Damn shizz was in town.
Todd, cancel out west and come get baked at my new apt on tinychat.
Damn shizz was in town.
Todd, cancel out west and come get baked at my new apt on tinychat.
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Chaps' 2017-18 NFL $$ Thread
In same boatOriginally Posted by hongkonger
If only CAD could have waited one more month to spike. I have a large amount of USD I need to convert this month and I'm getting fucked compared to what I expected I would get.
Drop 1x please! After this month do whateverIn same boat
HILLARY WON
BUMP
Will post a trip report soon with pics.
Went the following places in BC/Alberta:
Fraser Valley
Kamloops
Mt. Robson
Jasper
Columbia Icefields (semi-private tour up the glacier)
Banff
Lake Moraine
Yoho National Park (Emerald Lake, Takakkaw Falls)
Kootenay National Park (Marble Canyon)
Waterton National Park
Also went to Montana, Yellowstone, and Salt Lake City.
Trip was 2 weeks.
Notably, I skipped Lake Louise because it seemed like a crowded tourist trap, and I heard Lake Moraine was similar and nicer anyway. So I went there.
Also skipped Radium Hot Springs because it looked like a swimming pool, which was lame. We were at real hot springs in California last year (Bridgeport), so these were a letdown and we just kept driving.
Lake Louise is legit and extremely beautiful, anything but a tourist trap. It does get a lot of tourists but for good reason, we spend at least a weekend every summer out there. Looks like you made it to a lot of great spots so no big deal losing LL. Radium/Fairmont is a cool little town, we have a summer home out there. The hot springs itself kinda blows but there's some nice hiking and camping around there and the town itself is very cool.
I read that you shouldn't even bother to try to go there before 5pm because of parking problems. I also read that it was similar to Lake Moraine, so I just went to Moraine, which is less crowded and easier.
Moraine was really beautiful. After seeing it, I felt that Lake Louise couldn't be much better.
Interesting side note. Some foreigner with a rented camper backed into a rental car on the way out. I witnessed this, and saw the camper driver was about to just drive off. I got his attention and told him he needs to leave a note. I stayed around and he didn't leave a note, but he did hang around for a long time, presumably waiting for that driver to get back. (He didn't realize I was still there.) Anyway, just in case he didn't make contact, I dropped a note through the car's open window that I saw what happened, and included the camper's licence plate #, as well as my phone #. Never got a call though, so I guess it's okay. I don't like interfering in shit like this, but I felt awful for the rental car owner that he was going to come back and find a huge dent in the door that he would have to pay for.
You're right that Lake Louise is a fucking zoo in the summer. Mass numbers of Asian tourists squawking about and clogging everything up. If you hate crowds you made the right call. If you ski Lake Louise is a must visit in the winter, world class terrain.
Would like to ski the Canadian Rockies sometime -- or any Rockies for that matter.
Sadly, all of my skiing lifetime -- dating back to 1981 -- has taken place in California and Nevada.
Not necessarily an idea but an interesting factoid, something to think about on those long drives.
There's a (I believe annual) bike race from Banff to the US Mex. border. It starts off before sunrise at some motel in Banff, it's an insane trek.
At the peak of my cycling phase I had a buddy who tried to talk me into this, lol. I never seriously considered it.
Last edited by FPS_Russia; 08-14-2017 at 10:53 PM.
totally an interesting idea:
read speed limit signs.
avoid small town speed traps
"Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next."
George Steinbrenner
Have you been to Whistler/Blackcomb? You could take a hell of a good family trip there, feels like a small European town with two great mountains to ski minutes apart.Would like to ski the Canadian Rockies sometime -- or any Rockies for that matter.
Sadly, all of my skiing lifetime -- dating back to 1981 -- has taken place in California and Nevada.
Went snowboarding at Lake Louise a couple of years back confirmed amazing, mountain wasnt crowded at all would recommend
Lake Louise is very nice & too bad you missed it but you saw a lot of great scenery so no real biggie. Definitely do a ski trip in the Canadian Rockies. I always go to Jasper as it's way less busy than the Banff area & just as good skiing.
Fuck you're stupid. There isn't 1 word in this thread about a speeding ticket. Not even 1.
