Hiking the Rockwall. 5 days. Not rushing, soaking it in.

In late August, feeling the last weeks of summer sneaking up on us, we set out on a long-awaited hike – the Rockwall, a 55 kilometer journey over 5 days. We didn’t know how it would work out – a fair bit of rain was in the forecast starting on day one. Both Billy and I were feeling a bit dejected while driving from Canmore to Kootenay National Park. Watching the low clouds in the valley, we wondered if the weather would be different once our altitude went above the clouds. After weighing the odds, we decided to follow through with the hike and planned to get most of our hiking done before the storms rolled in at the predictable 3-5PM window each day.

Days of preparation beforehand, our bags were full and we felt ready for this hike.

We prepared most of our food for the next five days ourselves using our dehydrator. We had in our packs:

• Chili Pasta
• Stir Fry with Broccoli and Shrimp
• Creamy Red Lentils and Rice
• Ramen Noodles with Shitake Mushrooms and Chinese Sausage
• PLUS SNACKS

I also bought myself a new Gortex “Patagucci” (as my witty friend calls Patagonia) rain jacket in order to be prepared for the rain. We also had new backpack covers from Billy’s sister.

According to “Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies” by Kathy and Craig Copeland, this is a challenging hike with some technical trails with some steep ascents and descents. From their advice, we decided to start our hike at Floe Lake. By starting at Floe, we would do a lot of our ascent on this first day and then gradually work our way down in altitude. For us, this meant getting a challenging day done on fresh legs instead of finishing with the biggest climb.

Billy dropped me and our bags off at Floe Lake and he drove back 12km down the highway to drop our car off at our end destination of Helmet Falls parking lot. He hitched a ride with a lovely psychologist who was driving home to Vancouver after visiting her partner in Alaska. Sending another big thank you out in the universe to her! There really are so many nice people out there.

Floe Lake

The hike up to Floe Lake was pretty fun. I greatly enjoyed the views and I felt the trail was well traveled and not too rooty and rocky. It went by quite fast, even with a nice lunch stop at the creek with sandwich wraps we brought with us for the first day.

We even saw a bear down in the valley! With all the wild berries around, we were very careful to make lots of noise for the bears so they knew we were coming and could avoid us. Once you arrive at Floe Lake, the first view of the Rockwall is imposing and impressive. The campground is quite spread out and the eating areas have nice views of the lake and the mountain range. Billy went for a swim at the lake after we set up our tent and we spent a while sitting by the water in the sun. The lake is gorgeous and the views are already awe-inspiring.

At night, we could sometimes hear the glaciers cracking and echoing off the mountain slabs. It was really cool.

Floe Lake to Numa Creek

The trail to Numa Creek from Floe Lake starts with a steep ascent of 300m. Once at the top, we were rewarded with a beautiful meadow to take in the view of Floe Lake from way up! We powered on to Numa Pass where there was a little scree ridge to climb. Billy ran up with with his poles and I decided to chill on the ridge and paint.

From there, we began our steep descent 800m towards Numa Creek campground. There were a lot of tinkling creeks, waterfalls, and fairy ponds. At one point, we were between two rivers which eventually merged at Numa Creek. The descent was a little tough on the feet but it was rewarding. The campground was a cozy little one and had a nice section to relax by the river.

From assessing our food packing, we decided to approach our eating with a good oatmeal breakfast, light lunch, and then supper #1 once we arrived at camp, then supper #2 after the rain. As if on cue, it started to rain around 4:30PM. We ran to the tent and relaxed.

Later, during supper #2, we saw a fire helicopter put out a fire (we suspect from a lightning strike to an old tree) over the valley and probably around 5km from our camp. Thank goodness for firefighters and tower watches patrolling the skies for wildfires.

Numa Creek to Tumbling Creek

Hiking out of Numa Creek towards Tumbling Creek began with a tough ascent that was very close to bush-wacking. I made the terrible mistake of wearing shorts that day and regretted it for the first part our our hike. All the trees and bushes were holding a lot of moisture from the rain and we were pretty wet by the time we made it out of that section.

