Alberta Rocky Mountains winter hiking (solo)

Prelude

Canadian Rockies are considered to be one of the most spectacular & scenic mountains all over the world. Stretching between Alberta and British Columbia, the mountain range continues south to the United States. Being one of the major attractions of Western part of Canada, the Rockies are comprised of several national provincial parks, which are parts of World Heritage Site...

Although Rocky Mountains attract tourists mostly in summer season, having it's own charismatic features, winter offers some amazing frozen beauties. Although it's impossible to cover the whole Rockies in a single trip, in reasonable amount of time say 10 days, you can explore some beautiful places like Banff, Canmore, Lake Louis, Jasper, etc. Even if you don't have a car, there are regular public transports available in the winter months to these cities. If you can tolerate extreme cold, for sure you will experience some breathtaking landscapes in the midst of frozen lakes, surrounded by snow capped rocky mountains...

In general, I am a big fan of winter. Yes, even the extreme Canadian winter. Call me weird, I won't mind ;) 

It was October 2015. I was having some hard times, & was going through some bad phases. One day I woke up in the morning & somehow a strange thought came into my mind. I realized that I am wasting my time by just staying idle & not exploring enough. It was a Sunday & I was at home. For the whole day I went through intense thought process & explored all possibilities for an exciting destination. Alberta was in my mind as a potential destination but I didn't have any concrete plan. Checked my bank account balance & realized that the condition isn't so good (student life sucks anyway). I needed to book a flight ticket, which cost a lot of money, plus stay & other major transports for the trip. Then I did some rough calculations on how much do I need to survive for next few months, & still have some emergency balance. In worst case I could borrow some money from a friend & pay back in next semester. Also, I can cut down my monthly food budget by avoiding unnecessary items...

While processing all these thoughts throughout the day, I just couldn't wait & immediately booked a flight ticket to Calgary! That means, I am going to Alberta in January, yayyy!!! :)

Next few months were typical my "research" phase on detailed route planning. I planned to stay 2 nights in Banff, 2 nights in Lake Louis, 2 nights in Jasper & 1 night in Calgary. My main intention was to hike solo in Canadian Rockies, that's it! Many people told me that it's a totally insane idea, it's a suicidal attempt, they asked if I am planning to come back or not, bla bla...

Finally it was time to leave. I got a nice MEC backpack. Mostly I was carrying dry foods, & a few extra layers of winter garments. My itineraries were the following.

Food items: 6/7 packets of high calorie noodles, 500 grams of almond, a few cans of coconut water, lots of oatmeal, lots of chocolate bars, 1 kg gram flower, 1 kg peanut butter, a box of chamomile tea, a few boxes of Philadelphia cheese, etc. There were two reasons of carrying so much food: first, to cut down my budget. Second, to avoid the uncertainty of finding a nearby grocery store near the hostels. 

Garments: A good quality thermal inner (upper & lower parts), 2 woolen sweaters, 2 sets of casual pants, 2 sets of casual shirts, one ski pant, 2 pairs of think woolen socks along with 3 pairs of regular socks as inner layer, one balaclava, one pair of good gloves along with a pair of inner layer, a woolen cap, & my winter jacket.

Other stuffs: 2 water bottles, sun-glass, good quality snow boot, camera, laptop, chargers, my diary, a book, & my bank cards along with some cash. 

I am good to go :) 

Day1: 7th January, 2016: Finally the trip is on! But I hate mornings! Woke up at f**king 4.45 AM because of a morning flight to Toronto. Last night didn't sleep well, & I was having hard time to wake up. I had packed my backpack last night, & just took some food stuffs for my stopovers. 

Don't know why, but every time when I start a solo journey, I feel extremely homesick. On my way to airport as I was passing the neighbourhoods of sleepy snowy houses, I really didn't want to start a journey. I wanted to sleep peacefully & wanted to stay in my comfort zone. ...But life begins at the end of your comfort zone & I must leave...

Checked in the airport on time. The worst part of travelling in winter is that, you have to carry everything including winter jacket, gloves, cap, etc. throughout your flight journey & it's so annoying!

