A fall road trip to Canmore and Kananaskis Country is the best escape from the craziness that comes with September. A quick drive from Calgary, the Bow Valley offers its eye-popping mix of greens and flashes of gold dazzling in the perfect light of late September and October (and maybe even early November.) The big…
All was ice, white curving fingers spilling from mountain valleys. Dark lines of ground rock defined each icy highway
KLUANE NATIONAL PARK AND RESERVE, Yukon – I’ve been a geography nut since I was a kid. My noggin is full of useless facts. In pre-metric days, I memorized details of the world’s highest and lowest: Mount Everest, 29,028 feet; Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, 35,814 feet. As a proud Canadian, I knew that…
Historic, colourful, quaint and sleep-deprived Dawson City; and up the perilous, muddy Dempster Highway
Upon our return from six weeks exploring Canada’s north, friends enquired, “So what was your favourite place?” And each time, gazing distantly while recalling the amazing scenery, people and places we encountered, I answered: “Haven’t a clue.” But Dawson City, Yukon, is a good start. I love Dawson. Unlike cruise-ship destinations on the nearby Alaska…
Blackberries, figs, grey and humpback whales, and spawning salmon all herald the arrival of autumn
As August turns the corner to September, some notable and familiar signs of change occur at Skelhp, which is known as “The place where the ancients dropped down from the heavens and taught us how to make canoe paddles out of yew wood.” The blackberries that have been thriving over the past three weeks start…
Discovering Virginia Falls, a remarkable UNESCO World Heritage Site – and learning a little German
ON THE ALASKA HIGHWAY – In German, weichei means soft egg. It defines a person’s character. In Canada, we call them wimps. Charly Kudlacek is from Frankfurt in the German state of Hesse and, as eggs go, is hard-boiled. We met Charly and his wife Marion in a remote campground at Summit Lake on the…
Comfy beds and incredible food await after a long, fulfilling day
As we gaped in awe at Talc Lake, a deep blue expanse hanging above Egypt Lake in the distance, a passing hiker said to us, “It only gets better.” Better than this? we wondered. How is that possible? In the vista before us, a waterfall ribbon from Talc seemed to put the cherry on top…
Go early, be prepared for any eventuality, plan well, concentrate on strong paddle strokes and keep your destination dead off your bow
It’s the classic ocean kayaker’s dilemma: should I wait or go now? You’re all loaded up. It’s probably early in the morning and you don’t want to delay others as your trip unfolds before you. Some or all of your trip-mates may have taken kayak water rescue courses and have at least some confidence in…
Whistler, or Whistler Blackcomb as the resort is known,is located in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia near the foot of Garibaldi Provincial Park's 10,000 foot peaks (3,000 meters). Located only about 78 miles (125 km) north of Vancouver, it was once a sleepy little ski town, but now it's been developed into a world…
An aluminum landing barge picked us up in Toquaht Bay and dropped us off in a sandy cove opposite Willis Island campground early in the morning. We were launched once more to kayak with old friends off Vancouver Island’s west coast. We’ve previously kayaked with these friends from Kyuquot to the Brooks Peninsula and to…
The equipment has improved and been refined over the years, but the thrill of the backcountry remains the same
It all started in 1978 when we decided to fly to Haida Gwaii and borrow our friends’ kayaks for trip into Gwaii Haanas (then known as the South Moresby wilderness area). We were just married and finishing grad school, with plans to move to Alberta in the fall. Our pals in Queen Charlotte City offered…