Once the bushes opened up to a rock garden that we climbed with some long switchbacks. Eventually, we found ourselves at another beautiful meadow where we had a little lunch with a view. Onwards to Tumbling Glacier, a very impressive and huge glacier along with full a full rockwall to behold.

The descent was steep. Billy was quick and I got jello legs but it was all worth it once we got to Tumbling Creek campground. The river runs along the side with a nice rocky edge where we laid in the sunshine for a couple of hours, just enjoying the cold water and hot sun – epic.

O, Tumbling Creek, you were wonderful!

Tumbling Creek to Helmet Falls

Tumbling Creek to Helmet Falls was THE MOST EXCITING HIKING DAY! So much to see. Wow.

The day started with a short 300m ascent to head to Wolverine Plateau. This pass was amazing to hike in and it was so cool to see the Rockwall from the backside.

Rockwall Pass was truly epic. It’s really that cliché feeling of “I’m so small” walking next to this impervious mountain range. After the Rockwall Pass, we descended into a rock garden that was so cool and gave me a lot of inspiration for future pottery projects. Lots of rocks with unique patterns and colours – grey + white stripes, grey + shale marbling.

After this section we had our last big ascent of the hike to make our way to Helmet Falls campground. The decent was nice and we stumbled on a section that has SO MANY LITTLE BIRDS, flitting around and singing their songs. The rain clouds started to close in as we made in into camp. Our legs were tired but we managed to set up our tent before a huge rainstorm rolled in.

The rain slowed down after a couple hours and Billy had a good run up Good Sir Pass. Then it rained overnight… and continued into the morning.

Helmet Falls to Parking Lot

Helmet Falls to the Parking lot was a little bit of a slog through the forest. It doesn’t help that it was pouring rain for the entire 15 km hike out! But it happened on our last day instead of our first, so I’m thankful for that. There were some nice river sections that were beautiful to see. In our quick pack out in the rain, we lost Billy’s backpack rain cover (turned out to be in my bag, I felt bad). He was completely soaked and cold when we got to the car. Of course, he dealt with it like a champ. I was about 75% soaked and cold and went through several emotions on the hike out.

Amazing hike. In the end, I felt happy that I could do 5 days comfortably in body strength and mental patience for the challenge. I love how the campgrounds were spaced out about 10-12 km and 5 days felt like a really nice pace. Overall, I am happy I had about 3 years of backpacking summer camping experience before this hike. Felt prepared and calm. 10/10 would recommend experienced backpackers who are looking for a trip to unplug, hike, and be present.

The next day was clear skies for the first time in weeks. We did some fantastic day hikes from the campground. We fished. I painted. And a porcupine foraged our camp in the middle of the night and ate a bit of Billy’s hiking boots. What is your most memorable animal encounter while hiking?

In my paintings this trip, I experimented with a more traditional style and the abstract mountain style that I’ve been playing with for a year or so. Also, for ease of travel and weight, I only brought a small pad of postcard-size watercolour paper, my BEAM paints, and two waterbrushes. This is becoming my go-to hiking set.

Here’s a pic I snapped after I laid the majority of this painting. I later went back in with some watercolour pencils to add some texture. I especially like to to do that for the mountain rocks and shale and to add some depth to water.

Nature gave us a show with some amazing sunsets, which felt absolutely heavenly after weeks of forest fire smoke this past July. A nice reminder that we have to get outdoors and soak it all in.

It was also oddly familiar to my childhood in the village (but with less hand sanitizer and more family). We got our gardening on. Billy played guitar. I painted, read, and wrote. We road-tripped. We hiked. We focused on keeping healthy and our spirits up.

This is our beloved tree that shades our patio. I usually spend every evening reading or painting on the patio in the summer.

We made luxurious breakfasts – sometimes even on weekdays – since we are both working from home.

I babied our patio plants and it is lush out there. I think I’ve turned into one of those plant moms.

I ran three times per week. My connection with the neighbourhood is deeper; I wave to neighbours I see regularly on my route, I see repeat magpies. I marvel at the river valley in all its different weather conditions.