Reached Calgary via Toronto around 2.30 PM. I had a co-passenger in flight from Japan, she was going to Yellowknife just to see Aurora Borealis. Because of my infinite curiosity about Japanese lifestyle, I was constantly asking questions (& made her bored probably) & passed the flight time without getting bored ;)

Calgary downtown

After collecting my backpack, put all of my stuffs inside so that I don't need to carry a second luggage. It was quite heavy, more than 15 Kg. 

One convenient & cheap way to go to Calgary downtown from the airport is to use the airport bus service (#300). I got ticket from Mac's store inside the airport in $10. It took about half an hour to reach downtown area. I had to go to the greyhound station, & told the driver to drop me nearby.

It was snowing constantly & the temperature was around -10 degrees. Pretty big city, but I didn't have time to explore. Asked locals & they suggested me to take train #69 and get off at Synota Station (or something like that, I don't remember the exact name). The bus ticket also covers the train ride, so you don't need to get a separate ticket for the train. 

My bus to Banff was at 6.30 PM from Calgary. About 1.5 hours of drive. I was chatting with another co-passenger on our way. Sometimes I feel so comfortable talking to a complete stranger that I don't feel with people whom I know for a long time...

Because of darkness couldn't see the beauties around properly, but the mountains were looking amazing even in the darkness. I was feeling super excited about the trip!

Reached Banff around 8 PM. Pretty cold & constant snowfall. I took out of my printed map to find out the hostel (I mentioned before that I don't carry smartphone & travel with minimum electronic dependencies). I met a few fellow travellers on my way. Actually they were also in the same bus! I was staying at Banff International Hostel. It was on Banff Avenue & about 10 minutes of walk from the bus station. 

Banff Avenue at night (my camera isn't good for night photography, it was actually looking 100 times better than the photo)

Pretty big hostel. But the fact is that, the rooms are in a separate building from the kitchen & office area. Every time you want to go to kitchen/get some water, you have to get out of your room, which is not very convenient in winter. Otherwise it's a pretty decent hostel. I had a group of British people as my dorm-mates. They all came for skiing, lot of ski gears around...

I didn't have anything to do for the evening & was very tired. Had dinner with noodles, & went to bed around 11. Exploration will start from tomorrow. 

Day2: 7th January, 2016: I had a couple of days to explore Banff & nearby areas. First half of the first day I reserved for Canmore, a little mountain town 25 Km away from Banff. I took Greyhound bus to reach Canmore, it took about 20 minutes. 

Picturesque mountain beauties around & a peaceful little town. I was just walking around. I had about 5 hours in my hand to explore Canmore. As I started walking towards Bow river, I met a local & asked for a suggestion. He told me that if I continue hiking through the Bow river trail, it's pretty nice. In fact the river was looking simply amazing with the mountain peaks at the background.

It was really really cold at the river trail. Being the only exposed part of my body, my face was getting numb. I started walking through the trail. The snow condition was pretty good for walking. I hiked almost 6-7 Km through the trail. At some point I came across some cat like animals digging hole on the frozen river. There were 3/4 of them. Initially I was hesitating a bit, but moved further. I think these were Lynx.

Beautiful river trail & picture perfect sunny weather. I explored the forest at the river bank & relaxed for a while. Ate some almonds & cheese to replenish my energy by hiking. I wanted to go further following the river, but my time was limited & had to return. 

The town of Canmore is really very small. I was feeling hungry & went to a Subway restaurant & filled my appetite with a Turkey wrap. I could see the snow capped mountains from the restaurant window - I wish if could climb that! :)

I always feel interested to explore local grocery stores in a new city. Although I didn't have anything to buy as such, I went inside, explored, & bought some regular stuffs like bread, fruit juice, etc. Got a few postcards too. I even like exploring groceries ;)

Came back to Banff in the afternoon. Went to the hostel once to grab some food & freshened up a bit. I wanted to utilize the rest of the afternoon by something relaxing...

In some travel blogs some travellers recommended to visit Vermilion lakes at the end of the day & I realized it's really worth visiting the lakes when the sun is setting down. I realized why it's called vermilion - when the last rays of the sun falls on the top of the snow covered mountain peak, it really looks like vermilion!

It was about 2 Km of hike to the Vermilion lakes. Absolute calmness in the whole area. As the big lakes were completely frozen & I was standing at the middle of the lake surrounded by mountains with nobody around me, I was completely lost in the moment. I missed some old days, some old friends with whom I spent some amazing time in the mountain... life changes, & it has some good & bad effects too...

