A walk to the Vermillion Lakes in Banff

I recently spent a wonderful weekend in Banff National Park in Alberta. Three of us from my local walking club did a nine hour road trip together to the Canadian Volkssport convention. You may have read my posts about doing my 10 km walks. This is what it's all about! I will be writing an upcoming post (but don't hold your breath!) about Volkssport and how it has changed my life and there will be more posts about the convention coming up. In the meantime if you want to read more information about it click here.

Vermillion Lakes are a series of three lakes located west of the Banff townsite. Archeological evidence shows that there was human activity around this lake as far back as 10,800 years!

The weather was absolutely amazing - we were so LUCKY! Everyone at the convention was overwhelmed at how beautiful Banff was - yes I do live in an amazingly beautiful country.

The first full day of the convention my friend June and I did an 11 km afternoon walk to the Vermillion Lakes and back. I had been advised not to do this walk (I was going to do the 5 km version of it) alone as there were a lot of bears around. The upper levels of Banff still had a lot of snow so the bears were at lower levels looking for food after their long hibernation. Luckily June agreed to accompany me and I don't think she regretted it!!!

We walked along the Bow river and then along a forested path and emerged onto a road that meandered beside the lakes.

I don't need words to describe the beauty of our walk so I will shut up now and let you enjoy it. But keep a look out for bears.and especially keep an eye out for that very aggressive mama elk they say is around as well....

We walked out and back on this road - definitely not a shabby view..

Starting to head back

Back through the forest

I hope you enjoyed taking the walk with us - it was a beauty. But there are more of these to come....there is no such thing as a boring walk in Banff!!!

Comments

A walk along the coffin trail (and a couple of lakes) in the Lake District

While in the Lake District I wanted to do some light walking but not heavy duty hiking where I could easily get lost and my body not found for days partially eaten by hungry...sheep? Anyway, you get the drift...not too grueling and safe for a solo walker. I get a bit nervous when I am too far from civilization. There are lots of books about walking in the Lake District but they seem to be all about walking the fells in remote places...neither Thelma nor I fancied that. While browsing in the post office/shop in Ambleside one day (if you are ever in Ambleside you must go there - a treasure!) I found a stand of walk descriptions on post cards. And there I found my walk. After all who could resist a stroll on the "coffin trail" in William Wordsworth country... I took a look and thought hmm...cafe along the route...that works for me. (with at least the security of knowing there was an available "loo" along the way.) Okay, I may not have totally...

Peeing on fish or a fish out of water

Well this morning we headed off by boat to Siem Reap. Due to the low water on the Tonie Sap Lake (more like a river until near the end of the trip when it widened considerably) the trip would be an 8 hour one... It was supposed to be boring but ended up as anything but...in no certain order...let's see.... We had a rest stop (turned out to be the only one) along the way and the loo was just a hole over the lake and there were fish circling around underneath. Yes it was just a hole in the floor...you definitely had someone watch your stuff while you went in or one false move and your camera/purse or whatever would be in the lake. The fish either like the warm pee coming in or they are pervs and like to see ladies parts. We were just a few minutes out when all of a sudden there was something flying over me and jumping all over the floor - a little fish! Guess he wanted to join the tour. Roger reached down and scooped him up while I hooted and ...

Cowboys and Outlaws in the Big Muddy of Saskatchewan

One of the (very) few advantages of being stuck at home during this pandemic has been an opportunity to see more of my home province of Saskatchewan. Last summer and fall not only did I do a couple of day trips with friends but I took four day tours with Engelheim transport, a local Regina company. I have to admit my favourite day out was the "Big Muddy Valley and Outlaws" tour. While I had been to the Big Muddy previously many years back I was eager to revisit and learn more of its history. So in early October, I hopped on board and off we went. The bus is only booked to half capacity so it was easy to social distance, hand gel was a must each time we boarded the bus, masks were required when you got on and off the bus and in any buildings we visited. I felt totally safe and oh my, it was so good to have an adventure!! Despite the name the Big Muddy isn't a big huge puddle of mud but a valley of badlands that were formed from a glac...

Restless Prairie Girl

Search This Blog