More childhood vibes – private BBQ parties at homes or at the lake. Bocci and yard game tournaments. Good friends who become like family. Driving on quiet rural highways, slow and easy.

We started with a ‘practice trip’ of a back-country overnight at Elk Island National Park. This worked out a lot of little things we missed in our packing list, introduced to a couple ‘worst-case’ scenarios like boggy trails, and we found out our homemade trail food is delicious. In hindsight, it was the toughest hike of the whole summer and everything seemed easy after that one overnight trip.

Our plan for Healy Pass was this:

• 3 friends (Hayley, Craig, and Kyle)
• 4 days, 3 nights in July
• 40.4 cumulative kilometers
• Total Elevation Gain 1803 m
• Total Elevation Loss 1826 m
• Camping list spreadsheets
  • One for Food
  • One for Gear (calculated on body weight percentage. Don’t go over 20%)
• Research
  • Don’t Waste Your Time in the Rocky Mountains by Kathy and Craig Copeland
  • The Backpacker’s Field Manual by Rick Curtis

Day 1: Vista Lake Trailhead

First, we met our friends at the Sunshine Ski Resort parking lot. We left one car there and drove to the Vista Lake Trailhead on Highway 93 together. That way, we could carpool together to pick up the other car at the end of our hike.

The trail was through the forest, with a bit of up and down, and we saw all sorts of wildflowers and new tree growth. We passed some creeks and two lakes (Vista Lake and Arnica Lake). Our first night was spent at Twin Lakes campsite. It has a nice, clear creek to fill our gravity water filter bag and a good cooking area. There was a glacier at the lake beside the campground and at night we could hear it cracking!

One thing to keep in mind for July hiking is that the mosquitoes will be in full force. We went through an entire 100 mL bottle of Deet mosquito repellent in four days between the two of us.

Day 2: Ball Pass Junction

This day was a 12 km hike from Twin Lakes campsite to Ball Pass Junction. It was a beautiful trail (and hard work on the feet). Once I got to camp and we set up our tent, I had a power nap and then I was good to go.

The highlight of this day was Gibbons Pass, a beautiful mountain meadow at a 2300 m elevation surrounded by mountains. We also stopped at Shadow Lake for a light snack and views. Once we reached Ball Pass Junction and got settled, we had time to do a light hike where a creek ran beside the trail. I enjoyed this campground as the creek burbled and lulled me to sleep (and it was my best sleep of the trip).

Day 3: Egypt Lake

Day 3 was a bit of a shemozzle in the morning. We accidentally lit the plastic part of our camping stove on fire (melting it quickly and completely) but no one got burned! Then, I went to get some water for our gravity bag and both my feet slipped off a log and I fell into the creek. Luckily, in the research, Billy found out that the best way to deal with that unfortunate situation is to dry your feet, put on fresh socks, then put plastic bags over your dry feet, and then stuff them into your somewhat dried off hiking shoes. I hiked for 3 hours with plastic bags on my feet and then my shoes were dry. No harm done to my feet. Pfew!

My favourite stop was Haiduk Lake and Whistling Pass. While hiking up Whistling Pass (named for the marmots that live there and ‘whistle’ at you) we encountered snow! This hike was quite steep and required some concentrated footwork.

Egypt Lake is a really busy campground and sometimes people will show up who don’t have back-country park passes. We were given a tip to arrive there as early as we could. It was a good thing too since by 2 PM there were only 3-4 spots left (and we needed 3 tent sites). This was our least favourite campground of the hiking trip and the outhouses were… disgusting.

On the flip side, it was also our favourite hiking day as the landscape was so varied and gorgeous.

Day 4: Healy Pass

The longest day of our itinerary, I was mentally prepped for a 13 kilometer hike out. Healy Pass is 2330 meters elevation so the mountain vista views promised to be amazing. On the way there, we had a fairly substantial incline but were rewarded with many wildflowers and burbling creeks.

The 360 degree views at the top of Healy Pass were simply beautiful. The sun was shining, the forests were emerald green; it was stunning.

Then the very long descent began. I can’t lie to you – the descent is my least favourite part of hiking and I find it very hard on my feet. So this part of the day was enjoyable until there was about 4 kilometers left, which was a bit of a gruel for me.

