Last week, Andrea and I decided to make a trip out to Alberta to do some hiking in the Rockies. We left the next day! We didn't really plan anything but knew we were headed for Waterton National Park in Alberta to do the infamous hike "Akamina Ridge." Well, should be infamous! We woke up early and drove 12 hours heading East through the Crow's Nest Pass to the Alberta/BC border. It was a remarkable drive with amazing views and fresh fruit at every market along the way. We filled our car with peaces, nectarines, bananas and blueberries.
This is where we camped amongst the masses of RVs and trailers. We are tucked away in a grove of trees somewhere in our tent. Except for the one night we were camped right by the road and woke up the tent being blown away with only Andrea holding it down, and the car shaking back and forth with me jumping out of it and racing to save Andrea from flying away with the wind.
Never a dull moment! The classic one hand wonder. This is only one of many that were taken.
We woke up early the day after our long trek out to Alberta and began our day of hiking. We hiked up through Alberta where we were met with a "Welcome to BC" sign and continued the rest of the hike in B.C. We hiked along the Ridge and could see mountain range after mountain range, glacier after glacier and mosquito after mosquito.
Here are some pictures from the hike. They do not do it justice at all!
A panoramic from the summit.
The next day, Andrea and I decided to go back home on a different path and head down to Glacier National Park in Montana. We had no maps or no idea how to get there but we were ready for a great adventure. We woke up to a crazy wind storm which turned out to be the theme of our day. When the wind died down and we managed to pack up our tent while holding it in the air and hoping that we didn't blow away with it, we realized that our tire was almost flat. In the middle of nowhere, it's hard to find a convenient gas station so we took a half hour detour before our day even began. It was only the beginning...
We get stopped at the border by two state troopers who continually ask us if we have alcohol or drugs and who want to check our trunk to make sure we are telling the truth. We had one trooper at each window staring in at us as if we were criminals. A little bit of awkward conversation in the car with them watching and we were free to go.
We find Glacier National Park easily and take a nice scenic drive through the park, stopping at random view points along the way to see waterfalls and lakes. We pass by many neat and impressive looking hikes but we are too sore from the day before to even think about getting out of the car. We passed most of the hikes before we could make a fair decision about them. However, once out of the park, we get our second wind and decide that every viewpoint along the way must be seen. With no map to help us out, we decide that because we live on the West Coast, West would be a good direction to start heading. We head West down a random hiway for about 3 hours until we feel pretty lost and in the middle of nowhere. We decide to pull out Thomas the GPS and let him lead the way but he decides to take us even further into the middle of nowhere and decides that gravel roads with multiple potholes is the way to go despite having a deflating car tire. When Thomas tells us to turn into where a tree is standing and then head up a steep gravel road , we decide to turn around and go back to the random hiway we had been heading down. Another 1/2 hour detour. We somehow manage to get to Idaho where we take a picture of the Welcome to Idaho sign and then turn back the other direction to get a picture of the "Welcome to Montana" sign. We went out to eat in some random town in Idaho at a place called Smudgies because we thought the name was cool. It actually turned out to be a really nice place. We were pretty impressed!
The next day, Andrea and I decided to go back home on a different path and head down to Glacier National Park in Montana. We had no maps or no idea how to get there but we were ready for a great adventure. We woke up to a crazy wind storm which turned out to be the theme of our day. When the wind died down and we managed to pack up our tent while holding it in the air and hoping that we didn't blow away with it, we realized that our tire was almost flat. In the middle of nowhere, it's hard to find a convenient gas station so we took a half hour detour before our day even began. It was only the beginning...
We get stopped at the border by two state troopers who continually ask us if we have alcohol or drugs and who want to check our trunk to make sure we are telling the truth. We had one trooper at each window staring in at us as if we were criminals. A little bit of awkward conversation in the car with them watching and we were free to go.
