Banff, Yoho and Jasper National Parks (Jun 2017)

24 Jun 2017 (longest day thanks to the way the Earth rotates)

The Air China flight to Beijing arrived slightly late but it is definitely better than the one yesterday. According to the app, the flight yesterday was diverted to Xi'an.

No need to go through immigration since I am transiting in Beijing. Only need to go through the transit immigration and proceed to security check. Managed to find the transit lounge near gate E10. The lounge was dirty and there was no aircond, with little food. The shower facility was ok and the wifi was working. I had my lunch at Crystal Jade Restaurant.

Flight to vancouver departed slightly late but was considered ok. The lucky lady behind me got the whole row to herself. The flight was full. i was seated next to a lady who coughed non stop throughout the flight and didnt even bother to wear a mask or cover her mouth, gladly sharing germs. I had no choice but to stand at the back of the plane for a few hours between meal times. Lucky there was no turbulence so i could stand at the back throughout for 5 hours.

Some views from the plane window:

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Nearing Vancouver. Can you see the Sea-to-Sky Higyway?

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Reached Vancouver at around 1140am. Quickly bashed through the immgration and security check to get my Air Canada boarding pass bound for Calgary. Managed to get an earlier flight and i thought that was good. Proceeded to the gate and noticed the gate next to mine was an even earlier flight to Calgary, doing last call. I tried my luck and the gate agent let me board this 1240pm flight knowing that i do not have check in baggage. This flight has even empty seats as most passengers were not out of the immigration yet. One can imagine how full the next two flights going to be. I was seated next to a Irish couple who were really nice.

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The flight took 1 hour and we were in Calgary ahead of schedule. Hertz gave me one class upgrade to a Volvo E70 that come with a GPS. I drove off to Banff immediately. The weather was really warm.

Reached Banff and had the most expensive chinese meal in my Life. Not going back for sure. Took picture of the car rented outside the restaurant in Banff.

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Checked in at the hostel around 7pm and the sky was still very bright. The hostel staff was so nice - they reserved me a lower bunk bed furthest from the door by putting a piece of paper on the bed that said this bed had been reserved for Lam. Went to crash straight away after shower, after not sleeping flat for more than 24 hours.



25 Jun 2017

Woke up fresh the next morning, ready to do the Lake Louise National Park. Chatted with a just-retired Texan who was maintaining F35 etc.

Drove off to Lake Louise and lucky i reached early. Any later the carpark will be closed and you wont be allowed to visit Lake Louise. I found that out much later in the day and also after I went back to Singapore.

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Panorama: Please click the photo and see the actual panorama in the photo website. The blog shrunk the this big photo to a smaller size for display.

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I did Lake Agnes trail followed by walking to the Beehive, then the Plain of 6 glaciers. Had chocolate (CAD 4 per cup) at Lake Agnes cafeteria and chatted with a family of 4 from Miami.

Beehive Mirror Lake

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Horse: One can ride horse up the Lake Agnes Trail to the cafeteria.

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Waterfall

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Lake Agnes

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Agnes Cafe

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The young waiter above served many of us.

Red Chair Canada National Park put many red chairs all across scenic spots in Canada, you will see some in the photos.

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It was pretty steep switchbacks up to Beehive. On the way down from beehive, i was lucky to have companion of a group of 4 french elders who looked after me throughout as i was really not a ice/snow trekking person. Fell once on the way down.

Walking up

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Panorama: Please feel free to click the image to see the picture in original size.

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After I bade farewell to the 4 french, I went to Moraine Lake. The car park was full, many cars parked at the road side.

Morraine Lake

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The sky was still bright, so I went to ride the Banff Gondola.

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Met this amazing guy Justin at the top of Banff Gondola station and he was doing timelapses, we chatted. He was with his 3 other travel mates.

This is the final product that he sent me a few months later.



Returned to the hostel to meet 2 nice roommate one from Hamburg and one was from Bern. Both spoke German. We had beer together. Another 2 ladies joined us, also German.

