Banff: Arriving in Calgary & exploring Moraine Lake (Days 1-2)

It's been a long time since we've traveled. Long time readers will remember our incredible travels through New Zealand, Fiji, Kenya/Tanzania/Zambia, Iceland, and Portugal, and the resulting daily blog instalments that took you along for the journey with us. (If you'd like to re-live these adventures, they're hyper-linked on the righthand side).

Add in 3 years of a fertility journey, a pandemic, a pregnancy, and a couple of years getting our bearings as new parents, and here we are, 6 years later, traveling again. 

Things look a little different now, trying to wrangle a toddler and all our extra stuff to and through the airport and keeping him calm and contained on the flight, but the premise is the same.  I could write paragraphs about how difficult it is to drag a car seat through the airport and convince flight attendants you're allowed to use it on the plane, or waiting in line for an hour and a half in Calgary to get our rental car while said toddler has several meltdowns, or about how he ate a bag of cookies for dinner because we were too exhausted after a day of travel and jetlag  to convince him to eat anything else, but that's not why you're here. 

After a very long day of traveling, we finally left the Calgary airport, made a quick grocery run, and were on the road to Canmore (just south of Banff).  And then, there they were.  The mountains. 

Something about them enters your being like nothing else.  Impossibly large, not really stand-alone objects but more a part of the earth around you, covered in seemingly perfect rows of dense evergreens, and topped with snow, they appear in the distance, beckoning you to come closer. As we approached, and every turn yielded more and more of the tumbling mountains, Alberta's Rockies, and a deep sense of calm came over me (or maybe it was that R was passed out in the back seat with an empty bag of cookies in his hand, finally not making a sound).

Truthfully though, this feeling washed over me unexpectedly.  The blurred years of IVF and a pandemic and pregnancy/early parenthood put such a gap between my pre-parenthood self that I had not even noticed what I had been missing.  This longing to be elsewhere, to be immersed in unknown landscapes, bubbled to the surface, drawn out slowly, like the early melts of the glaciers running down the mountain sides themselves. 

We checked into our hotel in Canmore, Falconcrest Lodge.  The room has a full kitchenette (though no stove - we missed the fine print so had to do some meal rearrangements) and a sliding glass door to a little balcony that looks out at the Three Sisters mountains, plus several others. Our little traveler, who had been asking us every day for at least a week "we go to mountains today?" finally got to see what we had been traveling over 12 hours to see. They were partially covered in clouds, and he was amused that they might be "hiding/playing peekaboo".  

After unpacking and settling in (which involved an urgent call to the front desk to request a vacuum cleaner after R tried to "help" unpack the groceries and smashed a glass of strawberry jam), we had a late dinner we had picked up from Thai House in Canmore (incredible Panang Curry if you like spicy food, and the Pad Thai was quite good too), we all went to sleep to prepare for a busy next day. 

Life as a parent means the concept of sleeping in is non-existent, so we were well prepared to get up for a bright and early morning and be on the road by 7:30 to drive to our shuttle pick-up spot near Moraine Lake.  The drive along Trans-Canada Hwy 1 was an endless string of mountains, and R felt the need to announce each and every one ("Look mama, anodder one!"  "More mountains overdere mommy!")  

We were probably just as excited as he was, and it made me think about how precious it is to see life through the eyes of a toddler - everything is new to them, everything is full of wonder and excitement. Is this why we travel - to recapture that feeling of newness and wonder?

We had booked a shuttle bus with Fairmont Limousine as we didn't want to risk not getting a spot on the Parks Canada shuttles (Moraine Lake is closed to personal vehicles now), as they were reasonably priced and had good reviews.  We parked at the Lake Louise Inn as instructed, and hopped aboard a very clean and comfortable bus led by very friendly and incredibly organized folks.  R was in his element, riding yet another mode of transportation, and his excitement was contagious.  It was a short, 20 minute drive over to Moraine Lake, and we were soon on the trail for the Rockpile hike.

This short trail climbs steadily up quite a fair bit of stairs, but is not overly strenuous. At the top is where people get the "iconic" Moraine Lake photos and selfies.  R was delighted to no end, giggling and laughing as he climbed up the stairs faster than I could, boasting about his "strong legs" and not showing any signs of slowing until we reached the top.  

Mystery couple at the view of Lake Moraine from the Rockpile hike

There were quite a bit of people doing the hike and at the lookout points, but everyone was calm and friendly and gave us space.  We were happy that today was a relatively clear day and the sun was out, hitting the water at the perfect angle and giving the water that magical turquoise colour that everyone wants to see.  We explored a little at the top, took the obligatory photos, and then headed back down to start our main goal - the Lakeshore hike.

Clark's Nutcracker

At the bottom, my birder radar was of course alert to any new birds. I had already been delighted to have a Black-billed Magpie land on the tree outside our hotel room, and here at Moraine there were many Clark's Nutcrackers hanging around, hopping close to people in the hopes for a handout. 

R needed a snack, so we headed over to the shore of Moraine Lake for him to throw rocks (the child has no greater joy than this activity) and have a bite to eat.  After a few minutes of this, we heard some commotion and saw the crowds of people moving away from the lakeshore and back up to the main road.  Soon we caught wind of what was going on - a young grizzly bear was walking very close to where we all were, and Park Rangers were trying to get people away from the area.  We quickly grabbed all our things (why does traveling with toddlers require so. many. things?!) and made our way back up to where the other people were congregating to try and get a glimpse of the bear.  

