Canada

BARRON ADVENTURES

Trek the most spectacular areas of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, stunning mountain scenery, beautiful lakes and fantastic cirques, glacial icefalls, elk, bighorn sheep, beaver and other wildlife, canoe beautiful remote lakes, fish trout laden rivers, hike to incredible waterfalls and optional rock climbing magnificent spires.

ITINERARY

July 2 Banff

Depart LAX, fly to Calgary and transfer to Banff. Overnight hotel in

Banff.

July 3 Banff National Park, Rummel Lake, Mount Indefatigable

We set off for our day of hiking in the beautiful wilderness reserve

known as Kananaskis Country on the southern boundary of Banff National

Park. Depending on local conditions our hike will travel to Rummel Lake,

Chester Lake, or Mount Indefatigable. In the late afternoon, we check into

our remote lodge. Mount Engadine Lodge is a superb mountain retreat at an

elevation of 6,200 feet in the heart of the Kananaskis Country. The lodge has

a sauna, open deck, and huge stone fireplaces. Overnight Mount Engadine

Lodge…BLD

July 4 Mount Engadine, Rocky Mountain Parks, World

Heritage Site

We enjoy a hearty breakfast at the lodge, then pick up our pack lunches and

set off for Burstall Pass for superlative views of saber-sharp peaks in all

directions or another choice is to follow the Rummel Lake Trail, which begins just in front of

the lodge. The trails around Mount Engadine Lodge lead right into the superb wilderness of

Banff National Park, the oldest in Canada’s. The park was established in 1885 and today more

than 500 miles of hiking trails give access to its rugged mountains, glaciers, icefields, alpine

meadows, mineral hot springs, and deep canyons. The park is part of the UNESCO Rocky

Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. During our days of exploring this famous nature

sanctuary, we may be able catch glimpses of moose, elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer, beaver,

and black bear. We may also enjoy a glorious display of wildflowers from yellow columbine

and orange paintbrush to white globeflowers and arnica. Hundreds of beautiful lakes dot

Banff National Park, multi-hued and surrounded by larch forests and rocky moraines. We

return to our lodge to enjoy dinner and a relaxing evening, perhaps sitting around the

lodge’s fireplace a while before retiring, or enjoying some star-gazing in the clear night

skies. Overnight Mount Engadine Lodge…BLD

July 5 Shadow Lake, Redearth Trail

Today we hike through the spectacular scenery of Banff National Park and right to the door of Shadow Lake Lodge, our accommodation for the next two nights. Shadow Lake Lodge is a remote lodge reached only by foot. We will carry our overnight gear in our daypacks. Just a change of clothes and some toiletries are necessary. The lodge provides meals and bedding. (Our luggage will be transported by road to our next stop) The hike into Shadow Lake will be the Redearth Trail, a former fire trail through an impressive valley in Banff National Park. Views include the south face of Copper Mountain and the summit of Pilot Mountain. The iron-rich soil here probably led to the name Redearth. Following the Redearth Trail, we’ll get to the lodge in time for dinner. Shadow Lake Lodge is a backcountry retreat located in the heart of Banff National Park. The lodge is set on the edge of one of the subalpine lakes that dot the Continental Divide and is accessible only on foot s. In the early 1900s, the Canadian Pacific Railway built a network of small rest houses throughout Banff National Park to promote tourism in the Rocky Mountains by train. The Shadow Lake Lodge, built in 1928 by the Canadian Pacific Railway , was one of them. In 1950, the rest house was made into a full-service backcountry lodge. There is no electricity or running water at the lodge, but warm water is available all day long and there are solar showers. Overnight Shadow Lake Lodge…BLD

