Greetings!
It is the height of summer and I am standing on ice. Very thick ice. Only a thousand feet below me is there solid ground. Did you guess that I am at the Columbian Ice field, walking on a glacier, the Athabasca glacier? It truly boggles the mind to fathom how huge this glacier still is, which has already lost 60% of its volume since first discovered 135 years ago. It continues to retreat 10 metres per year and will likely have melted completely before another 135 years slowly slip by. But today I am standing on ice which goes down for a thousand feet to the ground below. We took a bus tour almost a kilometre up the glacier and then disembarked to walk around on the hard, bluish ice. While there, I managed to fill a bottle with glacial water that was coursing downhill and drank it later in the day, after it had warmed up a little. It is supposedly, mystically, very rejuvenating. You may not recognize me when I return home with a full head of hair!
Understatement of the year: Hiking the Rockies is incredibly exhilarating!
Some hiking trails follow fast flowing streams, the noisy currents rushing over polished rocks and gushing down mini-waterfalls, the colour of the water white being fed by glaciers melting many miles upstream, carrying dissolved rock flour which gives it its unique colour. Other trails may snake along a mountain ridge, the slope on one side falling steeply several hundred feet below, the bottom invisible due to the thick evergreen forest, no doubt filled with dangerous animals lurking in the shadows. Still others may circle around a chain of lakes whose waters are a rich, otherworldly, aquamarine-turquoise colour and unusually clear all at once. Just the right amount of rock flour dissolved in the lake and only the deepest green hue will get reflected back to our eyes. In all cases, the views change with each minute and are magnificent: nearby mountains grow out of the ground in all directions to dizzying heights, many still dotted with fields of snow or indeed capped completely in snow, and, some with huge, silver-grey glaciers literally stuck to the slopes in precarious orientations. It is obvious why I overhear people speaking in all the world's languages as these are world-class vistas which attract tourists from every country!
Before departing Montreal, I had been reminded by several friends to "remember to wear my bear bells" while hiking in the Rockies. Turns out they do exist -- these $2 trinkets are sold to the tourists (for $10) to be worn on your belt or attached to your backpack while hiking in the wild.
With each footstep the bells jingle and thus alert the nearby bears of your presence.
But I have another theory: they in fact attract the bears and so several tourists are eaten each season, sparing the locals who hike in peace and enjoy the serenity of the parks absent the constant jangling and consequential bear attacks.
And speaking of bears, here is a tip for spotting them in their natural habitat: while driving along the roads in the parks, if ever two or more cars are parked together on the shoulder, simply slow down and pull over as well. What is funny is that often there are so many cars arriving that they are sometimes stopped right on the road, at all angles in every direction, effectively halting all traffic.
Within a few moments you, too, will be snapping pictures or shooting videos of wildlife. Using this secret technique, we saw elk with huge, almost preposterous antlers feeding on the grass, mountain sheep clinging to rock faces licking at the deposited salts, and black bear families munching on berries just a few metres from the safety of the car. Of course, it is even more exciting to exit the car and venture closer on foot. It's always a good idea to have your escape route in mind as these animals are wild, are fast and are unpredictable, too!
Here's hoping your summer is not too unpredictable nor too wild...
Wild West Barry + Cowgirl Olga
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| Lake Agnes |
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