Into the trails

While much of Canada's mountain towns are packed for the winter, it is the summer when Jasper swells. Why? This little town, home to about 4000 year round, is surrounded by miles and miles of trails. It is a outdoor enthusiasts heaven. Hikers, horse riders and mountain bikers have endless routes to explore.

After a much-needed sleep in and meeting Reece's latest Couchsurfers, two French girls, the three of us headed out to explore the trails. The maps are great and each trail is numbered so it's hard to get lost. We chose a path that was about 5km, but took several detours resulting in a six-hour hike over hills, alongside beautiful lakes, through bush and back home.

Oh and did I mention the weather was A. M. A. Z. I. N. G. I think I'm actually a little bit sunburnt.



 We were on the lookout for wildlife - out of interest and safety concerns. As much as I'd love to see a bear close enough to get a great picture, I'm happy to achieve that from a train window. Reece had also warned us the elk have been moody lately and to keep our distance.

 

The first part of our walk took us through quite sparse bush, which has been thinned out to create a fire break. On another trail the trees were quite dense and the track a little muddy. The edges were covered with moss. Then it was back to thin little trees and a dusty track before coming out at a gorgeous lake. Wow. I took my boots off and paddled, but didn't last long before the icy waters got too much.



Further on we came to Patricia Lake. We stood on the shore staring out over the turquoise blue waters stretching out before the snow-capped mountains. Stunning. It was an image straight out of a tourist brochure. The kind of setting you only imagine seeing. And yet here we were with the whole place to ourselves.



It was a few more kilometres to Pyramid Lake, our initial destination. Each lake more gorgeous than the last. Aside from the tourists pulling up at some of the scenic spots, we saw three other hikers and two people on bikes. In another few weeks I suspect we wouldn't be able to count the other people on the trails. Jasper is about to get busy.



The trail back took us past some stables. There was lots of horse droppings along some of the trails, but we never saw any riders. The next trail brought us out to the road. After hours in secluded bush land we finally saw our first animal (aside from some squirrels). On the grassy bank by the road, an elk was grazing, oblivious to the traffic and us, across the other side. We sat down and watched it for a while, although cautious of Reece's earlier warning.



Another kilometre or so and we were back home, with a quick stop at the supermarket for supplies.

Today's spending: Ice cream and drink: $6; groceries: $25. Total: $31

Teacup Tales - The beginning

This post is in the wrong place...I should have written it before my first post of my travels, but anywho, here it is.

Last night I had to say goodbye to Vancouver, a city I've fallen in love with over the last nine months. Vancouver has been very, very good to me. In short, I've had a blast. I've also met some incredible people and it was even harder to say goodbye to them.

It's nearly a year since I left Tasmania. That departure was hard, but I was more than ready to leave. Oh so ready! This time, I wasn't. It's only by situation and circumstance that I'm leaving at all. Oh why oh why did I apply for a UK working visa as a "back up".

I'm leaving some of the most amazing people I've ever met. I'm also leaving a job that rarely felt like work. As a farewell present my wonderful bosses at The Secret Garden Tea Company, Kathy and Erin, let me select a teacup from the selection of vintage cup and saucers in store. The decision wasn't hard. I'd been in love with one for weeks.

That teacup is now living in the top of my camera bag. The safest place I can think of for now. It will accompany me on my travels and be a little reminder of everything Vancouver means to me. I will photograph it on my journey so Vancouver and everyone I love there knows I haven't forgotten them.

xx

[caption id="attachment_1392" align="aligncenter" width="584" caption="My gorgeous teacup from The Secret Garden Tea Company at our first stop: Jasper"][/caption]

On the road again

There are few travel adventures that give me butterflies more than the thought of a train trip. I love the romance. The journey. Weaving across country that roads wouldn't bother tackling.

One of the greatest journeys in the world is The Rocky Mountaineer....but I don't have that kinda cash. So instead I parted with $700 for a Via Rail rail pass, which is my ticket across Canada for the next few weeks. Vancouver to Halifax would take about four days, but I'm breaking up the trip with a few stops along the way. After all a girl needs to shower.



The first stage of my trip was Vancouver to Jasper. I found myself struggling to get my backpack closed thanks to having to pack for almost a month in chilly Canada and even longer in Europe during its hottest months. It's fair to say some jeans and hiking boots will be going in the post in a few weeks.

The train pulled out of the station at 8.40pm, gliding past graffiti-laden fences and truck depots. It was a disappointing last image of what is such a beautiful city. Within about 10 minutes I'd met the people in the seats around me. Such conversation doesn't happen on planes, or buses, but within minutes there was a group of us from six or so seats chatting away. In front of me was a seasoned traveller called Peter who was perhaps a little too chatty. I managed to escape most times but the canteen attendant and some other passengers weren't so lucky. Actually either was I....I still had to hear about his problems with going to the loo after eating certain foods.



It's been a big week so I was changing into my pjs by 9.30pm, fluffing up my backpack to use as a pillow and making the most of my two reclining seats. I had hoped to snag a spot in the observation car like I did on the way to San Francisco but the seats there were more uncomfortable than my allocated one.