It was becoming dark & I started walking back. Rest of the evening I explored the gorgeous Banff avenue. With the lightened up quaint little shops & the big mountain at the end of the road, I am sure that Banff can definitely be called one of the cutest mountain towns in the world. I explored a few shops, got a souvenir for me, few more postcards, & it was time to relax in a nice cafe. 

I went to Evelyn's Coffee Bar on Banff avenue & ordered a Mocha-chino. While having the coffee, I wrote postcards for some of my close friends & family, & was writing my diary sitting beside the glass wall of the cafe, watching people... 

In -17 degrees you can't hang out for a long time, & the shops were getting closed in the late evening. Came back to hostel. Sometimes in the hostel you get chances to chat with other solo travellers. However, if there are many groups, it's hard to initiate & continue chatting. In fact I have realized that people in group are not very open to talk to others. Here I experienced the same.

Had early dinner with high calorie noodles & multi-grain bread with cheese. After calling home & packing my backpack for next day, went to bed by 11.

Day3: 8th January: My last day at Banff. The bus to Lake Louis was at 2.30 & I still had the first half of the day to explore. Checked out of the hostel by 10 AM. I had to carry my heavy weight backpack (I checked the weight later, it was 18Kg !!). My plan was to hike to the top of Tunnel Mountain.

After posting the postcards in the local post office, I started walking towards Tunnel mountain following my google map print out directions. Beautiful scenery around, & the hiking route was also well maintained. I didn't know exactly where I am going, so I just kept walking enjoying the beauties around. Met some other hikers on my way & we exchanged greetings. I had to stop in every few minutes because of the mesmerizing views around...

At the end of the main road, I didn't see anything else. I was a bit confused, I thought that there must be a trail to reach at the top. There were a couple of shops around. I went to buy a fruit juice & asked the local owner about the route. He explained to me nicely & showed the direction following which I can reach to the top.

I started walking. After a kilometer, I crossed a road closure sign & the road became extremely snowy to walk.

My backpack was too heavy for the steep trail. Suddenly I came across a deer. As I approached further, he vanished into the woods in no time. I continued to walk. At some point I came across the sign towards the route to the top. This route was too steep. I was really having some hard time with my 18 Kg backpack. Don't know how I did that, but finally I reached at the top. I was almost dead by then! 

Picturesque mountains from the viewpoint, worth all of my hard work. I spent 10/15 minutes there doing some photo shoot. 

I didn't realize that climbing down will be so hard! With huge load at my back, I was slipping off at the steep slopes & had to be very careful. My back was hurting too as I am not accustomed to this. Also I had to hurry because of the bus time. It was really a tough hike for me. All total I hiked almost 10-12 Km.

Came down to Banff avenue by 2 PM. I had lost all the calories I consumed in the morning, by this intense hike. After reaching the Greyhound bus station & checking in, finally I could take off my backpack & rest a while...

The bus left on time. The journey was indeed very pleasant through the mountains & reached Lake Louis around 4 PM. 

What a beautiful place!!! A few shops around the bus stop comprises of the main market of the city, & everywhere around was just wild mountain beauties. There was no trace of artificiality around. I hadn't been in this type of place before. Well, I had been in remote village in Himalayas, but this was different. 

I searched out the direction of the hostel & walked towards it. Reached Hi lake Louise Alpine Center in a few minutes. Ahh, a beautiful hostel !!! At the end of the day, the snowy hostel building with the lights on was looking so nice! I couldn't wait to get inside.

After checking in, I went to my room. I had a German guy & a New Zealand girl as my dorm mates. I really liked the hostel room, & the nice snowy backyard beside the window :)

After getting freshened up, I went out for a walk. Although I was really very tired, but just to get a feel of the place I went out. A quiet afternoon walk & absorbing the beauties around. There is a difference between loneliness by choice & loneliness by chance, sometimes the former one can be very relaxing if you are in proper environment...

I had to buy some food items, & went to the grocery store at Samson Mall at the bus stop. Although it's a small town, but the grocery store had literally everything (a bit expensive, which is justified). Did some shopping & came back to the hostel by evening. 