We find Glacier National Park easily and take a nice scenic drive through the park, stopping at random view points along the way to see waterfalls and lakes. We pass by many neat and impressive looking hikes but we are too sore from the day before to even think about getting out of the car. We passed most of the hikes before we could make a fair decision about them. However, once out of the park, we get our second wind and decide that every viewpoint along the way must be seen. With no map to help us out, we decide that because we live on the West Coast, West would be a good direction to start heading. We head West down a random hiway for about 3 hours until we feel pretty lost and in the middle of nowhere. We decide to pull out Thomas the GPS and let him lead the way but he decides to take us even further into the middle of nowhere and decides that gravel roads with multiple potholes is the way to go despite having a deflating car tire. When Thomas tells us to turn into where a tree is standing and then head up a steep gravel road , we decide to turn around and go back to the random hiway we had been heading down. Another 1/2 hour detour. We somehow manage to get to Idaho where we take a picture of the Welcome to Idaho sign and then turn back the other direction to get a picture of the "Welcome to Montana" sign. We went out to eat in some random town in Idaho at a place called Smudgies because we thought the name was cool. It actually turned out to be a really nice place. We were pretty impressed! 
Then we continued driving for another couple hours while the sun set and the scenery disappeared. We arrived in Spokane, WA. We were pretty tired at this time and finally found signs to a road we recognized but at the same time got pulled over by another state trooper for him thinking that we were not wearing our seatbelts. We were. But we did learn from him that in America, seatbelts must be worn at all times while driving. Good to know! We were so flustered at being pulled over that we missed the sign to the hiway and got twisted around in one way
streets on a Friday night in the city. We decide we've had enough fun for one day so we decide to find a campground and set up camp. We find a place but it is only full of RVs and there is a sign saying Do Not camp on grass. It's 11:00. It's dark. There is no one in the office so we decide hey, let's just camp in the car and we'll figure it all out in the morning. We weren't going to be there long anyway. So we open up the windows a crack, recline the chairs and fall asleep. I wake up at about 4:00 and see a man in his thirties approaching the car. A little freaked out, I keep perfectly still and hope he goes away. He does. Phew. I go back to sleep thinking it was probably the camp ranger checking out the situation. I go back to sleep. 20 minutes later, Andrea and I are both woken up and a man is over top of our car putting something on our windshield. In his other hand, he is holding a gun. WHAT!?!?!?! He then backs away from the car and Andrea hears him uncock the gun. A little bit shocked? Uh Huh. We get the paper which turns out to be the camp registration form so we assume it was the park ranger but still... seriously... why do you need to be pointing a gun at a car with two sleeping girls. We start the car, drive to the office, write a note telling them what happened and said we didn't feel safe there and we weren't going to pay them. Then we booked it out of there, down the hiway at 5:00 in the morning and we drove straight across WA and up back to Canada, filling up Flat Jacks tire a few times on the way. The end.
streets on a Friday night in the city. We decide we've had enough fun for one day so we decide to find a campground and set up camp. We find a place but it is only full of RVs and there is a sign saying Do Not camp on grass. It's 11:00. It's dark. There is no one in the office so we decide hey, let's just camp in the car and we'll figure it all out in the morning. We weren't going to be there long anyway. So we open up the windows a crack, recline the chairs and fall asleep. I wake up at about 4:00 and see a man in his thirties approaching the car. A little freaked out, I keep perfectly still and hope he goes away. He does. Phew. I go back to sleep thinking it was probably the camp ranger checking out the situation. I go back to sleep. 20 minutes later, Andrea and I are both woken up and a man is over top of our car putting something on our windshield. In his other hand, he is holding a gun. WHAT!?!?!?! He then backs away from the car and Andrea hears him uncock the gun. A little bit shocked? Uh Huh. We get the paper which turns out to be the camp registration form so we assume it was the park ranger but still... seriously... why do you need to be pointing a gun at a car with two sleeping girls. We start the car, drive to the office, write a note telling them what happened and said we didn't feel safe there and we weren't going to pay them. Then we booked it out of there, down the hiway at 5:00 in the morning and we drove straight across WA and up back to Canada, filling up Flat Jacks tire a few times on the way. The end.1 flat tire, 2 Countries, 3 days, 4 state troopers, 5 provinces/states, 6 peaches, 9 hrs of hiking, 2000 km of driving=1 great trip!
No comments:
Post a Comment