I survived! My feet didn’t fall off and Billy and I rewarded ourselves with a stay in Canmore at a hotel before heading back to Edmonton the next day.

It was a super journey and I was feeling proud that I did it (with the research and planning of Billy and our friends). A previous version of myself would have never considered even taking on a hike like this. Huzzah! Here’s to more hikes and more confidence in my physical capabilities.

This year, I was lucky to do a few back-country hikes in Canada’s national parks. Leading up to these adventures, I was doing some researching; 1) to keep me safe in the wild and 2) to tap into my inner wilderness explorer. There are some really fascinating books out there of brave women, who love the outdoors, sharing their amazing adventures.

In my book club, we alternate who chooses. I couldn’t decide among all the cool titles I found, so I sent my whole list to the club and said “choose one and let’s chat about it”. I figure I don’t have time to read them all so this is a good opportunity to learn from each other.

Women in the Great Outdoors Reading List

• End of the Rope: Mountains, Marriage, and Motherhood by Jan Redford
• Lands of Lost Borders by Kate Harris
• Above All Things by Tanis Rideout
• Wild Fierce Life: Dangerous Moments on the Outer Coast by Joanna Streetly
• Tracks by Robyn Davidson
• Alone in Antarctica by Felicity Aston

I make the paper invitations for my Book Club and this year I had challenged myself to make a custom linocut design for each book we choose. This weekend, I got brave and I decided to put the designs in my Etsy shop to share with other book clubs.

The design aims to portray an empowered woman trusting herself as well as nature. Unafraid to experience the great outdoors alone. She is nude to symbolize her connection to the earth and the elements. 

His ancestry is Papaschase Cree and also has connections to the Blackfoot. The tour ran about two hours and we went down into the river valley from the University of Alberta campus, heading east to the Walterdale Bridge and over to the northside of the river where there is a First Nations memorial for a burial site by Epcor plant. Parts of the memorial go intentionally unfinished as there are unresolved issues regarding the remains found there and the burial site itself.

I feel that its not my place to tell the stories that were shared by Dr. Donald but here’s my drawing of what I learned in those short two hours. I think of that day often and marvel over what I learned about the Cree people of this land. I hope in the future that more Albertans make it a priority to hear the stories of the First Nations people as we move ahead with our work to reach truth and reconciliation.

More information on the walk and a documentary, ôtênawby Conor McNally that was made with Dr. Donald.

Dunkeld

Our first stop after we departed Gretna Green was the town of Dunkeld. We drove in and were immediately smitten. We came for the famous smoked salmon and stayed the afternoon for all the history, outdoor hikes, and Ma & Pop shops. The River Tay is gorgeous and I was feeling river fresh the whole time. It was sunny our whole time in Scotland but brisk enough for a toque.

We stumbled on an arboretum – a park dedicated to unique trees that were very in vogue in the 19th century. There are arboretums all around Great Britain. Forest and Land Scotland is a great website to explore some of the hiking and history of the parks. While I was there, I noticed the deep love that the Scottish have for protecting nature and it has evolved over time.

In Dunkeld we found an amazing smoked salmon shop, a delightfully bright and cozy coffee shop and bakery, and a boisterous local deli.

There is also a Scottish-Canadian connection in Dunkeld. Former Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie was born near Dunkeld in 1822 and went to school there until he was 13 years old. He moved to Canada at 19. Many years later served as the second Prime Minster of Canada from 1873 to 1878.

We headed for the renowned Hermitage Park after we left Dunkeld. The Hermitage has some of the tallest Douglas Fir trees in Great Britain.

Pitlochry

Pitlochry is another charming town while also being more touristy. If I was to use a Canadian comparison – Pitlochry is like ‘a Banff’ and Dunkeld is like ‘a Jasper’. There is a cool hike with MAJOR old history called The Pass of Killiecrankie. It is a gorge where an epic battle was fought between the Red Coats and the Jacobites. There is a spot where a soldier jumped 18 feet across the river to escape the Jacobites. That sounds like a stunt right out of action movie!

