ITTOG's Overlanding Trips

[ITTOG]

Now vs then...


I believe there were seven water wells within the city for the locals to gather. Still to this day not all had running water.


This place was full of history and culture that we couldn't get enough of. Well, my wife was probably good but not me. This may be a fitting end to my pictures of Luceram (well, I probably have another 100 pic's but this is enough for this post).


After this it was back to Monaco and the next day we took in more of the small country and this was a high overlook as we returned.


The next day we went to the prince's car museum. There were probably 150 cars or more. MOst of them were the traditional hot rods and race cars we have all seen so I am only posting ones that I thought were unique.


To be continued...

 

[ITTOG]

This is the end of the cars.


Looks like only three or more posts to go. To be continued...

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Glad i stopped by for the read, thanks for sharing!

 

[ITTOG]

I thought it was very interesting in such a small country they have a zoo. Then to be totally blown away it was on the side of the rock. In the first pic they had a hippo off to the left of the person you can see in the walkway. This colorful rooster was pretty cool. I could post more pic's but I am sure all of you have been to a zoo.


More pictures of the rock from the marina. I was really fascinated by the rock.


Then it was time for our boating excursion. These pics were taken on the way.


Now from the boat... The first vessel is supposedly belonged to the late Paul Allen and is for sale.


To be continued...

 

[ITTOG]

Then we found another medieval town and had to go given we liked Luceram so much.


To be continued...

 

[ITTOG]

Given this was our last day we had to go back to the top of the rock. This time we walked by the church.


This is the front of the museum we saw from the water several posts back.



Next up... Lake Louise and Johnston Canyon Hikes

 

[ITTOG]

I had to go to Calgary for work so I made sure to plan it for early winter so I would see some snow. Given I never get any in south texas. So after four days in the office I stayed a couple extra days to go to Banff and Lake Louse. I have been to both before so I knew I didn't want to miss out on some of the most beautiful landscape in the world. But this was the first time I was here alone so it was time to get out on some long hikes.

But before I get to that, I spent a couple evenings in downtown Calgary and came across a black squirrel. I had never seen a black squirrel so thought it was interesting. Not sure if that is common in Canada or just in the Calgary region. Is a black squirrel crossing your path bad luck like a black cat?


On my drive to Banff I had to stop to take a few pictures. They were all nice but thought I would just share this one so I don't overwhelm you with pics.


I was staying in Canmore, about 20 minutes before you get to Banff, and had the three sisters right outside my window. It was a great view but I wasn't staying in my hotel room and didn't get to see them much.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Sisters_(Alberta)



After checking into my hotel I decided to spend the evening in Banff. On the way I saw an exit for Lake Minnewanka and made a last minute detour. I was so glad I did. The area was amazing and I was able to see some wildlife. But first some of the mountains before I got to the lake. I love how rugged and menacing they look. Of course the frozen waterfalls and lands slides are always cool to see.


The lake and the views around it were amazing. I really wish I would have had access to a boat to see the views from the water. I am so jealous of the people that have this in their back yard.


To be continued...

 

[ITTOG]

After seeing all the sites I was back in the car and around the first corner were these guys in the middle of the road. I of course had to pull over and get some pic's of them. Anyone know what they are?


After watching them for five to ten minutes it was back in the car to go to Banff but around the next corner were these elk way out in the field. I parked the car again and walked about a quarter mile out into the field for this shot. They were still a long way away so I had to zoom all the way in.


I was so excited that I got to see Elk that I probably watched these guys for at least 20 minutes. As I started to take off again I was smiling ear to ear and was so excited I decided to come to the lake. I kind of thought I should drive around the loop again. But then, right as I was about to leave the area I came to a road block of even more elk (by the time I snapped the picture most of them had gotten out of the road).


This guy refused to leave the road so I just slowly went by but of course had to stop for a photo. Holy cow did he stink. I didn't know they would smell so bad. So… if you haven't figured it out yet I have not been around many wild animals. The deer I have been around didn't smell so I wasn't expecting it. Regardless, it was an awesome experience to be sitting in the car with this guy about three feet away.


I finally made it to Banff and walked around for a couple hours. It was Halloween so I was hoping to see a lot of kids dressed up but I didn't see many in town. After a while I discovered there was a town sponsored bon fire so I went there and was able to see a lot of costumes. Both adults and kids alike. This of course made me miss my kids and seeing them dressed up. When you have kids Halloween becomes one of your favorite holidays. They are too old to trick or treat but they still dress up with their friends and just hang out together.