"This is a serious situation - please stay back!" the Rangers shouted at people, as they tracked the bear.  Their intent was to keep it away from the area and scare it away with a paintball gun.  Grizzly bears are much more dangerous than the Black Bears we are familiar with back home who will bolt at the drop of a hat, and the ranger's main concern was to discourage the young bear from getting anywhere near the populated area. There are only around 60 bears in the park and they are working hard with conservation efforts to keep them safe, but their last resort if the bear decides to charge is to shoot to kill, so frightening it away with paintball guns is one of their management strategies to encourage fear of humans and hopefully making sure that sad last resort never comes to pass. 

I did manage a glimpse of the bear and ranger from afar with my zoom lens, and I am quite happy if this is the closest I ever get to a grizzly bear.  Once the commotion died down and the rangers were tracking the bear further off, we checked in with a park ranger to ask if it was safe to continue on the Lakeshore hike.  The short answer was that it was as safe as it usually is - meaning you are still likely to encounter a grizzly at any point and you should be aware of the risks.

Park ranger and the light-coloured young grizzly

We decided to go for it.  R was quite upset by the whole event and his compliance levels were 0%, so we popped him on my back in the hiking carrier and away we went.  As he whined and wailed, I commented to Jen how we were hiking with the best bear deterrent there was!  

The hike along the Moraine lakeshore is absolutely beautiful.  It's short (3 km round trip) and we did it at toddler pace in just over an hour.  The hike takes you away from the crowds of people almost immediately, and while we encountered a few people on the trail, most of the time we felt like we had this magical turquoise lake almost to ourselves.  Once R calmed down, he enjoyed the multitude of little creeks and mini "waterfalls" running off the mountainside and into the lake, and enjoyed looking for the next ones.  The colour of the water and the view of the mountains was absolutely breathtaking, and we loved taking our time along the trail to breathe it all in.

Lakeshore trail

Moraine Lake

Moraine Lake seen from Lakeshore hike  

Yellow-rumped Warblers, Swainson's Thrushes, an Oregon Dark-eyed Junco, Chipping Sparrows, and an incessantly singing Wilson's Warbler were observed along the trail, as well as a Harlequin duck way out in the lake, but the most exciting bird of the day was found for me by R.  I was looking at something else, when he pointed to the bushes and said "mama what's dat?"  When I looked, it was a Boreal Chickadee!  These beautiful little birds have a soft chestnut cap rather than the black caps we are used to back home, and I'd only ever seen one once.  My excitement was infectious as I marveled at the bird and tried to get some photos, and R kept saying "I found it" with obvious pride.  My little birder in the making!

Boreal Chickadee

We enjoyed our lunch on a nice big flat rock at the end of the Lakeshore trail, near the mouth of a river that was tumbling over the rocks and feeding the lake. It was a beautiful place to rest before heading back, and even though there were a handful of people there doing the same, it was so much better than the throngs of people over at the Rockpile hike where everyone else usually goes.  If you come to Moraine, I highly recommend this hike, even if you're not a hiker - it's quite easy and flat, and you'll be able to experience the beauty in a much slower, relaxed way. 

After one more stop on the way back for R to throw rocks again, we headed back to our shuttle for the Fairview Limo folks to pick us up.  We had timed it so that R would be ready for a nap by the time we got back, and after a bathroom stop inside the Lake Louise Inn and grabbing a coffee from there ($5 for one regular brewed coffee - pro tip if traveling with a partner or friend, ask for a large coffee and a cup of water, drink said water, pour half the coffee into the second cup and voila!  A regularly priced coffee.)  (Backpacking skills die hard, apparently)

We took route 1A part of the way back to Canmore in order to extend R's nap a bit, and enjoyed the scenery on the way to Johnston Canyon.  After that we went over to the BC/AB
border and the Great Continental Divide (marked red on the map to the left) and had gorgeous mountain views on the route here.  The Great Continental Divide separates the watersheds that feed into the Pacific vs the Atlantic ocean, and is one of the more prominent of such divides as it follows a mountain range all the way down to Mexico.  There is a marker at this spot that separates Alberta from British Columbia, and Jen drove R around the parking lot spanning two provinces while I hopped out to take a quick photo.

AB - BC border

At the end of the Three Sisters (not pictured) short hike   

Once back at the hotel, we prepared an early dinner and let R play a bit before heading out for a quick evening hike.  We chose the Three Sisters Viewpoint hike as it was only a few minutes from the hotel and promised a beautiful view, a body of water for R to throw rocks in, and was only 1 km long.  The parking instructions were a bit confusing and we missed it on first pass, but you park outside the large fenced in dog park, and then you have to cross the highway to the other side, which was a little unnerving to do while holding a toddler but we didn't have to wait too long for a sufficient break in the traffic.  The hike itself follows a creek bed, which is quite rocky, and goes underneath the railway tracks which form a small bridge, and then after a bit more rocky footing turns into a nice flat packed dirt trail through the woods.  The view of the Three Sisters and their perfect reflection in the water did not disappoint, and if you walk down to the left a bit you'll find a spot with plenty of rocks for a toddler to throw (which he did).  It was peaceful here and we didn't encounter many people except for some local dog owners. 

After that, it was back to the hotel to get R ready for bed and pack our bags and lunches for tomorrow's busy day.