I woke in the morning feeling surprisingly well rested. I'm determined to keep to a budget on this trip so I'd packed some instant oatmeal for breakfast. I bought a cup of tea from the canteen and put half the hot water in my little cup to make my oatmeal. Definitely beats paying $6 for the oatmeal offered on-board.



The trip is timed so we travel through the Rocky Mountains during the day. It would have been a stunning trip a month ago, but even now there is still enough snow on the peaks to make it a beautiful trip. Unfortunately I was a bit tired (two more naps taken during the day) to really enjoy it.

We pulled into Jasper a little after 4pm and it was a bit of a rush to make it to my hosts place before he had to leave for work. But here I am, safe and sound, in Jasper.

Today's spending: Cup of tea on the train: $2; Taxi to Reece's house: $9; Pasta ingredients to cook dinner: $9. Total: $20

One more year down...

So it's a year since Will and Kate. I doubt you care. I certainly don't. But such events have a way, regardless of your interest level, of making you think "A year? Really? Gee that went quick". This anniversary was no different. When I found out the second most annoying milestone of the year was upon us (Titanic's 100th took the cake: now in 3D...gee thanks), I found my brain flashing back to the last 12 months and wondering what happened to them.

Turning 26 was the start of something special. I quit my job, rented out my house, travelled through Europe, moved to Canada, met some amazing people, saw some amazing sights and did some amazing things. At my 26th birthday, while I sat on my living room floor eating a Moroccan feast with friends, running a half marathon was not on the cards. Yet nine months later I was crossing the finish line of the First Half Half-Marathon in Vancouver.

[caption id="attachment_1372" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Coldplay up close. A great start to 27!"][/caption]

 

So what will 27 bring? One of my favourite bloggers, Seattle's Travels, on approaching her 24th birthday, listed her Bucket List for the upcoming year: 25 before 25. In a similar fashion I've compiled a list of goals for the next 12 months. I won't bore you with 27 goals (plus I doubt I could come up with that many) so I've kept it to nine.

9: Get Cadel Evans' autograph. I'm going to Le Tour de France a second time and I'm not leaving empty handed.

8: See an Olympic Event. I don't care if it's gymnastics, horse riding, hockey or weight lifting. London 2012 will be awesome!

7: Take a photography course. I am doing OK teaching myself, but there's so much to learn.

6: Go to Bruges. This one is on the cards but not set in stone yet.

5: Get back into media. It's been fun having a few months off from "real" work but I miss the industry now.

4: Drive on the right side of the road. For some reason it terrifies me.

3: Get a travel article published. I was a bit lazy on this front after my last trip so this time I'll put more effort in.

2: Visit Lords for a cricket match. If the Aussie's are playing, that would be smashing...and I'm not just talking about what we'd do to the Poms.

1: Make sure I keep in touch with the wonderful people I've met around the world.

Your life can change in the blink of an eye, so anything could happen. 27...bring it on!

And now it's snow time

I've been in Canada for eight months.

From my living room window I can see three ski runs: Seymour, Grouse and Cypress.

A bus from pretty much from my front door to the cable car at the bottom of Grouse takes about 36 minutes.

Yet it took until 10 days ago, my 27th birthday, to finally go snowboarding.

 



 

After many months of "I really want to go snowboarding" I decided that if the weather was remotely suitable on my birthday, I was going up. I didn't quite make it in time for snow school, which would have been the cheapest way to learn, so I decided to splurge on a private lesson because, let's face it, I had no idea what I was doing. My only exposure to snowboarding had been an indoor slope in Shanghai at a cost of $25. So that doesn't count. I was contemplating skiing, but I'm not a fan of anything where my legs can go in the opposite directions to each other. Bad images of doing the splits (and I am NOT flexible) fill my head at the thought of it. So snowboarding it is.

 

My instructor was James, an Aussie. He's been working the ski seasons in Canada and back home for about five years, but this may be his last. After spending about 30 minutes teaching me to stand up, slide and stop, I realised how boring this must be for him as I tried over and over again to stop after a little slide down a slight slope.

 

 

I lost track of time during the lesson, but far too quickly we were riding the lift up to one of the runs. I managed to get off the lift smoothly, despite fearing a Bridget Jones-style finish. To be honest, this happened just the once. The rest of the time I forgot to stand up. I'd expected to spend most of the two hours either on my butt or trying to get off it. However, I spent a surprising amount of time upright. This didn't mean I wasn't nervous when we moved to the big slope. OK so it was the smallest of the runs, but damn huge compared to what I'd just been practicing on. James was a great teacher who put up me with me crashing into him, complaining how sore my legs were, and deciding that practicing turns, which is usually not covered in beginner lessons but I was doing well and we had time, were just too hard.



We managed about four runs before our time was up. Part of me wanted to keep going for hours. But I was tiring and fearing my luck of keeping my butt out of the snow was running out. Also the weather turned rather unfavourable, so a bowl of soup inside the Chalet seemed like a much better option.

 

The season at Grouse is coming to an end - before my visit they were predicting another few weeks left. But unexpected snow, which started towards the end of my lesson, could mean it will be open for a little bit longer.

 

A few days later I was still paying the price for my adventure. Although I hardly fell over at all (much to the annoyance of my friend Craig who was armed with a camera to capture any embarrassing moments), my arms were killing me from pushing myself up out of the snow. But at least I can leave Canada having snowboarded at least once.