26 Jun 2017

Drove to Yoho National Park in British Columbia today. First destination: Emerald Lake...totally beautiful.

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Then drove to Takakkaw Falls nearby and wanted to try the Iceline Trail.

Warning: Be very careful about driving to and back from Takakkaw Fall! The switchbacks are not for the amateurs.

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Managed to do the Lake Yoho trail thanks to the 2 ladies who were there to a recce trek before they brought their customers up the next day. Met another German (Stephan) at Lake Yoho. 4 of us tried to do Highline trail followed by Iceline trail but could not proceed due to the snow on the ground. We couldnt really tell the path so we turned back and returned by the same way.

Stephan told me about spiral tunnel. It was basically tunnel that allow the really loooooong freight train climb up the gradient by going round and round inside the tunnel of a mountain.

Yoho Lake

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Skunk Cabbage It looks pretty but once the flower comes out the stench is unbearable according to the 2 ladies.

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Bear bag

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See, the red chair again :)

Highland Trail full of snow...how to move on??

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The waterfall seen from high ground: From the lower ground, you can see the falls in 2 tranches. In the higher elevation, you will be able to see the 4 sections of falls.

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Found my hat - thought i lost in on the trail. Some kind soul picked it up and hang it at the sign board and returned me. Thank you.

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Deer seen near the waterfall at the end of the day.

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Got to know a few more new roommates. Martin (the Suisse guy) wasn't feeling too well so he slept earlier.

27 Jun 2017

Woke up early today (5am) to do Lake O'Hara. The kitchen was not even opened yet. Reached the car park at 620am and i was the first one in the shelter. Standing alone in the wind was not fun.

Sunrise

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The way up

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Only at 7am then another few came by. However the reality was that there was no cancellations so I still do not have a place in the bus.

A bit of background why the bus tickets in Lake O'Hara was so precious. In order to protect the delicate Lake O'Hara, the park authority limits the number of bus spaces to 45 passengers a day only and the tickets were all reserved within the first 10 minutes on the date of release: 20 Apr 2017. At that point in time I didnt even know this national park exist. By the time I heard about it in June, everything was too late.

I walked in together with 2 brazilians and a father and his almost-10 daughter from the USA. 11km trek, luckily the uphill was not too steep. My pals:

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Reflection One gets to take picture like these if one is willing to walk up.

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We took 2 hour and 15 minutes to reach the lake and it was worth every effort. We finally saw the 11km sign.

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Reached the camp site near Lake O'Hara.

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Different ways.

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Lake O'Hara

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Panorama: Please feel free to click the picture below to see it in bigger size.

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Panorama: Please feel free to click the picture below to see it in bigger size.

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I tried the Oqabin east circuit but was defeated by the snow. I returned to the park office to have hot chocolate and asked the lady who works there. She suggested Lake Mary route to go up to Oqabin circuit. I didn't realise that I could have used poles to help on the icy ground. I quickly took 2 poles. After some switchbacks i finally reached a good vantage point (the prospect) to view the lakes.

Vantage point: The Prospect

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Sunbathing

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On the way down I managed to cross the icy patches with the help of the poles and reached the point where i was previously defeated. I managed to close the loop. I even have time to go back to the park office to have ginger ale before going down by taking the 430pm bus. The Brazilians were on the same bus as me. We went for a beer at Lake Louise before parted ways. I bought some postcards from the park office at Lake O'Hara and just nice i could get some stamps from the post office at Lake Louise town.

A brief tour to the train station in Banff. The Rocky Mountainer train was there.

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Upon returning hostel, Steffi the German girl asked if she can hitch hiked to Jasper with her bike. We managed to lower the backseats and squeezed the bike in. Next we went to the train station to buy a carton box for transporting the bike on bus later part of her trip.