We also had a quick stop to walk around the gardens Blair Atholl Castle.

Cairngorms

And then we continued on our epic drive to the north hoping to hit the Dalwhinnie Distillery. The landscape changed dramatically. I loved it!

The tour behind the scenes of the Dalwhinnie Distillery is excellent. Our tour guide was a local with deep roots in the community. She gave us a lot of context about the importance of the distillery as employment for community members and some of the consequences of earlier practices. There is a really strange relationship between the British government and the distillery operators that I noticed, especially regarding the special ‘closed-system’ alcohol box for testing.

The whiskey is quite soft and delicate – I really enjoyed it! As an aside, I also quite liked Scottish gin.

Our second last stop was the Highland Wildlife Park. We saw polar bears, a tiger, a lynx, and bison. The polar bears were the most exciting part and we saw one eat a fish. The park has a drive-through section and a walk-through section. It was really well done and reminded me of a special wildlife park we visited in the Yukon, Canada.

Inverness

I was struck by how pretty Inverness is when we drove in. The city is centered around the river so there is lots of nice walking downtown. We arrived the evening of Halloween – we were fully expecting to see some famous Scottish partying in the streets and we were not disappointed.

The Road Trip Map

We felt the change and missed the carefree fun we enjoyed in blissful ignorance before our summer of work. This summer is going to be about fun, exploration, and no expectations.

Our last BIG hike was Mt. Bourgeau, August 2017. Here are the stats from our trusty manual, Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies.

• Location: Banff National Park
• Round Trip: 24 km to summit
• Elevation Gain: 1530 m to summit
• Hiking Time: 6 to 8 hours for summit
• Difficulty: Moderate to pass, challenging to summit due to elevation gain 

Italicizing the last part is my way to emphasize that this hike kicked my butt but the views were incredible. I finished this hike super sore, ready to lay face-down on the path about 2 km from our car, and grumpy – but then again its the hike that I reflect back to the most, almost two years later. So is the challenge worth it? Hell yes. Make sure you are hiking with someone that can handle your potential belly-aching and will give you a nudge to finish.

And here are some photos to prove it to you.

Why Slovenia? Hiša Franko

Our interest in Slovenia first began with an episode of Chef’s Table about Ana Ros and her husband Valter Kramar’s restaurant Hisa Franko. Their story is an incredible tale of love, determination, talent, and motivation. Ros and Kramar met at Valter’s parents restaurant and began dating. They fell in love and traveled the world together. Later, they had the opportunity to run Valter’s parents restaurant and Ana switched gears from planning to be a diplomat to a chef. She’s entirely self-taught and her determination and intelligence has made her a world-renowned chef. Valter is a sommelier who specializes in Slovenian wine and ages Slovenian cheese.

A couple in love with each other who make the culinary arts their life’s passion? YES. We had to experience this for ourselves so we based our entire honeymoon around our reservation at Hisa Franko.

The meal was one of the most decadent experiences I’ve had so far. It had Billy and I talking about creativity in taste, presentation, and experience. The whole evening was quite inspiring and entirely special.

Road Trip in the Julian Alps

After our night at Hisa Franko, we hopped in our little rental car and traveled the winding roads in the Soca Valley as well as up and down the Julian Alps. The Julian Alps stretch from Italy to Slovenia. The highest peak, Mount Triglav is in Slovenia and featured in their national coat of arms.

There were hairpin turns and we went from lush green grass to snow at the highest part of our journey.

If you are in the area, I would highly suggest stopping in the town of Tolmin and hiking the Tolmin Gorge. Several festivals occur in the Tolmin Valley throughout the year. 

Slovenia is gorgeous and the nature feels rugged and reminded me of home in Canada. Perhaps, that’s part of the reason I love it so much – the environment and the people of Slovenia felt strangely familiar.

• A wide variety of outdoor activities: hiking trails, mountain biking, fishing, snowshoeing, rock climbing…
• Canmore, as a town, is absolutely charming. The vibe of the town is relaxed and outdoorsy. The people you meet in the street are down-to-earth and friendly. It has a lot of history and is less ‘glossy’ than their neighbour, the tourist mecca that is Banff.
• There are great restaurants in town and the shopping is pretty fabulous too.

