A very special Bear...

Monday 3rd June

Johnston Canyon is famous for it's waterfall hike, but for those who are a little more adventurous, you can go beyond the top of the upper falls and find, nestled in the heart of a valley, the Ink Pots. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I started the day by getting online (thankfully I had service) ay 7:55am to eagerly try and book myself a "last minute" shuttle bus ticket for getting to Lake Louise & Lake Moraine on Wednesday. Tickets open at 8am two days before for those "disorganised" (I prefer "whimsy & spontaneous") travellers who haven't booked months in advance like everyone else. Successfully securing myself a reservation for the whopping price of $3.00 + tax, I prepared for my adventures for the day...which brings me back to the Ink Pots, the waterfalls and one of the most beautiful hikes to date.

Across the road from the campground (which I should take a moment to say is once of the most beautiful campgrounds...by the metric that I hate campgrounds and hate having neighbours and feeling like I'm not in the wilderness..it was a very wildernessy feeling campground, with great facilities nestled amongst the trees. 10/10, would return) is the day parking lot and trailhead for the famous Johnston Canyon Falls. The canyon has Lower Falls, which are beautiful and highly accessible for almost anyone to get to, only a short 10-15min walk from the parking lot. The real treasure at the Lower Falls is hidden through a small hole in the rock across a bridge at the base of the falls. Bending to get through, you walk through a small cave, and pop out on the other side...onto a ledge (with a guard rail) face to face with the thundering falls. It echo's impressively, it's wet, loud and UTTERLY AWE-INSPIRING. I think part of it's magic is how unexpected it is. It's a popular place so you have to sort of line up and wait your turn, with people going through in the groups they came with - as a solo traveller I got to go through alone, and until you reach it, the only clue you have to what awaits you while you stand in line is the smiles on the faces of the people emerging after their turn, and the occasional echoing "whoop" you can hear as they shout with joy.

My friends, if any of you ever find yourself at the Johnston Canyon falls, and decide that standing in line to duck into a random hole isn't worth your time.... stand in the damn line. Trust me.

Conscious of the line of people waiting their turn, and the fact that as a solo traveller I was benefiting hugely from the random collective social construct that had been established (with no signs or instructions) of people going through with their groups and no-one else, I took some quick photos, videos and then paused to really enjoy the spectacle before me, be present, soak it in (literally and figuratively) and then made my departure to let the next group of people in.

I continued my trek onward to the Upper Falls, another 20 minutes further into the canyon, with a slightly dwindling crowd, as some opt to only go to the first Lower Falls. It was still pretty busy though, and again I had to stand in a line to reach the end of the viewing platform. Honestly - this is the one you could skip - it's just a waterfall, nothing crazy, sure it's cool, but it isn't unique or remarkable and I stood in line for 20 minutes waiting my turn to reach the end of the platform where I could see the falls in their entirely, along with 15 other people squashed onto the small platform all vying for space to take a photo. Thanks to the landscape and erosion in the canyon over the years (millennia?) you really can't see the falls until you are right at the end of this ramp-way that ends, extending to allow you to see around the curve in the rock wall. It's this ramp-way and platform design that creates so much congestion. I'm glad I saw it...but I turned around pretty quickly and made my way out of the crowd and to the upper viewing areas where you could look down from the top of the falls. Thanks to the steep climb required to get to the top of the falls there were less people up here, and you could look down on the falls and appreciate them without feeling like you were getting to know your random neighbours far more intimately than you want to on a trail in the Rockies on any given Monday.