28 Jun 2017

Checked out of the hostel at 7am. The weather on the way to Jasper turned rainy. It was a gloomy+rainy drive from Banff to Jasper by Icefield Parkway.

I stopped at Columbia icefield to do the icewalk, it was a good experience. i found the ice walk in NZ was better and more challenging. Icelands one was good too.

Columbia Icefield

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After the 3-hour walk, we continued our journey to Jasper. it turned out that the HI-hostel Jasper was on a hill and was not near town. After buying supplies from the supermarket, I sent Steffi to the hostel. After that i checked in at my own hostel downtown. Took the road 93A (parallel to Icefield Parkway, which is road 93) to Athabasca Falls.

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Athabasca Falls

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I happened to meet a guy from Germany that build a bedroom in his van, very comfortable bed he has. He can camp anywhere he wants.

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I went to the park office to enquire about Mount Edith Cavell permit. Apparently the permits are given in the morning 8am-10am. I get my passport stamped in the park office.

In the hostel kitchen i bumped into two eastern suisse guys, a couple from northern Norway and a guy from Montreal. The suisse guys cooked extra and i helped myself to some food, washing the dishes in return. The cooking was good. We had some red wine to toast.



29 Jun 2017

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Woke up early to queue for the parking ticket for Edith Cavell. Rocky Mountaineer train happened to be calling Jasper train station.

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Queue for Edith Cavell ticket.

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I started the day with Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake. Saw black bears on the way. Didnt have time to do Bald Hill loop cos need to rush to Edith Cavell.

Medicine Lake

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Maligne Lake

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Did a stopover at Maligne Canyon. Bumped into the Norweigian couple from the hostel.

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Bent branch like these can scare the hell out of me at times, especially in quiet snowy ground. Twice i was scared to hell by them, in the otherwise quiet national parks, when my footstep vibration shook off the snow that bent them, and they suddenly sprung straight.

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On the way to Edith Cavell.

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It was quite a drive uphill. Many avalanches seen near Edith Cavell.

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Bear warning.

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30 Jun 2017

Saw many such notices at the road side. The Norweigian couple told me that Jasper town will be closed to traffic tomorrow. Lucky I am leaving Jasper today.

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I went to Maligne Lake to do Bald Hill loop cos I wanted to see the lake from high ground. Saw even more bears on the way. Bald Hill Loop was quite tough but offered a good view of Maligne Lake and the surrounding peaks.

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The trail to Bald Hill

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View from Bald Hill

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Seen on the way out of Jasper.

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Passed by Columbian Icefield on the way back. The icefield look different in the sun.

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Drove to Lake Peyto and saw its beautiful colour.

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On the way out of Lake Peyto, a black bear was spotted munching away just next to the highway i was driving on. I couldnt stop in time to take picture of it.

Reached Calgary around 830pm. Was hoping to try the boston lobster in the restaurant but the food was held up at airport cargo. Chatted with the boss. Apparently Calgary doesnt charge provincial tax only federal tax. Now that the oil price is low, the spending in Calgary is in the low unlike several years ago.

1 July 2017

Its Canada day today, Jasper will have closure of streets for the parade, lucky i have left the town. Went to return the car and hop on the plane to Vancouver.

Thank god i have done my web check in and no check in baggage so just need to print out boarding passes at the self printing machine. The long queue at the Air China check in counter was insane.

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There was a musician performing piano in thr departure hall. I recorded all his performance. Air france was giving free cakes and drinks to its paris bound passengers on this special day. I shamelessly went up to the staff to help myself to a piece of cake. Yummy.

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Missed my flight home due to my own stupidity. I literally saw the gangway retracted and the plane retreated right in front of my eyes. The Air China staff could not believe their eyes when they saw me walked up to the gate. They told me to contact my travel agent that issued the ticket but i told them the agency was closed down for good. Air China does not have a ticketing office in Canada so I have to call their office in USA and China. The office in China only accept credit cards in China. So I ended up buying a one-way ticket from the counter at ANA back to Singapore, via Tokyo. The counter staff had to check if they have enough meals before they can accept my booking.

