Camping in the Rockies
Having been without internet access for several days, I’ll just cover the highlights of the journey south…
- we left work at noon(my friend K. and I) and managed to get on the road by 1pm. The ferry wait wasn’t too long, and before we knew it, we were out of the territory and heading south to High Level, AB.
- we stayed at the Sahara Inn in High Level, having supper at the Stardust Hotel…I felt like I was in Vegas…
- we stocked up in Grande Prairie with groceries, gas, and other items and then headed out to Jasper, via Grand Cache…much more scenic drive than the traditional route.
- we arrived at the campground about suppertime after what turned out to be a LONG FUCKING DRIVE but very scenic…love love loved the mountains once they came into view.
- it rained each and every day we camped, but just a little sunshower for a few minutes, long enough to make us scramble to put stuff away, and throw up a tarp…then the sun came out.
- we ate like queens…thanks to my friend K., the Martha Stewart of the Rocky Mountains…and Le Stock Pot in Yellowknife.
- we saw TONS of wildlife along the way – bears, deer, elk, moose, sheep, goats, and a mother duck with a brood of ducklings…incidentally, I spotted her in advance, thinking it was a crow so didn’t slow down at first…then realized that it was mother duck, with about 12 little ones, so I screeched to a halt, as she was in the middle of the road with her little ones. I couldn’t swerve to the right, as I thought I might clip a few, swerving to the left would get mother duck…I stopped just in time…to smother her in a cloud of burnt rubber as it blasted past my car after I stopped….she then decided it was not a good time to cross and went back down over the shoulder of the road with her little brood of ducklings…phew…
- we took handheld walkie talkies to communicate with from each other’s car as we took two vehicles (since I was continuing on to BC and she was heading back up north). They sucked. Turned out to be useless in the mountains. Cell phone coverage was not much better…so I ended up spending both driving days with little contact with K. She missed out on some great stuff!
- I went for a couple of hikes along the way – one to the Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Icefield, and one to the Sumptwa Falls Gorge. The gorge was much more scenic…the glacier is just a bunch of snow and ice…interesting, but not real scenic…
- I slept in my hammock all 4 nights and didn’t get cold, wet, or fall out (someone was concerned that I might…). I didn’t get drunk either, so that might have contributed to it’s success somewhat…
- The campground prices were SUCKY in Jasper, and I was rather pissed with the whole experience. We had to pay $29+ per night for the campsite, a $8+ booking fee, another $8+ PER night for a campfire permit, ANOTHER $9 per day for being in the park, and when I dared ask what all the damn fees were, they said they were to maintain the park. I went looking for what I was getting for my money…turns out there was no toilet paper at the bathroom, no paper towel, and they closed the showers early for no apparent reason…Banff was MUCH better. The campground there was just $15 per night, plus booking fee, and NO fire permit (was told it was included in the price of the site) and when I pulled in, he looked at my park tag that ran out that day, and asked if I was planning to go to town tonight, and if not, to just come in the following morning and get a new pass for one day, instead of two. My car didn’t move for 3 days, so I didn’t bother at all...heh heh…thanks bud.
- we were invaded on night two at Banff by some sort of tour group. I was apparently out of it and not paying attention to the fact that while my back was turned to the two campsites behind us, two large van buses pulled up with a trailer and unloaded gear and 12 people…at least they were fairly quiet and bedded down early…
- Jasper and Banff townsites were the same – commercial tourist havens/traps…I bought a bumper sticker and moved on…
It was a fine camping trip, and now K. is on her way back up north, and I am in Kamloops, headed for Vancouver Island tomorrow – yahoo!
- we left work at noon(my friend K. and I) and managed to get on the road by 1pm. The ferry wait wasn’t too long, and before we knew it, we were out of the territory and heading south to High Level, AB.
- we stayed at the Sahara Inn in High Level, having supper at the Stardust Hotel…I felt like I was in Vegas…
- we stocked up in Grande Prairie with groceries, gas, and other items and then headed out to Jasper, via Grand Cache…much more scenic drive than the traditional route.
- we arrived at the campground about suppertime after what turned out to be a LONG FUCKING DRIVE but very scenic…love love loved the mountains once they came into view.
- it rained each and every day we camped, but just a little sunshower for a few minutes, long enough to make us scramble to put stuff away, and throw up a tarp…then the sun came out.
- we ate like queens…thanks to my friend K., the Martha Stewart of the Rocky Mountains…and Le Stock Pot in Yellowknife.
- we saw TONS of wildlife along the way – bears, deer, elk, moose, sheep, goats, and a mother duck with a brood of ducklings…incidentally, I spotted her in advance, thinking it was a crow so didn’t slow down at first…then realized that it was mother duck, with about 12 little ones, so I screeched to a halt, as she was in the middle of the road with her little ones. I couldn’t swerve to the right, as I thought I might clip a few, swerving to the left would get mother duck…I stopped just in time…to smother her in a cloud of burnt rubber as it blasted past my car after I stopped….she then decided it was not a good time to cross and went back down over the shoulder of the road with her little brood of ducklings…phew…
- we took handheld walkie talkies to communicate with from each other’s car as we took two vehicles (since I was continuing on to BC and she was heading back up north). They sucked. Turned out to be useless in the mountains. Cell phone coverage was not much better…so I ended up spending both driving days with little contact with K. She missed out on some great stuff!
- I went for a couple of hikes along the way – one to the Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Icefield, and one to the Sumptwa Falls Gorge. The gorge was much more scenic…the glacier is just a bunch of snow and ice…interesting, but not real scenic…
- I slept in my hammock all 4 nights and didn’t get cold, wet, or fall out (someone was concerned that I might…). I didn’t get drunk either, so that might have contributed to it’s success somewhat…
- The campground prices were SUCKY in Jasper, and I was rather pissed with the whole experience. We had to pay $29+ per night for the campsite, a $8+ booking fee, another $8+ PER night for a campfire permit, ANOTHER $9 per day for being in the park, and when I dared ask what all the damn fees were, they said they were to maintain the park. I went looking for what I was getting for my money…turns out there was no toilet paper at the bathroom, no paper towel, and they closed the showers early for no apparent reason…Banff was MUCH better. The campground there was just $15 per night, plus booking fee, and NO fire permit (was told it was included in the price of the site) and when I pulled in, he looked at my park tag that ran out that day, and asked if I was planning to go to town tonight, and if not, to just come in the following morning and get a new pass for one day, instead of two. My car didn’t move for 3 days, so I didn’t bother at all...heh heh…thanks bud.
- we were invaded on night two at Banff by some sort of tour group. I was apparently out of it and not paying attention to the fact that while my back was turned to the two campsites behind us, two large van buses pulled up with a trailer and unloaded gear and 12 people…at least they were fairly quiet and bedded down early…
- Jasper and Banff townsites were the same – commercial tourist havens/traps…I bought a bumper sticker and moved on…
It was a fine camping trip, and now K. is on her way back up north, and I am in Kamloops, headed for Vancouver Island tomorrow – yahoo!
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