After the obligatory photos and selfies (sorry mum...I travel solo, my photos will have my arm in them haha), I continued on, and this is where I really left everyone behind. The moment I ventured onward on the trail, past the Upper Falls, I was totally alone - no-one followed, and I hadn't noticed anyone go that way ahead of me since I'd got up there. Finally - some peace! Haha! I did eventually come across some fellow hikers, passing them with a cheery greeting before continuing on. This hike wasn't particularly long (about another 5km past the Upper Falls) but damn it was rough. It has decent elevation gain, it's a fun (rough) track with lots of slippery and muddy bits thanks to the unseasonably cold & wet (shit) weather they've been having in "summer" (I say that in inverted commas because every local I come across has the same refrain - no this weather isn't normal, yes the snow should be gone by now, it should be sunny and warm...damn...as I write this from the warmth of a local cafe in Canmore it snowed so hard last night every car in the parking lot has SNOW ON IT... in the middle of June!). Just as I started wondering if I'd get to the Ink Pots in one piece, and hoping they would be beautiful and worth the trouble, the woods opened up onto this stunning river bed with a snow capped mountain view (see the photos below) and my jaw hit the floor. Risking my phone battery - which thanks to my Life360 safety app has a bad habit of not lasting the day, I snapped as many photos as I could, and then continued on to the Ink Pots themselves.

They were worth it. There are 5 small little pockets / ponds of water in different shades of blue. It sort of looks like a small sinkhole that's filled with beautiful blue water. But instead of subjecting you to my sub-par description, here's what Parks Canada says (paraphrased):

Spring water percolates up through the sand and gravel here to form 5 blue-green pools known as the Ink pots. Look for swirling circles in the sandy pool bottoms - these mark the outlets of water and air bubbles as they move upward from the underground springs. They differ in colour thanks to the speed at which the pools fill - the milky, opaque pools fill more slowly, with a suspension of heavier minerals in them, compared to the clear pools that fill rapidly. The pools are cool springs, as the shallow depth of the underground springs keeps the water around 4 degrees C for much of the year.

I know what you're going to ask - no, I didn't cold plunge in them. It didn't feel it was appropriate to do, there were people taking photos of them and enjoying them and it didn't seem like they'd welcome a random bikini-clad Aussie in the middle of their Ink pot churning up the water. I did put my feet in each one though, as I figured this could count as a nod to my cold plunge challenge...I touched each pool.

I returned to camp feeling a little sore in the legs, but happy in the heart, and sat knitting and reading by the fire for the evening.

Tuesday 4th June

I had a slow start to my day today, as I needed to vacate my campground by 11am, and couldn't check into my next campground until 2pm... but they were only 30 mins apart so I had some stalling to do, and didn't think vacating at the crack of dawn when I woke up would be a good strategy.

I ended up leaving about 8am, with the goal of driving toward my new campground (Lake Louise), and finding a turn-off or trailhead I could park in for the day until I could check-in. I love this type of 'no plans' travel, as it allows me to find things I wouldn't otherwise find. I drove for about 10 minutes before coming to the trailhead of a hike I hadn't found or even considered doing until then - Castle Lookout. I had breakfast in the parking lot (it was beautiful), and then went to look at the trail map to see how long the hike was, and if I could complete it in the time I had. I could. I went back to the van, filled my camelback, grabbed my bear spray and headed out onto the trail. In the time I'd been having breakfast and getting ready I'd been joined by a bunch of other cars and had seen a few groups head onto the trail ahead of me, including a (very impressive) trail runner. It was a 7.5km "hard" trail...and it was hard. It was super steep but that gradient paid dividends in gorgeous views thanks to the trail being cut into the side of a mountain with little in the way of tree coverage. It did feel a little like you could fall off the side at any given moment, but also gave you unobstructed mountain views the whole way up. I absolutely loved this trail - I saw people, but it wasn't busy, the views were amazing and it felt really good. I did a bit of rock scrambling and pushed myself out of my comfort zone with some of the scrambling (yes mum, it was perfectly safe, I'm just a wimp - if you've been hiking with me, you've seen me freeze and cry trying to jump 30cm between two rocks a whole 3 ft off the ground...ok I might be being a little rough on myself here, but I think I've made my point).