ANA flight was really good. The couple sat next to me became my interpreter whenever flight announcement came on.

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Ended up in Tokyo for transit. I had no yen with me so I have to change some in the airport. There was train out of Haneda airport to a station nera Tokyo Tower where one can transfer to the JR train to Tokyo. They even have locker for you to deposit your bag.

From the window, I could see the buildings and the people inside gyming or watching TVs.

The streets were very clean and the pavement tiles were neatly placed on the ground. It was like I have walked into a fairy tale land.

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Tokyo station

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Ramen

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Tokyo Tower

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Misa Travel closed down their office one month before my supposed departure. I almost thought I could not go. The ticket i booked was valid.

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The flight route

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Videos uploaded to Youtube:

1. Lake Louise



2. Mirror Lake



3. Lake Agnes



4. Emerald Lake



5. Takakkaw Falls



6. Lake O' Hara



7. Lake Oqabin



8. Columbia Icefield



9. Bear



10. Maligne Canyon



11. Edith Cavell



12. Bald Hill



13. Performance



14. Ginza





Thank you for reading this travel blogs. If you are interested to read other travel blogs, feel free to visit www.lamtravels.blogspot.com. Thank you.



Some thoughts and tips that I would like to share:

(A) Flights

1. The airlines in China does offer very good value for flights into Canada, you can consider if you are budget conscious. ANA was certainly very good in terms of food and service.

2. Air China let you use website to prebook lounge and transit hotel stay if your transit time is too long. I managed to book them on their website.



(B) Car rental and petrol

1. I used promo code to bring down the cost of car rental, without compromising the insurance cover, which was comprehensive and included in the rental. In general, I will ensure my promo code has all necessary insurance included.

2. I used prepaid fuel option this time. Whether this is a wise option is of much debate.

3. No petrol refueling along Icefield Parkway, please pump full at Banff or Lake Louise before heading for Jasper, likewise if you travel from Jasper towards Banff.

4. They have secret cameras along the highway, i think i might have been ticketed. Will update you :)

5. If you take bus, they will drive you from Banff to Calgary, then Edmunton, then Jasper, instead of through Icefield Parkway. It is a HUGE detour, and less scenic.

(C) Hostel

1. In Downtown Jasper Hostel, I had to pay CAD20 refundable deposit to get my own set of cutlery. They only have people manning the counter from 8am onwards, if you need to check out earlier than 8am, return the cutlery the night before.

2. HI-Jasper Hostel is not near town. It is in fact far from town. You have been warned.



(D) National parks and trekking

1. Please go really early for Lake Louise National Park, or other popular spots. Once the car park is full they will turn you away.

2. This year was their anniversary so no national park fees applies.

3. Be very careful when you go downhill. Ice that were covered by mud caused me the hard fall on the ground.

4. The map of Lake O'Hara I bought was a gem.

5. Get your passport stamped at the national park office.

6. They have walking poles on loan in Lake O'Hara. Useful.

7. There were homestay contacts on the noticeboard of National Park Offices and a courtesy phone for you to make calls. You should dropby their offices and have a look.

8. Bear spray/bells are essential. Trekking poles helps in many many ways especially snowy terrain.

9. To get the bus tickets for Lake O'Hara, is tough. Google online and you will know why. Bus tickets for the entire season was snapped up within 10 minutes.

(E) Food and beer

1. Beer is expensive in Canada and only sold in liquor store.

(F) Weather

1. Warm. Like oven.

2. Lotsa mosquitoes in the national parks.

3. Wear a hat.

(G) Missed Flight

1. Vancouver Airport has information counter that allows you to call overseas to get your flight rebooked. Very nice staff there.



Thank you for reading this travel blogs. If you are interested to read other travel blogs, feel free to visit www.lamtravels.blogspot.com. Thank you.