Here, dear Reader, is the story of my Kananaskis Highlands trek (still in the Canadian Rockies) in August 2018 with Yamnuska, guided by Marc.
Everything went splendidly well:
I was in better shape (thanks, InspireA+ 😉 I didn’t even feel my backpack! )
I slept every night, warm and cosy, like a particularly comfortable log, because that time, I had the right gear.
The group – as usual – was awesome. Some were regular Yamnuska customers, having done many treks (as many as 10 or more!!) with the company. We had many laughs, and chatted a lot while walking.
The guide was nice, considerate, and patient with us.
The food was good.
You know what? This is properly outrageous. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to tell an interesting story about something that went so well from beginning to end?
I mean, everything was so smooth and quiet, you’ll likely fall asleep before the end of the post!
Don’t get me wrong, it was amazing, and a beautiful adventure of which I adored every second, but it does not make for good storytelling. It is very well and poetical to say “in the forest, there was a blue butterfly, and it stayed on my camera for a good five minutes before flying off” or “it was so quiet by the lake, a bird flew by and I heard its wings flap softly in the calm evening”, and it may make you sigh and dream, dear Reader, but it will also lead you to sleep pronto!
I have therefore no other choice than to completely invent terrible things that could have had happen, but didn’t.
Many thanks to Marc for very nicely providing me with the elevation gain/loss!
We started in the dense smoke from the BC forest fires, which were raging at that time. It gave our first few days a sense of mystery.
Day 1 – 10.2km, +500m
The smoke is very dense as we drive from Canmore to the Kananaskis, we barely see the mountains. Quiet first day, mostly in the forest. We see an unidentified mammal, which could have been a martin. By the way, did you know that martins poop on the top of rocks? No? Well, now you do.
Terrible Thing That Didn’t Happen: We absolutely did not choke in the smoke. We were not even bothered by it, except that it kinda blocked our view.
Day 2 – 8km, +400m, -400m
Today we travel to Worthington Pass and back, with only a day pack. The pass itself is in scree, and there is not much of a view on top, because of the smoke. I proved once more that I shouldn’t be trusted to name mountains, as I officially dubbed those The Boobs.
Terrible Thing That Didn’t Happen: In the scree, I panicked and thought that I would dramatically fall down the steep slope. I didn’t, though. I called the guide and was back to stability before he even had the time to get to me (so yes, I bothered him for nothing, that DID happen).
Day 3 – 13.8km +740, -740m
The day starts under the rain, but it’s good for the smoke, and it doesn’t last. It just allows Marc to showcase his amazing tarp abilities. We go first through South Kananaskis pass, round an unnamed mountain (which we decided to name Mouse Mountain, don’t ask me why, also, do not trust us to name mountains), then through North Kananaskis pass (a difficult one, going straight up!). This day we were mostly in British Columbia!
All of that takes us a long time, and we have dinner very late under the stars and all, but it is a gorgeous day. The smell of juniper bushes and berries, the mountain goats and lambs frolicking in the distance…
Terrible Things That Didn’t Happen: So many terrible things could have happened this day! I could have been drenched by the rain, but I wasn’t because I was wearing my Gore-tex jacket. At some point towards the end of the day, the guide was hungry, and I guess he could have fallen down and lost consciousness from inanition or something, and we would have been stranded, but he just ate a snack instead. Also, we crossed a creek twice, so there was good potential for something in there, but the only dramatic consequence was to give me the idea for my article Three ways to cross a creek.
Day 4 – 14.8km +500m, -900m
We start the day by going to Haig Glacier with a day pack. The view up there is incredible, the sun is shining, helicopters buzz around, cross country skiers can be spotted in the far distance on the glacier.
Then we go back to camp, take everything down and go to our next campground. On the way, we have a mysterious wildlife encounter… I didn’t see much of it, but it was BIG! (more on that in another post!)
Terrible Thing That Didn’t Happen: I just… I just can’t complain about that day, really… It was too perfect as it was… Also, look at those pictures… I just can’t…
Day 5 – 7.2km, -75m
I suffer from a terrible case of last day blues. 5 days is too short, I don’t want to go back, I want to stay in the mountain forever! The smoke is somewhat back (still less than on our first day). I sigh loudly with every step, and still enjoy every second of it…
Thing That I Wish Had Happened: If only I could have gotten somehow kidnapped, or lost, and or just have stayed another week or two in the mountains…
Bad news, Yamnuska, I’ll be back next year!