After making it back to the van, I changed and headed to Lake Louise Campground to check-in. I wasn't expecting to have a powered site, but ended up scoring one (yesssss!) but the payoff was that I was in a zone that didn't allow campfires. I also had absolutely no reception, which was a surprise given this is possible the singular most popular campground in the entire Canadian Rocky region, thanks to it's proximity to the iconic Lake Louise... seriously, if you google Canada, Lake Louise photos will be one of the first things you see. This made my next step a little challenging... you may recall my last minute shuttle bus booking? This is the only way to get to the iconic Lake Louise and it's slightly less famous (only a small step down in fame) cousin, Moraine Lake. In the summer months the only way to get to these lakes is on a shuttle bus. They shut the roads due to the insanely high volume of tourists that visit these lakes each season, in order to protect the area. So if you don't get a shuttle ticket...you aren't seeing the lakes (unless you want to go on foot, but honestly this isn't really practical). Ok, look, you can technically drive to Lake Louise, if you want to pay $44 + tax for parking...but unless you do this at 5am, you won't get a spot anyway, and you still need a shuttle ticket to get to Lake Moraine. Soo... why bother? Back to my lack of phone reception issue... my ticket was on my phone in my email and not preloaded. I also needed to get a different, free shuttle from the campground to where the main shuttles for the lakes depart from. And I had no idea how to do this, when it left, how often, or where from. Now look, I could have walked the 2km to the campground main office (my site was truely in the depths of the campground), but I'd just hiked up a mountain, had a shower, I was clean and fresh and warm and I didn't really fancy doing this at 5pm, when I was 90% sure by the time I arrived they'd be shut anyway. Thankfully, while I couldn't get anything as helpful as Google to load, what I could get my phone to do was send Whatsapp messages (sorta...with a lot of patience), and my dear friend Luke (who lives in Toronto) is honestly better than Google anyway. I explained the situation and within moments he had texted me2 a map of where the shuttle departed from, and the times the shuttle departed from the campground. Woo - thanks Luke! Solo travelling may look like lonely business, but in reality having a whole host of people acting as your Support Crew is not only essential, but makes the whole business so much more sustainable.

So, dear readers, please allow me to interrupt my story telling for a moment to say thank you to my precious support crew - you probably don't realise just how pivotal your support is to my trip, and I really couldn't do it (ok fine I could but it would suck) without you:

• Mum & Dad - gotta start up top with the OG. They support me emotionally, mentally, financially (I don't have a credit card - dads gets used for a lot of deposits I couldn't otherwise make), and every other way possible. They also keep my fur-child safe so I can travel without worrying about him.

• Laura - bestie, I can call you any time I feel stressed, anxious, lonely. You're never too busy, you never get sick of hearing me stress and complain about where to find fresh water, or how gross I feel and how long it's been between showers. You love me unconditionally and that's so special.

• Nina - the yin to my yang, you challenge my perspectives, make me think differently and are one of the most capable and strong women I know. I admire you, all that you do and all that you are. Time has no relevance to our friendship that has endured across boarders and oceans since we were but small fry's in an New Zealand Primary School.

• Alex & Joc - my Canmore support crew who feed me, graciously allow me to park in their driveway, let me use their washer and dryer and give me endless local advice on the area. As I write this post, I am sitting in a local Canmore cafe that Joc recommended to me last night as she cooked me a tofu & chickpea curry for dinner. What a freaking goddess (Alex - you're a lucky man). I am still looking for ways to repay them for the continued hospitality and friendship. These two are a testament to how special new friends can be.

• Luke - my photography teacher, Canadian Google Guru, friend, and everything in between. Luke and I had our paths cross in a bit of a weird way - he's the nephew of one of my favourite colleagues at the school I worked at last year. We attempted to cross paths when I was in Toronto, but I was initially there so fleetingly it didn't actually happen. At this point, Luke and I have never met, but he has treated me like a friend for weeks now, bantering with me, ranting about how much we hate Elon Musk, and dangers (and benefits) of AI, and fixing my crappy travel photos. Luke is a seriously humble yet skilled hobby photographer and you guys should all go check out the photos on his Instagram. I am determined to organise an exhibit for him in Toronto but convincing him is a work in progress...so go pressure him and comment on his photos telling him how much you'd pay for a print on your wall. Because I'd pay a lot. They're beautiful. Can't wait to go camping together in a few weeks (finally!) IG: @lukebouwmeester

• Alex - my gym buddy, my tiny precious (honourary) little sister. You are always there for me, you support me, inspire me, and having you continue to push me and celebrate me means more than you know.