I was too tired by the day's activity & really wanted to go to bed as soon as possible. Had dinner with noodles & stuffs, emptied my backpack to put things in organized way, wrote dairy, a cup of Camomile tea, some chat with dorm-mates & went to bed. Next day will be the big day...

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The BIG DAY - 29 Km solo hiking to Moraine Lake

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Day4: 9th January: I had one of the most craziest plans of my life for the day. Moraine Lake is considered to be one the picturesque lakes of Canadian Rockies. The famous background of the Valley of the Ten peaks in old Canadian $20 note is actually of the Moraine Lake. The glacier-fed crystal clear lake is a hot tourist destination in summer. Very few people consider visiting it in winter. The reason is that, the road is closed in winter & cross country skiing is the only option. But you have to ski about 25 Km distance to go & come back, and a part of the route is through avalanche area. If you don't have proper equipment & training, you are not allowed to go there (I didn't know that before). 

With this background story of Moraine lake, I decided to give it a shot to hike the whole route. I don't ski, so hiking was the only way. I knew the distance, but didn't know some other crucial factors which could be fatal. I will discuss these later...

Being stuffed with almost 1000 calories of food in the morning, I dressed up in several layers, carried high calorie sandwiches, 2 liters of water & a couple of coconut water cans in my backpack. I started walking slowly through Lake Louis drive. 

Breathtaking beauties around in a sunny morning, seemed that the day is in my favour. Lake Louis drive is the road that goes straight to Lake Louis, & the Moraine Lake road intersects it from left (while going towards Lake Louis). Because of the heavy snow condition, I had to walk through the main road. But it was okay. I was constantly filming videos & taking photos...

The Moraine lake road was closed for winter as usual. A few cars were parked in front of the road closer signs, probably these were cars of people who went for cross country skiing. The road ahead was flattened by snowmobilling & there were traces of skiing. I started walking at a modest speed.

Snowy world everywhere, only pine & maple forest around. The weather was extremely cold, a bit of Sun ray was giving some warmth. I met a few skiers on my way. In fact I realized that I am the only person who is hiking through the route (some people were looking at me with curiosity). I met a group of 3 local girls who were intending to go till Moraine lake by skiing. As I didn't know about the route, asked them for any suggestion. They said that it's long way & the route will be tough. Well, the challenge is accepted! ;)

After 3 hours of hiking I reached the point beyond which it's illegal to go unless you have proper ski equipments & knowledge of avalanche dangers. I could see the ten peaks of Moraine lake from there, & also other spectacular mountains were around. I was little bit tired by the uphill hike & was taking a break.  By that time I found a skier approaching from the other side. As I asked about the route condition, he said that he went only about 100 meters, but the route is full of snow as he saw. He suggested me to follow the narrow ski track, which has been used by people before. But I need to be very cautious because there might be avalanche at any time & it can be fatal. Moreover, I don't have any emergency phone number to contact if I am in trouble (my phone wasn't getting signal in that area too). 

I realized that there is no point in going back. I can't just see the ten peaks from far & get satisfied (well, then I needed to climb, which wasn't possible. But at least I could go till the base). I calculated the amount of time I have spent by hiking last 10 Km & how much time do I have to come back before the daylight ends. If I can reach there by 2 PM, I can come back by 6, with a hiking speed of 4-5 Km per hour. 

I was determined. I have to move further & it's a challenge. Life is too short to get worried & I can't miss this unique opportunity. What if I am washed away by an avalanche? Well, that's a possibility, but there are possibilities of running over by a car on the street too!

I started to hike. It was about 4-5 Km from the limited restriction zone. The route was extremely hard to hike with waste deep snow. I was trying to follow the ski track, but it was too narrow & probably people didn't use it in last few days. I had to spend double energy to move & when I was missing my steps on the track, it was really hard to get out of the deep snow. 

