Banff/Jasper pt 2

Well, sure enough--there WAS a draft hanging there in the drafts folder.  So, here it is in all its unedited glory.  Sheesh, at least I'm not crazy,  I knew I'd written more about that trip.



BACKING UP
Back to Day 2--Completely forgot about Moraine Lake!

The first real hike.

We had breakfast in the room and then planned to hike Tunnel Mountain.  Sadly, there isn't a tunnel on the mountain, but there was supposed to be, thus the name.

It was a moderate hike and a good chance for Pete and me to get used to our new hiking poles.  We took a nice scenic route to get to the trailhead, stopping along the way to take in the views even from the foothills.

We stopped here on the way to the trailhead, without realizing that it was right below us and we'd end up crossing this road again to get up the mtn

The view BEFORE climbing!

 The hike was challenging enough.  We took it easy, knowing that there was a LOT more hiking coming up on this trip so no need to push it.  Everyone's shoes worked out well and I had mixed feelings about the poles.  Great to have when I wanted them and a hassle to carry around when I didn't.  Still, important to save my knees overall.

This was on the way up.

 There are a lot of signs along the route warning you not to throw anything off the sides of the mountain.  Here's why:

Just before the top, we notice this person, taking a slightly more challenging route than ours ;-)

 We made it!

And then, ofcourse, we had to climb down.  We had brought a large bag of trail mix and plenty of water but were pretty famished when we got back down.

Went into Banff for lunch and the guide book suggested the Eddie Burger Bar. Sounded like our kind of place.  Lots of good burgers, from Bison to Veggie and gluten free buns!  We ordered up and waiting for our drinks.  Then we waited some more.  Drinks came.  We waited.  And waited and-well, you get the idea.  It took over an hour to get our food.  Then, we discovered that in Canada all beef is cooked well done.  I don't mean done well, I mean dead dry as a bone done.  The prices were exorbitant and the food was beyond disappointing.  EXCEPT- for the poutine.  Amazing Canadian gravy cheese fries that almost made the wait worth it.  OMG I could live on those.

Back to the room for some hang time.