• Sarah (Bear) - my oldest friend, while we have no idea how to have an argument with each other, because they've been so scare throughout our friendship, we're always there for each other. While we have often been at totally different stages in life, we always support each other, and challenge each other. Ironically, now we're in our mid-30s we are at very similar life stages - Bear has just moved to Berlin to live and work, packing up her life in Melbourne to make the change. It's hard and scary and amazing and beautiful. We're both on the job hunt and often complain about how much this sucks together, motivating each other to keep going and reminding each other we're awesome (lol).

I am probably forgetting people, which is always the risk of making lists like this, so stay tuned for a part 2 at some stage, and please don't be offended if you aren't on the list above - it means nothing other than my brain is currently running on 3 cups of coffee and 4 hours sleep, and I'm racing my laptop battery to get this post typed out.

Ok, back to the day. Luke saved me (what a hero) and I was able to relax and settle in for the evening sans campfire and full of "night before Christmas" energy for what tomorrow would bring.

Wednesday 5th June

Christmas Day...also known as Lake Louise / Moraine Lake day! Today's the day, it's here! It's arrived!

I got up and got going pretty early, eager to get to the location to get my shuttle to the lakes. Thanks to Luke's assist from the night before, I walked to the free campground shuttle and seamlessly caught it to the main shuttle departure location. My shuttle driver for the drive was a cheerful guy from the USA who reminded me a lot of my precious step-dad Lance. It was a nice way to start the day :)

I checked in at the park-n-ride for my shuttle to Moraine Lake and shortly after boarded the bus. The drive is about 40mins and while it was pretty, the windows were filthy so I didn't bother attempting to get a photo. The bus arrived at the Moraine Lake carpark and unceremoniously dumped us at the kerb. You may recall me saying that the area is currently having unseasonally cold weather? Well...Moraine Lake was still almost entirely frozen - so no stunning sunshine and blue blue water for me. It was very different to what I was anticipating, and I couldn't hike because all the trails were totally impassable without proper gear (X-country skis or snow shoes and a GPS to stay on trail) so I enjoyed walking around the lake and listening to the tinkle sound the ice made as it shifted and melted. Given I couldn't do the trails, I didn't spend as long here as I anticipated, and before long I boarded the shuttle to head to Lake Louise. Half an hour later I was dumped in another carpark and made the short walk to the lake. Ok - this one was better. It wasn't frozen, it was blue blue BLUE, and utterly stunning. These lakes are iconic for a reason - they live up to their hype - they are worth seeing before you die - epic epic beauty and honestly, mother nature was really just showing off when she made these lakes. Most trails here were also impassable, but I managed to do 2 short-ish hikes. The first to a viewing platform that offered a beautiful view looking down onto the lake. The next was to the famous Lake Agnes Tea House - just 3km away from Lake Louise. It may have only been 3km, but damn it was rough. The path was overridden with snow and ice, it was like a highway of people, in various states of preparedness to be traversing such a trial and as such, often you were standing still in a single file line of people, while some very red-faced tourist picked themselves up after slipping in the slush. But eventually I made it... to not only a frozen lake, but a lake so frozen it was covered in snow. You couldn't even see the ice - it just looked like a big open field of snow. The only give away there was a lake under it was the waterfall thundering over the rocks at one end. The Tea House was overrun with tourists, so I admired it from the outside, took some photos and made a hasty descent, keen to get away from the crowds.

Returning to Lake Louise, I ventured around the lake in an attempt to get away from the crowds because I had a mission... I had to cold plunge. Here's possibly the most devastating fact so far from my trip... I didn't hit record on my camera, so you will all just have to take my word for the fact that I have swum in the famous Lake because I have nothing to show for it. And I didn't realise until I was on the bus on the way home when I went to review my photos and videos from the day. Given how hard it is (thanks to limited shuttle tickets) returning isn't on the cards this trip, so I won't get a do-over this time...but it's high on the list to go back and get a photo of me swimming in one of the most iconic and famous Lakes in Canada.

Despite not getting the shot, I had an amazing time exploring both lakes, and returned to camp happy...Christmas Day lived up to the hype.