I could see the ten peaks from far

At some point, I noticed something - footprints of some animals. Initially I didn't care, but as I moved further, I realized that there are more & these are from some big animals. Which animal can it be? Deer is pretty common here, that's not dangerous. But there might be bears around! In fact I remembered that I read some reports of getting killed by cougar in this area! Then I was feeling a little bit anxious for a moment. What if a bear attacks me? I can't even run in this heavy snow. If a cougar comes from the forest, I don't have even a stick to fight with him! In fact you can't just fight with a cougar, it will kill you anyway. Lots of thoughts were going on in my mind. I am not afraid, but I am responsible to my family. If something happens, nobody will ever be able to trace me. Nobody knows that I am here. I'm the guy who is from a remote village in India, who is attempting a risky illegal hike through avalanche area in Alberta without proper equipment & emergency way out, who is doing this just being driven by high level of adrenalin & craziness. Anything can happen here & there are chances I will never be able to go back...

F**k everything, I have to move forward. I believe in binary: either win or loss. Either I will go back with the memory of rare winter hike to Moraine lake, or I will die here. I am prepared for both. I don't care about the rest.

As I was moving cautiously, I was stopping at points to look back. Pin drop silence, nothing else. Sometimes I was suspecting that something is watching me from the dense snowy forest, but these were all my imaginations probably. 

After one and half hour hike, the entrance of the lake came into my vicinity. Ahh finally I've done it!!! My joy bound no limit when I stepped on the frozen lake, standing in front of the massive ten peaks, aka 'Valley of Ten Peaks'. 

Selfie was the only option ;)

It was time for photo & video shoots, a lot. Mesmerizing beauties around, & I was the only human there. I came across the Moraine lake lodge, which gets closed in winter. At that point, probably there wasn't any human in 10 Km radius. The pleasure of being into the wild is indescribable. I wanted to explore the lake, but it was almost 2 PM & I had to go back. Also, I had already hiked about 14-15 Km & had to hike back the same distance. I didn't want to act stupid unnecessarily. I was already very tired. 

Had a couple of high calorie sandwiches with almonds, & started returning back. Gave a big salute to the Valley of Ten Peaks. Life has so many things to explore, & sometimes we scratch on the surface. The immense satisfaction I was feeling at that time, that I never feel by my academic/career achievements. Honestly...

People say an expedition is successful when you come back. And I had to hike another 15 Km. The same way, same footprint trails. But I wasn't that tensed, I was feeling relaxed. In fact on my way I met the group of girls whom I met previously. How come they are so slow with ski?!? We had a little chat. One of them said that if I get caught, I might get fined a big amount. It's not legal to come here without proper equipment. Well, that's more scary than getting caught by an avalanche or being attacked by a cougar! :P One of them suggested of walking back together. But they were too slow & I couldn't wait for them to come back. 

Actually I did the return hike way faster, most probably because it was downhill. Met a few locals, chatted with them for a while.

Finally when I came back to the entry point, I was feeling totally exhausted. I took out a chocolate bar & relaxed for a while looking at the mountain ranges at the end of the day. I was feeling homesick...

I was so tired that the last couple of kilometres to the hostel was seeming a lot. When I took off my shoes, I noticed that the bottom of my foot has turned white due to excessive workout & less blood circulation. I needed a hot shower & a cup of tea. Only relaxed on my bed for the evening, chatted a while with some people, wrote down my memorable experience in my diary, & was feeling how lucky I am to experience this. I was talking to the reception girl in the hostel & she was saying that it's good that I didn't know it was illegal, otherwise I would have never give it a shot. She was damn right! :))

Day5: 10th January: My last day at Lake Louise. However, I haven't visited lake Louis yet. My bus to Jasper was at 3, & I had kept the morning to explore Lake Louis. 

Packed my backpack & put it in the hostel locker securely. It was a 5 Km walk through Lake Louis drive. A beautiful sunny morning with freezing cold. As I passed the Moraine lake road, yesterdays fresh memory came into my mind. It was a nice feeling...

As I was approaching Lake Louise, the beautiful Fairmont Chateau came into the scenario with nice mountain range at the background.

Frozen Lake Louis. Probably one of the most beautiful frozen lakes I have ever seen in my life. Surrounded by mountains around, this huge lake is simply amazing! It made me simply spellbound...

The lake is about 2 Km long and 0.5 Km wide. The glacial fed water drains out to the Bow river via a creek. Actually there are several hiking routes around the lake. But it's mostly famous for beautiful ski mountains. However, I didn't have time to hike around. I was just walking on the frozen lake. 

