I entered the last mountain range of the Rockies in British Columbia through Kootenay National park, I finally wanted to get to Jasper and Banff. I didn’t plan time for Kootenay National Park and only stopped for the main and easy accessible attractions. It was mid-day so the light to take pictures wasn’t that great, but some of the locations still looked amazing, especially the marble canyon. The highway went along the Kootenay river and the views were incredible, the Kootenay and Vermilion river crossings made for great quick stops and lookouts.

I rushed through Kootenay that day, I should’ve stayed for the night but stuck to my plan to get to Banff for sunset. I kept driving and without realizing I stumbled upon one of the main attractions for sunset shooters in Banff, Vermilion lakes. Sadly the light turned out to be quite chemical, it was cloudy, no sun at all and the dark brown, red-orange and beige tones mixed with the grey sky dominated the color palette. I quickly learned about Rocky Mountain photography mass tourism in Jasper and Banff, the previous weeks had been very quiet. This was a holiday paradise for Chinese people trying to create something that looked like the perfect holiday for their folks at home. There were busloads of Asians, all in the best and most expensive gear possible, trying to create that perfect holiday photo.

Once the sun had set behind the gray sky I drove into Banff, looking for food and a place to sleep. The town reminded me of the German alps, plastic, malls and Disneyland with a few Asian touches. A lot of expensive stores, polished, a classic ski resort town, Asians loved it. The Ioverlander app provided the sleeping spot for the night in a parking lot by Two Jack lake. The area was popular with stargazers, so it wasn’t uncommon for people to park overnight without the intention to sleep there. It worked for the first night, which turned out to be another cold one, sleeping at around 1500m made for many wake ups and a happy me once it was late enough to finally get going at 5am.

I spent the next day around Banff, visited Two Jack lake for sunrise, drove into town for breakfast and WiFi afterwards and then went to climb tunnel mountain, the local hill. It made for breathtaking views of the city and its surroundings, but just as in Revelstoke, the landscape was too urban in any direction for my likings.

The best wider shot of the neighboring mountain had a golf course in it, not wild at all. Banff has a gondola as well, a convenient way to get up high, but as most attractions in Canada, very expensive just for a quick ride up the mountain. I think it might’ve been around 40$. The area up there is great though, they have a modern visitor center and a path leading to the Sulfur cosmic ray station, offering 360 degree views of the surroundings. It was cloudy so the town and all the urban bits surrounding Banff were hidden away very well, which made for great photos that day, even during mid-day. It was freezing at 2500m and I decided to end my day full of touristy activities with a visit to the local hotsprings after dinner in town. All warmed up and too lazy to find a new spot for the night I went straight to last nights spot, but without luck this time, a ranger came by knocking about an hour after I had parked. I think I heard him drive up to me the night before but he let it slide as I might have been one of the stargazers. Not this time, after threatening to write me a ticket, he made me follow him to the closest public campsite to stay there for the night. The reception was closed and we agreed that I could pay in the morning, I kindly offered him to write down my plates but he refused. After a few tries I realized that there wasn’t any benefit for me by staying at proper campsites, the only thing I could think of is maybe a bench and fireplace next to the car. Maybe the toilet for number 2’s was the greatest benefit. Canadians love camping and they love camping gear even more. They bring so many things, it defeats the purpose of going camping in the first place. It should be called move your house on wheels into the woods. Giant RV’s with all the amenities that of a regular home, from fully functioning bathrooms to kitchens to living rooms. That being said, once retired many Canadians sell all their belongings and move into RV’s the size of a travel coaches to drive around the country.
Most of the campsites were very basic, catering to a very basic camping experience, no amenities other than a washroom. The problem was that all that luxury out in the woods needed to be powered, so instead of a peaceful evening out in the woods you get to hear the roaring of 20 generators at the same time. I found that to be a terrible experience and it was the main reason to avoid campsites in general, why pay for a noisy night if a quiet one was free? I’ll go for number 2 at McDonald’s or in the woods.

I got up very early the next morning to go on another sunrise quest, visiting another corner of Two Jack lake. Even with the crowds it turned out to be an epic morning, perfect conditions for sunrise photos. The lake with the mountains in the background looked epic and all the instagram photo shoots happening made for the occasional model or just a person in the right position. Once I got my shots I considered driving back to the campsite to pay for the night, but as the reception still wasn’t open and considering how unsatisfactory the night was, I decided simply not to pay.

