Update, part 2: Banff!!
So, as mentioned several times, we went to Banff this past Saturday for the day. It was an incredible day!!
After going to bed at 2am the night before, I was up at 7:30am (on a Saturday morning!) to meet people at the car rental place for 9am, then it was off to Banff! By the time we left, got to the town around 11am or so, and started hiking up Sulphur Mountain around 11:30am.
With breaks & stuff, this took us about 3 hours. The path was about 5.5km long, and the elevation at the top was about 2881m (although Banff is a pretty high town, so I don't know what the elevation change was - I think I read about 700m) You know it's a group of 6 engineering students hiking up a mountain when you start arguing over how much energy/work/power you're exerting. Or when a big discussion is started over the tension in the line that supported the gondolas that also went up the mountain. Tee hee!
Despite how much walking it was, my legs weren't too bad, although they've been a little sore for the past few days since. But I have no stamina, and there were a few times where I had trouble breathing. I must say though, Sophie was the only one who didn't seem to want to walk up - and while I think she thought we were nuts for doing so, I must say that I was proud of her for walking the entire thing - both up & down! It was a good hike, although I slowed down towards the end, due to the breathing, and a mild phobia of heights/falling (see below)
But the entire thing was well worth it - GORGEOUS!! So quiet & peaceful, despite the number of people, and such a great view. Definitely let me know if you want to see pictures - I was so happy with how some of them turned out. I still don't think a camera can capture the full beauty of being on top of the Rocky Mountains, but some are still quite good! Just so unbelievable - I don't even know what else to say!
We were up there for awhile - probably about an hour & a half (we also had some food there) then started to trek downwards. Now, this part went faster than climbing up - took a little less than an hour & a half. However, I had some problems initially - again, back to the fear of falling. Since we were up so high, there was snow on the mountains, and thus, snow & mud on the path. The path is not terribly wide either - some parts, room for 2 people, but that was about it. And with the wet mud, and the snow, some parts were a tad slippery, and since this was beside the drop-off, my fear of falling came into play, for a good third of the walk down. I'm usually not afraid of heights too much - being on top didn't bother me, as long as I had a bit of distance from the edge. However, I was freaked out by the walking down on slippery paths - it was horrible, but luckily, Amanda & Vinay stuck by me to encourage me. Once we got past the snow, and back on dry ground, I was completely fine walking down the rest of the path.
It was an amazing experience though, although definitely showed us all that we're out of shape! Afterwards, we visited some of the shops, and went for dinner, since we were all starving. It was also TJ's birthday, so we headed to one of his favourite pubs afterwards. Dan & Matt also came to meet up with us there - Dan's another co-op student, who's actually in Calgary for just a month or so, working on a project for his company, and Matt's his brother, who was visiting for the weekend. I'd met Dan earlier in the week at the Watpub, and it was my first time meeting Matt, but they're two very nice guys.
Anyway, we ended up leaving later than planned, since Amanda was driving. Then got lost on the way home, both things b/c of TJ. I know Amanda wasn't too impressed with him at the end. Meh.
However, another thing that made the day spectacular is that on the drive back to Calgary from Banff, we saw the afterglow of the Northern Lights. I have never seen them - it was amazing! There were also so many stars out - between those two things, and the view from the mountain today - makes you realize how awesome nature is!
After going to bed at 2am the night before, I was up at 7:30am (on a Saturday morning!) to meet people at the car rental place for 9am, then it was off to Banff! By the time we left, got to the town around 11am or so, and started hiking up Sulphur Mountain around 11:30am.
With breaks & stuff, this took us about 3 hours. The path was about 5.5km long, and the elevation at the top was about 2881m (although Banff is a pretty high town, so I don't know what the elevation change was - I think I read about 700m) You know it's a group of 6 engineering students hiking up a mountain when you start arguing over how much energy/work/power you're exerting. Or when a big discussion is started over the tension in the line that supported the gondolas that also went up the mountain. Tee hee!
Despite how much walking it was, my legs weren't too bad, although they've been a little sore for the past few days since. But I have no stamina, and there were a few times where I had trouble breathing. I must say though, Sophie was the only one who didn't seem to want to walk up - and while I think she thought we were nuts for doing so, I must say that I was proud of her for walking the entire thing - both up & down! It was a good hike, although I slowed down towards the end, due to the breathing, and a mild phobia of heights/falling (see below)
But the entire thing was well worth it - GORGEOUS!! So quiet & peaceful, despite the number of people, and such a great view. Definitely let me know if you want to see pictures - I was so happy with how some of them turned out. I still don't think a camera can capture the full beauty of being on top of the Rocky Mountains, but some are still quite good! Just so unbelievable - I don't even know what else to say!
We were up there for awhile - probably about an hour & a half (we also had some food there) then started to trek downwards. Now, this part went faster than climbing up - took a little less than an hour & a half. However, I had some problems initially - again, back to the fear of falling. Since we were up so high, there was snow on the mountains, and thus, snow & mud on the path. The path is not terribly wide either - some parts, room for 2 people, but that was about it. And with the wet mud, and the snow, some parts were a tad slippery, and since this was beside the drop-off, my fear of falling came into play, for a good third of the walk down. I'm usually not afraid of heights too much - being on top didn't bother me, as long as I had a bit of distance from the edge. However, I was freaked out by the walking down on slippery paths - it was horrible, but luckily, Amanda & Vinay stuck by me to encourage me. Once we got past the snow, and back on dry ground, I was completely fine walking down the rest of the path.
It was an amazing experience though, although definitely showed us all that we're out of shape! Afterwards, we visited some of the shops, and went for dinner, since we were all starving. It was also TJ's birthday, so we headed to one of his favourite pubs afterwards. Dan & Matt also came to meet up with us there - Dan's another co-op student, who's actually in Calgary for just a month or so, working on a project for his company, and Matt's his brother, who was visiting for the weekend. I'd met Dan earlier in the week at the Watpub, and it was my first time meeting Matt, but they're two very nice guys.
Anyway, we ended up leaving later than planned, since Amanda was driving. Then got lost on the way home, both things b/c of TJ. I know Amanda wasn't too impressed with him at the end. Meh.
However, another thing that made the day spectacular is that on the drive back to Calgary from Banff, we saw the afterglow of the Northern Lights. I have never seen them - it was amazing! There were also so many stars out - between those two things, and the view from the mountain today - makes you realize how awesome nature is!
posted by Jill at
11:29:00 p.m.
2 Comments:
I'd like the link to your pics please. :)
By
Maureen, at 8:31 a.m.
HAHAHAHA
Remember all the ice and snow when we took my shortcuts up Mount Royal in Montreal? I am surprised I didn't fall on my ass on that hike.
By
Anonymous, at 2:14 p.m.
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