Thursday 6th June

My stay at the famous Lake Louise was limited by availability (again - I'm a spontaneous (disorganised) traveller and I booked last minute - honestly I was lucky to get in at all), so I had to leave today and head back to Canmore. But you guys... I saw my first BEAR on the side of the road! And it was a Grizzly to boot!

My day was to bring me more than just an animal bear however...today was bringing a very special human Bear to me, so I had zero complaints when I got up and broke camp. I left super early, as I wasn't able to park and Alex's house and instead was going to try and secure a campsite in a nearby campground that operates on the 'first come first serve' basis, with no bookings available. Alex had lent me a tent I could use to secure a spot, and I wanted to arrive early to maximise the likelihood I could get one. I rolled into the Three Sisters Campground around 8am, and found a stunning spot on the Bow River. I pitched the tent, and left again to head into town and clean the van before Sarah's bus arrived in town later that evening. I spent the day prepping and cleaning the van (so overdue), and enjoyed a few hours at the campground before heading back into Canmore to pick up Sarah from her bus. Having not seen her in months, our greeting was full of jumping and squealing and we quickly headed into town to find a place to go for dinner. After dinner we drove into camp and passed out pretty early - Sarah exhausted from a big travel day and me just...well...tired.

Friday 7th June

I let Sarah sleep in as much as possible today, and quietly got up and retreated to the front cab to read my book and have a coffee while she slept. When she awoke I made her waffles on my mini waffle maker, coffee, and we sat outside and enjoyed the campground. I planned a gentle start to her trip with a town day, taking her to both Banff and Canmore to explore and see the sights. We started with Banff, walking around the towns, visiting the falls, and having lunch at my favourite - Park Distillery. After lunch we made our way to Canmore, where we checked out some op-shops, and the second-hand gear store, Switching Gear. We had a very successful shop there (perhaps too successful?) scoring some great quality North Face and Patagonia gear and more. We returned to the campground and did a cold plunge in the famous Bow River, that weaves its way through the campground, before making a fire and settling in for the night. We made friends with Kevin - a single guy from Calgary who was camped next to us, and invited him to play cards, before also roping in Mike and his dog Senna, camped just behind us. We had a great night with a little too much whiskey, talking until the early hours of the morning before all retreating to our respective vans and tents.

Saturday 8th June

I had been stalling waiting for Sarah to arrive before doing a very specific hike, up a local peak called Ha Ling. It's about 8km, with a massive elevation gain and is known locally as a tough but epic trail. We drove to the trailhead and got ourselves ready with plenty of water, charged phones, and our hiking boots. There were plenty of people on the trail, with Sarah and I repeated exchanging "how did they get up here in THAT?" looks with each other, when we saw people in all manner of footwear and clothing options. I won't lie - this hike was HARD y'all. We had lots of stops and I was not graceful. There was a lot of panting and gasping and when we reached the summit we both looked like we'd been dragged backward through a bush. But DAMN it was worth is. We had a summit beverage, and sat soaking in the view before beginning the descent. The last 500m or so of this hike is sketchy af in both directions. It's essentially scree, super steep and I'm not sure how people don't fall off all the time - especially those in cowboy boots with no grip (yep, I saw that). We returned to the camp for another cold plunge, a hearty meal and an early night.

Sunday 9th June

Road trip! Today we were set to drive from Canmore to Jasper to enjoy the coming week up in Jasper National Park. This road trip is super famous, along what is known as the Icefields Parkway, and is full of amazing places to stop at along the way. I tried to narrow it down to what we could do in a day, but often people will take several days to complete the 3.5 hr drive, simply because there is so much to see and do along the way. We stopped at Bow Lake (a frozen wonderland), Peyto Lake (famous for its blue colour and the fact that it is shaped like a wolf from above), Athabasca Glacier (I'd never seen a glacier before, and wow it did not disappoint), and Athabasca Falls (also wildly impressive, with a super unique shape to it and canyon). We pulled over for lunch at a small gravel side-road where I cold-plunged in what I think was the Athabasca river...though I'm not entirely sure because there is no phone service along the Parkway, and I can't retrospectively work out exactly where we stopped. We arrived at camp pretty wiped, but excited for the week ahead...