Back to Canada (at last), Bow Valley Trail

The covid-induced pause in travel meant that Joan and I hadn't visited the Canadian Rockies in almost three years. We resolved to try again in 2022, and persevered through obstacles: Delta changed our schedule from Columbus to Calgary so drastically that we switched to United, and until the U.S. dropped its requirement for citizens to pass a covid test if returning by air (but not land or ferry), we had a backup plan to reach Calgary by driving to and from Toronto and flying between Toronto and Calgary. In the end, we flew to Calgary on United without any hitches or delays (departing Columbus at 6:00am), despite a warning that the Canadian customs terminals might not be "up."

 

In Calgary it was our first time renting a car from Enterprise, whose price quote was 1/4 that of Hertz and 1/2 that of Avis. We were thrilled to not wait in a check-in line, but be escorted to directly to our car and review all the necessary details (how big a scratch counts as damage, etc.) right there.

 

On our way to Canmore we stopped at the Barrier Lake Center to purchase bear spray and a Kananaskis Conservation pass, a new fee for vehicles parked in the area. There is no physical pass; the license number of your vehicle is entered in a database which the rangers can check as they patrol the parking areas.

 

Then we continued on to Banff to snag our physical Parks Canada passes (cheaper as two seniors rather than a family), and finally returned to Canmore, where we were staying with our friends and former B&B hosts Bob and Val. Canmore was originally a blackened, dirty coal mining town; the mines closed in 1979, and the town has recovered as a tourist and second-home destination. It's also sitting in the middle of a wildlife corridor, so grizzlies, black bears, and elk are not uncommon.

 

We fell into bed and slept for nine hours after a dinner at Rocky Mountain Flatbread and an evening walk north on the wide trail along the Bow River. That walk included seeing an osprey nest, a Franklin's ladyslipper, and a round-leaf orchid.

 

The next day's hike was south down the Bow Valley Trail / Trans Canada Trail. It was a sunny day and warm, with a high about 82°F, or 28°C, but the humidity was so much less than Ohio's!

After a breakfast at Uprising (wraps, pastries, good coffee) we crossed the bridge to the Trans Canada Trail and I paused to capture the Bow in full flood; spring came late in 2022 and the river was full of snow melt.

We were quickly greeted by a chipping sparrow.

This route is used by hikers, bikers, casual walkers, commuters, anyone and anybody. A look at the Bow from the edge.

The trail crossed a smaller stream.

Zooming in, a piece of wood looked much like the Loch Ness monster.

Soon the trail threaded between a housing development rising on the south side, and a woods on the north. Female elk were lying down in the woods, taking it easy in the shade and chewing their cud. The longer we looked, the more of them we saw. The cyclists zooming past, of course, saw nothing. They were also unlikely to hear the Swainson's thrush that we did.

The next stretch typifies the Canmore sprawl, with new developments springing up between the mountains and the river.

After a few minutes I took this photo looking back.

The road goes ever on ... to the cluster of development at the next highway exit.

Why is such an expansive meadow here?

It's reclaimed coal strip mine land, planted to have something there, and to prevent old mine tailings from eroding into nearby lands and rivers.

A side loop further along took us closer to the Bow through much less developed terrain. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

This tree will be carried away sooner rather than later.

After about three hours we turned around, when the trail entered a developed area. Along the way we'd seen numerous species of flowers. Here, a Lewis/blue/prairie (pick your common name) flax.

This is a vetch of some sort, but there are so many ...

This yellow clematis, a vine, is an invasive and considered a noxious weed. Pretty though.

How the crowds had increased by the afternoon on this sunny Tuesday! We saw various watercraft ... first, three males in a small inflatable raft towing a small inflatable circle -- imagine a doughnut three feet across -- paddling only with their hands. On the Bow in flood. Yikes!

Then, upright paddlers with paddles. And a coach.

By the time we reached Canmore, the crowds were out in full force, whether sunbathing, cycling, walking, or taking photos.

That evening we had dinner at Sauvage, a new restaurant since our last visit here. Sauvage offers 5, 7, and 10 course tasting dinners, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Wine pairings are also available. Recommended, but go hungry!

After today's warm-up, the next day's hike was more ambitious. Next post!