July 6 Shadow Lake, Mount Ball, Whistling Valley

After breakfast, we explore Banff National Park via the hikes that lead up from Shadow Lake. Mile-long Shadow Lake is towered over by gargantuan, glacier-clad Mount Ball, (10,926’), highest peak on the Continental Divide between Mt. Assiniboine and Moraine Lake. Mount Ball marks the boundary between Banff National Park and Kootenay National Park, and between Alberta and British Columbia. Our hiking route depending on conditions and group, include a hike up to Ball Pass by way of Hawk Creek, or a hike to Haiduk Lake in the Whistling Valley. Either one travels through unbelieveably spectacular scenery. Overnight Shadow Lake Lodge…BLD

July 7 Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park, Storm Mountain, Trout Fishing

Today we hike out from Shadow Lake Lodge and proceed to the Emerald Lake Lodge in Yoho National Park, where we’ll have access to some of the most enjoyable hikes in the entire Canadian Rockies. Yoho National Park, on the western slope of the Rockies, is one of the four Canadian mountain parks designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We take the challenging trail by way of Gibbon Pass and Twin Lakes. The climb up to Gibbon Pass gives entry into a vast, larch-dotted subalpine landscape, and we descend alongside upper and lower Twin Lakes, two alpine jewels set in a fantastic cirque below Storm Mountain (10,430'). We spend the next two days at the historic Emerald Lake Lodge. Emerald Lake is the largest lake in Whistling Valley and is flanked by massive limestone cliffs. Spend the evening fishing in these abundant waters. Common loon and osprey are usually in residence at the lake in summer, and rainbow, cutthroat, and eastern book trout dart around its clear waters. Vegetation around the lakeside is noted for western red cedar and western hemlock. Emerald Lake’s alluvial fan is one of the largest in the Rockies. Overnight at Emerald Lake Lodge

Emerald Lake Lodge is a historic stone-and-timber dwelling built on the shore of Emerald Lake in 1902. Like Shadow Lake Lodge, Emerald Lake Lodge was built by the Canadian Pacific. Set in one of the Rockies’ most spectacular and peaceful settings, our cozy lakeside accommodations each have a fieldstone fireplace, private balcony, and spectacular view. The lodge also has a lakeside restaurant, a 14-foot-wide outdoor hot tub, and a sauna.

July 8 Emerald Lake, Takakkaw Falls, Canoe the Lake

Yoho National Park is named for the Cree word yoho, expressing wonder, and it is truly a wondrous landscape of waterfalls, rock walls, and glaciated summits. The Yoho Valley is a massive U-shaped trough carved by glaciation. When the ice of Yoho’s tributary valleys receded, those smaller valleys were left “hanging” above the main valley floor and today their streams are spectacular waterfalls. Takakkaw Falls plunges nearly 1000 feet and is one of Canada’s highest waterfalls. We canoe to remote reaches of the lake today and later hike the Yoho Pass Trail, which starts right from the lodge and offers fine views of the rock walls and waterfalls of the Yoho Valley. Even though the Emerald Lake Lodge is rustic, it provides lovely amenities such as fine food, cocktails, and local micro-brewed beer. Specialties of the lodge’s kitchen include wild game such as caribou, elk, and buffalo. The wine list is extensive, with award-winning wines from central British Columbia.

July 9 Emerald Lake to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake

After breakfast we have either a day of rock climbing instruction and rappelling or another hike along one of the Canadian Rockies most spectacular trails. Afternoon we travel to Lake Louise and trek the Plain of Six Glaciers, then on to Moraine Lake.

July 10 Mount Fairview and Eiffel Peak

Head out early towards Lake Louise for a spectacular climb to the summit of either Mount Fairview or Eiffel Peak.

July 11 Banff

The day is free to explore this interesting city on your own. The famous town of Banff is located in the center of Banff National Park in Alberta's Rocky Mountains. Ride horseback to nearby mountains, fly fish the Bow River, visit Banff Park Museum, the Natural History Museum, or Cave & Basin National Historic Site (walk through a tunnel and enter the cave where natural hot springs were first discovered 1883, leading to the creation of Canada's first National Park in 1885)

July 12 Travel to Calgary Airport for home departure.