View from the Grassi Lakes – another great hike near Canmore.

My last trip to Canmore was with Billy and his parents. They were visiting from Belgium; as a personal rule, anyone who visits us from Europe is immediately swept to the mountains.  Nothing makes people happier than being in the mountains.

Their main goal for this trip was to do a lot of hiking and to spend some quality family time together. In our quick visit, we went for multiple hikes but I had two favourites that I would definitely like to do again.

View from Raven’s End

The first was Raven’s End. This hike is about 40 minutes outside of Canmore, just past the hamlet of Exshaw. The landscape of this hike is quite different from other Rocky Mountain hikes that I’ve done. In fact, it’s like hiking up the borderland between the foothills and the mountains. The mountain you’ll be walking towards is called Yamnuska. The name is derrived from the Stoney tribe name meaning “Wall of Stone.” Yamnuska is a big deal because it’s the birthplace of modern rock climbing in the Canadian Rockies. Whaaat?! It’s true. I read it in my hiking book.

From several look-outs, one can clearly see how the landscape changes. The landscape makes me think about the variety of Alberta landscape and wonder how it became that way. Then, I wish I had paid more attention in jr. high during geography lessons.

On the way to Raven’s End

There was a wide variety of plant life on this hike too. Especially birch trees and wildflowers, which I don’t see too often in the prairies of central Alberta.

You can do this hike as a loop or just do one side. I’ve been told that once you reach the Raven’s End, you can scale around the peak with a rope that is attached to the mountain or you can chicken out and walk back down the way you came.  We chose option B for our first hike on this trail but I would like to go back and try going around the mountain.

The Details (I recommend buying Popular Day Hikes: Kananaskis Country by Gillean Daffern)

Distance: 7 km return

Difficulty: Moderate – fairly well marked by hiker’s signals with a few steep sections. Warning: The hills are slippery when wet.

Height Gain: 520 m

High Point: 1890 m

Bring snacks and water! Trail often open year round.

View from the peak of Ha Ling

Ridge of Ha Ling Peak

Ha Ling Peak is another excellent hike. I would recommend it for beginner-moderate hikers. After we finished the Ha Ling Peak hike, I felt that it was a monumental hike for increasing my abilities. It’s strenuous and at times it felt like we were climbing straight up. It was difficult to see how high we were but we all could feel it.

The forest is thick and green; it has a powerful aroma of pine, mountain herbs, moss, and soil, which I find mentally intoxicating. Is there such a thing as runner’s high for hikers? I often feel like that when I’m hiking. The view, smell, and challenge all work together to create a memorable experience.

I’m not going to lie to you – this hike is hard work. My legs were jelly afterwards and my thighs were sore for days. However, getting to the peak was extremely satisfying and terrifying at the same time. Once we got to the top, the winds were whipping in at close to 50 km/h.

My instinct was to get low to the ground and to be aware of my footing. It’s not quite a scramble to the top but route-finding is required. Once I reached the very tippy-top, I flopped down on my belly along the peak and peered over the edge to see Canmore down below. It was amazing to be up that high and to know that I had a good climb on the way up. It was also scary and I was planning my descent after five minutes.

Hanging on to Ha Ling peak for dear life

The Details (from the same hiking book mentioned above):

Distance: 5.6 return

Height Gain: 732 m

High Point: 2408 m

Difficulty: Strenuous – a well traveled trail in the beginning with lots of switchbacks. At the top, some route-finding is required.

Definitely bring snacks and lots of water. Trail not open in the winter.

Hungry after hiking? Head over to Flatbread Pizza Co. for a delightful lunch. It’s my new favourite place and I’m picky.

Chocolate Brownie at Flatbread Pizza Co. in Canmore. Go ahead, you earned it.

Also, go visit the information centre that’s located downtown Canmore. The help there has always been great for us and you can pick up some great research material to help you choose a hike for your mood. They also have the scoop on safety; sometimes a trail can be off limits for a variety of reasons, so it’s always a good idea to stop by and check with the locals.