There weren't much people around & it was a peaceful, calm atmosphere. I walked till the other end of the lake, just below the massive mountains. As I climbed up a little bit, I found some beautiful frozen waterfalls. Being curious I went to the rock face & was wondering this can be really a good climbing wall. I was right, I found the traces of climbing chalk on the wall. That means climbers practice here in summer. 

From the top, whole lake was looking astoundingly beautiful and mystic. I have seen beautiful pictures of emerald colour lake water from summer, but winter is simply gorgeous here! Well, I might be doing partiality to winter, but that's a real fact ;) Apart from skiing, skating & dog-sledging, people do ice fishing in the lake too. 

At the front of the lake, in front of the hotel, they build ice castle every year (it reminded me about the Quebec city ice hotel). People were skating on the well maintained ice floor in that area. I tried to get in, but it was too slippery for my shoe & I didn't want to break my bones by falling down. 

It was photo shoot time. I really wanted to stay there for longer, but I had a bus to catch. Once again I took a last glance to this colossal lake area & headed back to the hostel. 

After reaching the hostel, I still had about an hour left for the bus. Had my lunch & relaxed for a while in the hostel cafe. I was travelling with Sundog mountain connector shuttle service to travel to Jasper. The bus came on time to pick me up from the hostel. After picking up other passengers, we started heading towards Jasper.

The scenic drive from Lake Louise to Jasper was simply mind blowing. As the bus was taking turns, new set of spectacular mountain ranges came into visibility. I realized that mountains in Jasper area are a bit different from Banff & Lake Louise area, these were looking more bluish (believe me, it wasn't my imagination :)). 

The driver was a very friendly old man. He was stopping the bus at scenic places & was allowing us to walk around, take photos for sometime. We passed the famous Columbia Icefield, Athabasca  Glacier. Mesmerizing! He stopped in front of a famous frozen waterfalls (I forgot the name). As I was chatting with him, he was saying that he used to do multi-pitch climb here. He was showing the point till which he could climb. It's actually a very hard route...

It took about 3.5 hours of drive... 

Jasper, a cute little mountain town with a population of about 5000 people. The bus dropped me at 106, Patricia street, in front of World Travellers' Fraternity, Jasper. This is actually a house & the couple are renting the first floor for the hostel. I really liked their hospitality. Mike (the owner) emailed me few weeks ago about the direction, door code, etc. so that I don't have any problem. I have been in quite a few hostels before, but this one was more homely. 

They had an adorable dog, named Mr. Noodles! What else can be better than staying in a house with a dog! :) Mike welcomed me & after I put my stuffs, he took out a map & nicely explained about Jasper attractions. It's always good to get an idea of the place from a local. However, you can't explore Jasper properly in 1/2 days. Unfortunately I had the window of 1 day only...

I got freshened up & decided to walk around to get a feel of the city. Also, I needed to do some grocery shopping. Mike gave me the direction of Robinson's. As usual, I always look forward to explore local groceries ;)

I hung around for a while. It's a small town, you can walk around easily. The weather was pretty cold & there was nothing to do at night. I came back to hostel. Prepared a bowl of noodles & sausage for dinner. The dog was constantly evolving around the table seeing me eating, & was moving his tail. I couldn't give sausage or noodles to him, so he had to watch me only :P

After arranging my stuffs for the next day, called home, & went to bed. I had to wake up early next day...

Somewhere in Jasper...

Day6: 11th January: A big day with lot of adventures. Maligne Canyon is one of the most popular destinations of Jasper. The 150 feet deep canyon is situated about 11 Km away from the city. The speciality of going there in winter is that, you will witness super amazing ice formations inside along with the frozen waterfalls. This place in fact is pretty well known in Alberta ice climbing community. 

You can rent a car & go there, or you can hike if you have time. However, I went for a guided tour with Sundog. One advantage of going with a guided tour is that, you will be able to save time for searching the route, plus they provide special shoes that you will need to walk on canyon ice. The price is little but expensive ($60), but it's worth spending the money, believe me. You won't regret. 

The bus came & picked me up from the hostel. After picking others, they took us to a local shop to get our shoes according to size. In our group there was a Australian couple, some local Canadians & Thais, a girl from Brazil. It was a small van type bus where 10-12 people can sit. We headed towards Maligne canyon. 