I didn’t want to stay another day around Banff, so I drove the icefields parkway north towards Jasper with famous lake Louise and Moraine lake as my next destinations. Judging by the amount of people in and around the parking lot, lake Louise must be the main attraction on the Icefields parkway. It has a chateau for the wealthier guests right by the lake which reminded me of the Grand Budapest hotel, the Wes Anderson movie. The lake itself was beautiful, but didn’t look it’s best in the late morning light, so I left for the second lake in the area, Moraine lake. It was possible to drive right up to it as well and once I had seen the lake and it’s surroundings I got bored, time to go on a hike. For the first hike of the day I picked an moderate one leading to Eiffel lake. Moraine lake lies in the high altitudes of about 2000m so the snow was very close and the hike didn’t need to gain too much elevation, maybe 500m. In comparison to the lower, more accessible lakes this place seemed deserted. I probably met 4-6 people on the whole 5 hours of the hike. Once I could see the lake I decided to climb deeper into the valley that surrounded it, leaving the path. I had to wade through knee deep snow, climb over giant boulders and pass through a forest of red trees to finally get to the edge of the lake. It was truly breathtaking, the silence, the giant peaks surrounding the valley and the solitude all made for a great experience. It was still morning when it was time to return to the car, I drove back towards lake Louise, looking for a hike there. Every national park had a foldable map showing the routes and points of interest on the way. I decided to do a longer hike up to the plain of six glaciers. It started along lake Louise and then lead up into the mountains behind it. It was a busier hike, especially the earlier part. About halfway into the ascent a group of people got excited and started to point into the distance. They saw a grizzly bear mother with cubs, but they were too far away to see without binoculars, all I could make out in the distance were snow, rocks and boulders. One person showed me a picture on their camera’s display though. A thing to keep in mind though. When I made it to the final bit of the path it started to snow heavily so sadly I didn’t get to see all of the 6 glaciers. There was more snow towards the mountains, I was still able to see lake Louise and the chateau in the distance. Not much to do at the end of the path other than to watch the unprepared and more clumsy hikers fall like dominos on the last bit of the icy path. Responsible hikers were a lot better equipped, rocking sticks and special slip on spikes for their hiking shoes. It felt like the more expensive the outfit the better of a hiker you were, which, in a way, does make sense as hiking doesn’t require any special skill. People were taking it too far though, spending thousands of dollars on gear for their annual hike. That being said, casually worn outdoor gear is a thing in Canada, the people here love to express their passion for the alpine or nature in their daily lives through the clothes they wear I guess. I myself wasn’t doing too bad clothing-wise either, thanks to a sponsored TNF jacket and a pair of high end Arc`teryx hiking shoes I found for 8 dollars at value village. Many people probably still frowned upon the jeans instead of a pair of plastic cargos I was wearing.

This was the second hike of the day and I felt exhausted once I reached the end, the Plain of six Glaciers, totaling at 20km for the day. The hike offered to finish via a different route. It didn’t make the trip a lot longer but passed by to two more lakes. The signs leading the way tell the distance but not the elevation gain. I wasn’t prepared for another ascent and didn’t realize until about half way in that I had to climb just as high as I had to for the plain of 6 glaciers. I hadn’t eaten or drunk much that day, so my low sugar levels made me sweat and I got nervous, it was late and about to get dark as well.

There was a viewpoint at the top overlooking mostly lake Louise and the chateau behind it, but I wasn’t in the mood for any more viewpoints, just crossed the top as fast as I could and went to climb down on the other side. The sun was about to go under and this side of the mountain hadn’t seen it in a while, so the snowy, muddy path froze over and turned to pure ice in some parts. It was steep as well, I was tumbling down the mountain more than walking, sliding on all fours at times. I probably fell 20-30 times. I didn’t care too much for lake Agnes or photos at this moment, all I wanted was to get back to the car. The second lake turned out to be too nice to pass up, especially during blue hour. I met a few Instagram photo professionals staging the classic shot of somebody standing on a log in a lake in front of a mountain. I took a quick snap as well, which got them pretty upset, they tried to tell me that the girl was very camera shy and that I totally invaded her personal space. Pc-bullshit. I pc-apologized and told them about traveling alone and not having a model, but that wasn’t enough. How dare I. We had to walk back the same way which made for a bit of an awkward way home. Finally back at the car I ate and drank everything I could find. It was late and all I could find was a gas station for seconds. According to Apples health app I walked about 34km that day, which I had never done before, especially considering that I gained and then lost about 500m in elevation on every of the 3 hikes, this record will be hard to beat.
One of the rangers I complained to about parks Canada not catering to the poorer crowd told me that it is ok to sleep in the car at the lake Louise overflow parking lot for 10$. That was great news as it was strategically located in the lower third of the parkway and very close to a few of the main attractions. I spend the next two nights there and luckily the fee wasn’t enforced which made for a great base in the lower third of the Icefields Parkway.