To be continued with the Lake Louise hike...

 

[Todd780]

The lake and the views around it were amazing. I really wish I would have had access to a boat to see the views from the water. I am so jealous of the people that have this in their back yard.
View attachment 589082

To be continued...

Yes, sometimes I feel we really do take it for granted that we are only about a 4 hour drive away from Banff or Jasper.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Those first two, are female ( Doe, ewes) big horn sheep. A sub species at least of wild sheep.

The elk, also the ram;s if you had seen them for the Big Horn Sheep, would have also had that stinky, musky odor. They pee in the dirt and roll in it, a mix of urine and scent glands. Thats how they mark their territory so other males know its taken, and how they attract females. Domestic, bulls and sheep do the same.

Keep adventuring!

 

[ITTOG]

It started getting late so I needed to hit the road so I could prepare for the next day. I was planning two hikes for a total of almost 20 miles. Thus I was going to be starting early and needed to get a decent night's sleep. Lake Louise where I would begin my hiking was an hour west of my hotel. The next hike, Johnston Canyon, was about 30 minutes back east towards the hotel and then another 30 minutes to the hotel. So not only a long day of hiking but two hours in the car as well.

I arrived at Lake Louise about 8 AM. An hour later than planned but it was still only 6F outside and it was causing me to question my attire. I have two different choices for my thermals. One pair is hairy like fur and do a great job trapping heat. I have worn them in 0F and was plenty warm but I have never been active in them. They are not the best for activity because they do not wick water away very well. I had my lighter thermals that are great at wicking water but not nearly as warm. I could double up with the lighter ones on bottom. In the end I chose the heavier thermals. So on bottom I had my thermals and hiking pants (cold weather) and on top I had my heavy thermals, a merino wool shirt, and my coat shell. That ended up being a mistake. But now I am getting ahead of myself.

By the time I got all that figured out and ate breakfast at the hotel, it was 8:40 AM and I hit the trail at a cool 6F. But with the anxiousness to get going I felt pretty warm. I guess this little guy was cold because he was swimming against the current and not going anywhere. He just wanted to be moving.


These first shots are from directly behind the Fairmont Chateau


At the end of the Lake Louise is the well-known Lefroy Glacier, which feeds the lake. I have underlined it in blue so you can see where it is because it isn't standing out very well in the pic. By this point I had only been outside about ten or fifteen minutes and my water line to my bladder was already frozen. I figured that would happen so I was prepared and put some hand warmers around the line.


There were frozen waterfalls everywhere.


To be continued...

 

[ITTOG]

This wall, which turns the path, goes straight up. I would guess over 100 feet, easily.


By the time I made it to the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House, about 3.5 miles, I was sweating and overheating. I had incorrectly chosen the heavy thermals. I had to get out of these thermals or I may get dehydrated and not be able to finish the hike. I didn't bring enough water to be sweating this much and if you don't know, eating snow just dehydrates you even more. So snow was not an option. Since the tea house was closed, there was only one thing I could do. Strip out in the open and get some relief. The heavy thermals went into the backpack and were never put back on. After my pants started wicking the sweat away they started freezing. So for a little while they would crunch with every step. Eventually they softened back up once there wasn't so much sweat to wick away. It was kind of amusing to listen to.


I continued on past the tea house. The trail takes you close to the bottom of a cliff below the glacier.


Here you can see the glacier peeking through right above the rock cliff. This is taken about four miles closer than the pic with the blue line I added.


Eventually I reached a decision point that I didn't want to make. It was about a quarter mile before the end of the trail. I was having to break trail and it was off camber. Over the edge in the top left corner of the pic below was a cliff with about a hundred foot drop.


To be continued...

 

[ITTOG]

I really didn't want to turn around but it wasn't worth the risk, so turn around I did.


Amazingly I failed to take a picture of the shelter at the top of the Big Bee Hive but did take a picture of the picture of the shelter.


The view of frozen Lake Louise along the trail was beautiful. Of course all the views up there were beautiful. The second pic of the lake is zoomed in. Those black specs are people on the ice.


Leaving the Big Bee Hive you see a pretty cool horse shoe shaped mountain/cliff. Amazing views everywhere.


After that it was time to hike back down and it got steep very quickly.

 

[Qargo]

Thank you for sharing! You have very bright pictures from this trip!

 

[AggieOE]

My goodness I need to visit Canada
... and go overseas and win the lottery and buy a yacht.