Jasper is beautiful! We found quite a few deer around. At some point, someone spotted a elk! I missed it, but we found another after sometimes. The driver (& guide) stopped the car & we took a close look. I don't have a good zoom lens camera, & was satisfied by seeing through my eyes. It was taking rest on the ground & that's why probably didn't mind our presence. Otherwise sometimes they do attack, especially during the breeding season...

Our guide was very nice. He started explaining about the canyon and the river beside. We crossed the bridge on the river (he said it's Molin river), walked along the bank & then climbed up towards the entrance of the canyon. By 'entrance', I meant to say a easier way down to the bottom. 

Pretty big & deep canyon. With hard ice & soft snow everywhere, we had to descend very carefully. Once we were at the bottom, it was a totally different world of hard blue ice! I have never really seen blue ice before. You won't believe it until you see it. It's so hard that you need really sharp instruments to punch a hole in it. 

The bottom was extremely slippery hard layer of ice. We had to be very careful. Every step was a challenge. Our guide went first & was helping others. As we moved further, we were into the deep of the canyon, surrounded by high rock walls. Sometimes it was water mixed with ice at the bottom, & that's where our special shoes helped. 

As we moved further, finally it was the place of frozen waterfalls. Unbelievable!!! This type of place exist in this world! Am I dreaming or it's just an illusion!! Honestly speaking, I don't have proper words to describe it. A 100 feet waterfall is completely frozen & the amazing structure is looking like Stalactite. Exactly like that!!! Seemed that some expert artist has carved on the surface of the hard ice using sharp chisel. The hanging icicles were just perfect! I don't know. Why do we bother about little things of life, when the world is too big & we haven't explored even 0.1% of it! May be when the memory of this place will fade, I will start nagging about sucking life again, but definitely witnessing these places will change my viewpoint. I was feeling so lucky! 

We spent about an hour inside the canyon, with lot of photo & video shoots. Obviously posed in front of the frozen waterfalls & Thais took photos for me, & I did the same for her. 

I was wondering if I can get a job in Jasper & move here permanently :P

By the time we started driving back, it was about 12.30 PM. I still had the afternoon to explore. Mike told me about Patricia & Pyramid lakes. I had a plan to hike till Patricia, & till Pyramid if I have time. 

Thais said that she is interested to hike till Pyramid, & we made a plan together. After the bus dropped us to the hostel, we met in half an hour. Her dorm-mate Paloma from Chile joined us. Three of us started hiking through Pyramid Lake road. As we were moving at a slow pace, I realized that it might take long time to reach & we won't get good sunlight to see the lake. Thais started trying to stop cars to get a lift. After a few failures, one car stopped & they gladly agreed to drop us at Pyramid lake. The best part of the hitch-hiking was that, they had an amazing retriever dog named River. She was so friendly that she enjoyed our company. From the back seat, sshe ultimately came & stood on our thighs, putting her head between us & were enjoying looking outside, as if we are also from his family. Ahh, life is better with a dog, I wish if I had one...

In 10 minutes we reached Pyramid lake. Completely frozen of course. Pyramid island is connected via a bridge from the main road. Beautiful! We walked around the island & started walking over the frozen lake. Found some painting demonstration of other people on the snow, we also did some. The lake is actually pretty big, & with the Pyramid mountain at the background, it was looking magnificent! 

Nobody else was around, so we took some "ourfies". I managed to put my camera in automatic mode & got much better photos. I posed randomly & snapped some crazy pictures. Life is too short for not being crazy... 

We walked along the lake & headed towards Patricia lake. This one isn't as big as Pyramid, but they are similar. By that time it was getting dark & we started hiking back. Thais again started stopping cars & again got success. I am sure that this works only for girls, which is unfair :P This time it was a German guy who came here for travelling. He dropped us in the town. 

We walked around the beautiful town & spent some time in a nice cafe/bakery, Bear's Paw. Sometimes it feels so good when you listen stories & ideologies of complete strangers from some other country. We had some god time in the warm atmosphere of the cafe with latte in our hands...

Found a Totem Pole near the railway station. These Totems always carry some histories of the local culture...

