Brick by Brick dear citizens we are working our way South. Yesterday in the rain and mist we walked down the Norquay ski hill road and tromped into Banff. Thankfully it wasn’t raining when we woke up in our tent, we had a few mornings like that, and they all ended quite similar this. We didn’t leave the tent…We don’t like rain either, Newman:    It was sardine packed with people and overwhelming. The solitude of the mountains and forests were gone, replaced by cars and troops of Japanese tourists looking for postcards and ice cream. People stared at our large packs, snow shoes, and sweat stained shirts.  At least Banff has poutine and apple cider – Thank Goodness! Overall we thoroughly enjoyed this section. Here are some more pictures and stories. Enjoy!

Camping by Boulder Pass into Skoki. What a view!

On our way up Mt. Redoubt. It was a spectacular summit and quite enjoyable with snow/ice and lots of scrambling. Yeehaw!

The Summit ridge of Anthozoan Mountain.

On the Summit of Brachiopod with Mt. Redoubt on the Left and Ptarmigan Peak on the Right.

Clouds of Darkness above Ptarmigan Peak.

At camp on the Second Day with Brachiopod Mountain in the Background.

Jake celebrated his 25th Birthday on this section. We decided to make “surprise” meals for each other on our birthdays. So I spent over 2 hours outside in the wind, with a poor excuse for a frying pan, making Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf French Toast, with Pineapple Greek Yogurt and Caramel. It tasted Amazing (despite the look)!

More Candy from Norway! Thank You Andreas!

Birthday Apple Cider on the Summit of Tilted Mountain.

Summit of Tilted Mountain.

The Birthday meals continue! For Dinner we had 2L of wine (which partly explains why Liam’s backpack was dreadful), stuffed tomatoes with blue cheese, zucchini eggs benedict, and fire cooked cornbread.

And for dessert – Hobnob crust with caramel, chocolate pudding, and whipped cream. Liam forgot candles, so we lit a pine branch instead.

On the top of Pulsatilla Pass. Looks like a lot of snow down there…oh yes. Lots and lots of snow. Good things we left our skis in Lake Louise (Damn-It-All!).

Oh-Dear-Goodness-The-Lid-Of-The-Parmesan-Cheese-Came-Off-Must-Lick-It-Up-Before-It-Makes-It-To-My-Dirty-Socks!

We found a twenty (and new camera functions)! It was actually surprising how much money we have found. By Saskatchewan Crossing we found $0.50, $20.00 on the Johnston Creek Trail, and $13.75 at Norquay Ski-Hill. Big expectations for the next section. Big expectations…

People tracks! The first we have seen during our entire trip.

Going up Mystic Pass.

A Warden’s cabin on 40 Mile Summit Trail.

Going up Mt. Brewster.

More Norwegian Candy on the top of Mt. Brewster!

Snow shoeing up Mt. Cockscomb. Darn things! Jake and Liam had done little snowshoeing before this. They found them generally awkward (felt like their pants were around their ankles), and constantly worried that they would break their ankles. Why anyone would snowshoe instead of ski we cannot imagine…

On the Summit of Mt. Cockscomb.

Likewise.

Looking towards Banff with Mt. Louise and Fifi in front and Rundle in the background.

Whatever you do, don’t look down (too late!) – it’s more than one Liam deep!

We had a splendid day on Mt. Norquay, as you can tell by the rain and mist. However, the weather soon greatly improved, with pouring rain and thicker fog. At least we found enough change on the ski-hill slopes for beers in Banff! 🙂