on the road by 11am…as soon as I got on the main highway the rain started and just about all the way….

Stopped here for a short break and let little Bluey relax!!!

It feels a bit strange to be back in this province…I lived here from 1980 – 1993!!!

Soon as I was entering the park

So 4 hours after I left I was at my accommodation for 3 nights……Jasper is very expensive and this weekend is also a long weekend and I did have trouble finding a place to stay…but I did find this place on line through a site I had not used before but I had contacted the landlady by e mail and she sounded nice so I booked and I have the room for 90 dollars per night and it is very comfortable and clean and 2 minutes from down town Jasper!!!

I got settled in and then went for a walk into town bought a few groceries and unfortunately the place I chose for dinner was not good so I must make a better choice tomorrow….there is a fridge in the room but no micro….

Got cleaned up and listening to music and writing this…..I also gained an hour with the time difference…the forecast is not great and I am here for 3 nights but I fully intend not to let the weather bother me I have really warm clothes and good rain gear……..

There is also a major bicycle race going through town on Friday and Saturday…….

Yashi kochi!!!!!

Wednesday 2nd September 2015…Day9!!!

Had a really good sleep and was awake by 7am so before anyone else was up I put on my hiking shoes and went for a walk on the gravel road

This was the lake before I left!!!

I walked 7 km and I enjoyed the quiet, smell of the trees and I really wanted to see some animals but did not…the lake when I got back!!

The girls cooked a wonderful breakfast and then it was time for the boys to do some work…wood loading…..this was all new to me but we drove down this logging road for about 20 minutes and then stopped

Doug working hard with Larry behind supervising..please notice the empty truck!!!!!!!!

Then it was Dale’s turn

So we got into a routine…..Doug was on the chain saw, Dale on the axe and Larry would carry the wood to the truck where I would stack the wood…

Am I or am I not a good wood stacker???

Once we had finished chopping because the chain saw ran out of gas…

Doug drove us to see a beautiful lake in the distance…we did see a black bear run across the PATH IN FRONT OF US BUT TOO QUICK FOR A PHOTO!!!!!

We were all tired and hungry when we got home and the girls did hamburgers for us and then the weather changed

The rains came down so we watched a movie and after the movie finished what a change in the weather

So Doug took us all out on the boat, what a fun trip!!!

Dale and his harem of Karen, Arlene and Gail!!

Home again!!!

The day went by very quickly and after another wonderful meal we spent the evening playing Pictionary……what a great day…thank you Arlene and Doug for your wonderful hospitality.

Sadly I leave tomorrow and a drive of about 380km to Jasper where I am staying for three nights!!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Tuesday 1st September 2015….Day8!!!

Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits!!!!

Where did August go??

So this morning after breakfast I went for a nice walk for about an hour came back and did some more planning, watched a little bit of tennis and then Gail and Larry and I packed up our vehicles, Larry rode with me and Gail drove their van and off we left just after 3pm for Barriere and to visit with friends Arlene and Doug!!!

It was a good drive and almost 4 hours later we arrived at this beautiful home on the lake in the middle of no where and I mean no where!!!!

Arlene and Doug have been friends of G & L for a long time and I met and stayed with them in January in México when I went to visit G & L…we struck up a great friendship and A & D invited  me to come to the lake this summer..so here we are and what fun this will be…..check out the beautiful home and location!!!

Two other friends of A & D, Karen and Dale are also here and I also met them in Mexico in January so the stories around the dining table were fun and filled with good memories.

Just for me Arlene made a roast beef and Yorkshire pudding dinner!!!!!What can I say except thank you so much Arlene!!!

A true Pearson dinner…

After dinner the stories got funnier and funnier and don’t ask me how but the stories got around to feet and hard skin on the feet and I finished up giving first Doug

 

and then Larry

a foot rub down…no comments please !!!!

Boy I am so lucky to have so many wonderful friends….it was a great evening ..I know tomorrow is going to be a fun day too….

Yashi Kochi!!!!