Walked around the city aimlessly till evening & were little bit tired. We decided to meet at 7.30 again to go for dinner. I went to the hostel, ate something & got freshened up. Local restaurants were really expensive & none of us wanted to go for luxury cuisine at that time. Ultimately we went to a burger place ;) It was almost 9.30 PM & we realized that it's time to leave because the restaurant is closing. Bid adieu to them, & came back to hostel. Then another crazy incident happened...

Two other guys just checked into the hostel. One is Chinese & the other guy is a German. For last few weeks they had been doing crazy activities like climbing the mountains, sleeping in the forest, visiting Maligne canyon in midnight, etc. (I asked them, why I don't meet people like you regularly? I wish if I could...). It was about 10.30 PM & I was preparing to go to bed because I had a bus early in next morning. One of them came & asked if I am interested to see Northern lights. Well, definitely I am, but how? They said that according to the weather report, there are good chances of seeing Northern lights today & they are driving out of the city to see it. The expected time is about 12 AM. 

I thought for a while. I have a bus tomorrow morning, I am tired, & I need a good sleep. But what if after 10 years I look back & regret about this day of not living in the moment & not experiencing something new? Life is too short to do calculation of sleeping hours. I won't die if I don't sleep for a night. F**k the sleep, I must go!

I gladly accepted their offer & in 10 minutes went inside a car with two complete strangers in midnight. We were driving through extreme darkness, the location was in some odd place. A friend of the Chinese guy joined us too. I got my camera ready. Although it's not good for night photography, but I can shoot some videos at least, if I get lucky to see Northern lights. 

We reached our destination, I had no idea where it was. I didn't even see any other car while coming to this area. It seemed like an abandoned place or something. From there we had to climb up. Initially I thought it will be a normal climb, but it wasn't. At some point I felt that we are acting too stupid & crazy. We were climbing almost 75 degree elevation & the ice was extremely slippery. I was having hard time for my shoes. I simply couldn't anchor myself! And if I fall, that could be dangerous! Literally I was doing ice climbing without a crampon & ice axe. I was trying to punch on the soft ice by the tip of my toe to make some steps & was trying to climb up. It was so risky! I thought what am I doing? I have come out of the city with some strangers & now we are climbing a risky mountain in the midnight. That was probably one of the craziest things I have ever done in my life. I will never ever forget that night...

Finally we reached at the top, but the weather became cloudy & unfortunately we couldn't see Northern lights. But I don't have any regret, the journey was more important than the destination & I'm at peace with that...

We came back by 1 AM. I went to bed immediately, had 3/4 hours to sleep...

Day7: 12th January: The same SunDog bus picked me from Jasper & we were heading back to Calgary. We were transferred to Brewster bus in Banff, & reached Calgary around 1-1.30 PM. 

The bus dropped me at Calgary downtown. I took out my map & searched out the hostel address, Hi Calgary City Centre. Moderate hostel, okay for staying a night. I got freshened up, took a shower, ate some stuffs & went out to explore the city. 

Pretty big city, I was just walking around. However, just by walking through the busy city streets, you will get bored at some point. I explored the Calgary Tower area, busy downtown, & came back towards hostel. It was late afternoon. I started walking towards the river. That area was actually very relaxing, out of the jostle of busy city. I was walking along the paved pathway at the river bank. It was very quiet & I was liking it. Many people came for afternoon walk & jogging. After an intense hiking trip in the mountain, I was feeling relaxed  by sitting beside the river. Reminded about spending time with friends at the river side in my city...

I realized there is nothing much to do in the city. In fact after coming from such wildly beautiful places, I didn't like an artificial city. The trip was almost over, I had to fly back to London next day. Came back to hostel, packed my bags, had some chat with a dorm-mate from Australia, had early dinner & went to bed.

Day8: 13th January: Checked out of the hostel by 11 AM & walked to the bus stop (the hostel receptionist gave me the address of the #300 bus stop). I already had an extra ticket for the airport bus, which I got from airport. It took about 40 minutes to reach the airport. For some unknown reason, Westjet counter woman didn't charge for my checked in luggage! (saved 30 bucks, yayy!). It was a direct 4 hours flight to London, Ontario. We landed around 7.30 PM.

An amazing trip came to an end, but probably the crazy memories of Canadian Rockies will be with me forever... :)