Today was the first day of hiking on our Road Scholar adventure. Our backpacks were packed: change of clothing, winter gear, rain gear, lunch, and two quarts of water each. And we had to carry these on a mountainous hike with a 1,000 feet elevation change. Gulp.
After a hearty buffet breakfast at the hotel, we boarded the bus for Sunshine Meadows in Banff National Park, a short drive down the Bow River Valley. This became our morning routine: breakfast between 6:30-7:30 and depart by 8:00 for transport to a different area each day. The bus ride itself was spectacular, with towering peaks on each side of the highway, waterfalls, and glimpses of wildlife on the roadsides. Along the way, our guides instructed us on the geology, flora and fauna, and conservation efforts in the Canadian Rockies.
Once at Sunshine Meadows, we grabbed a pair of hiking poles supplied by our guides, hoisted our loads on our backs, and took a gondola ride up the mountain to the ski village, where we started our hike. Having come from Aiken, SC, where the elevation is about 500 feet above sea level, we were a little concerned about the altitude, which started at more than 7,000 feet, but we needn’t have worried. Our guides had planned the trips to allow our bodies to get used to the altitude. We were given three options for hikes: Mellow at 3.9 miles and 820 feet of elevation change, Moderate at 6.5 miles and an elevation change of 985 feet, and Motivated, which was 7.5 miles and 1148 feet up. Brian and I, along with most of our group, decided to start with the Moderate choice for our first time.
The hike up the first hill left me winded and wondering if I was going to make it, but the walking soon leveled off and took us through alpine meadows, across the continental divide and the Alberta/British Columbia border. Although the temperature was in the low 70s, the warm sunshine had us shucking off our outer layers. We stopped every so often to look at the wildflowers which were in stunning bloom, having only a two-month growing season. Ground squirrels played hide and seek, and Kelsey, our guide, showed us grizzly digs where the bears had excavated the squirrels’ tunnels for a quick snack.
columbian ground squirrel 
forget-me-nots
After a brief stop at Rock Isle Lake, the highest lake in the Canadian Rockies, we found out that the path the Motivated group was supposed to take was closed due to a bear sighting. Bears are taken seriously in this part of the world. Our guides told us of the Rule of Four: that magical number of hikers that when seen together by a bear, would persuade said bear to retreat. And just in case the bears didn’t know about that rule, our guides carried bear spray that supposedly is effective against charging bears. (It was always interesting to me to pass hiking tourists who had first stopped at the gift shop to buy large jingle bells in the hopes of dissuading bears. I wondered if the bears, like Pavlov’s dogs, would salivate at the sound of the bells, thinking “fresh meat.”)
We headed up the slope to Standish Viewpoint and ate our lunches with one of the best views in the world. Rumors of a pair of mating grizzlies visible off in the distance (at Grizzly Lake, appropriately) swirled around, although I never was able to see them.
Back at the bus around 3:00 and the hotel around 4:00, we had some free time to rest before 6:00 dinner at a nearby restaurant. We had clocked 6.3 miles today and although we were tired, we felt a sense of accomplishment at having kept up with the group. But those heavy packs had to go!
betheberblog 