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BUMP again
Never posted the trip report, and don't have the pics loaded on this computer, so I'll give a brief statement about each of these places, in case any of you want to travel there at some point.
Cliffs: Aside from the bullshit traffic ticket I got in Banff, I very much enjoyed my visit to eastern BC and Alberta, and recommend it.
Fraser Valley
Got kind of a late start, so didn't do as much as I wanted here. The highlight was the Othello Tunnels, which had a number of very nice views of the river and the granite rock surrounding them.
Mt. Robson
Took the Berg Lake trail to Kinney Lake. This was a beautiful hike, which is mostly along the river, and you have an excellent view of Mt. Robson once you get to Kinney Lake. The lake itself is also very nice. It's about 2.75 miles each way, with the first way being uphill, and starts at the Mt. Robson Visitor Center. The food at the visitor center is actually decent, and reasonably priced. Not enough bathrooms along the way, so you might end up having to piss in the bushes. Trail is well paved and good for kids, as long as they can handle the 5.5 mile round trip. If you don't want to take the trail, you can still see Mt. Robson from the visitor center. Definitely enjoyed this stop, and thanks to Hockey Guy for recommending it. People commonly visit Jasper and Banff, but not Mt. Robson. Lodging in the area kind of sucks, but those were the breaks. Only stayed 1 night, so no big deal. Also tried to hike in some sand dunes area nearby, but that was a complete fail. Not interesting at all, and that's where I got hammered by the mosquitoes really badly. Mosquitoes are very bad in this whole area, but oddly they were NOT on the Berg Lake Trail to Kinney Lake. Also stopped at Overlander Falls which was right in the area and a quick walk, but only worth doing if you're already in the Mt. Robson area.
Jasper
Very tough to get lodging here, as there's far more tourists than hotels. Book way in advance. I stayed in one of the places northeast of main Jasper, which was actually nice because the drive was very scenic. Would have liked to have gone out to Maligne Lake, but it was too far and out of the way. Didn't spend much time in the town of Jasper itself, which is a tourist trap. Athabasca Falls was interesting but very crowded, and the signage there was confusing. Did not take any tram rides due to some smoke in the area which would have killed the view.
Columbia Icefields (semi-private tour up the glacier)
This was great. Definitely do this, but make sure to do the "Evening on the Glacier" tour, rather than the main one. The main one sucks, as you're herded with 400 other people to a small patch of ice, and it's basically an awful experience. I was smart enough to research this and did the evening tour, which was only a little more expensive, where you go up with only about 15 others, and it feels far more relaxing and peaceful. Bring a bottle to scoop up glacier water and drink it. It's clean and tastes better than any water I've ever had. Only downside to this tour is that it's at a specific time (unlike the regular one), so you need to time it perfectly, and the place is far from everything, so you really have to plan your day around it.
Banff
Tons of speed traps around town. Watch out! Town itself is touristy, so I didn't spend much time there. If you want to see wildlife, take the "Minnewanka Loop" not far from town, and you'll see a lot of it if you go around dusk. Don't take suggestions to drive elsewhere for wildlife, as you will likely see nothing. You can drive up into the surrounding hills if you want a nice view of the town itself. Otherwise, most of the interesting stuff "in" Banff is actually to the north, so I mainly used Banff as a lodging and restaurant point. Didn't take the tram because, similar to Jasper, there was smoke in the area from the BC fires. The drive between Jasper and Banff is very scenic, so try to do it in as much daylight as possible.
Lake Moraine
Very beautiful area, as the surrounding mountains have glacial ice and snow on them (even in August), and the lake is a very nice blue-greenish color, which especially looks brilliant when the sun shines on it. There's a weird tall pile of rocks you can climb up to get a few of the area, or you can go up to the top through the back way on a trail. We went up the rocks and down the trail. Definitely a great area to take pictures. Parking is a complete mess here, so you may be better off just parking along the side of the road, and walking the rest of the way (it's not too far). This is a good alternative to Lake Louise if you don't want to deal with the craziness there (and where the parking is even worse!) This is in the general Banff area.
Yoho National Park (Emerald Lake, Takakkaw Falls)
Also in the general Banff area, though a bit further. Actually in BC. Not many food options over there. The best was a decent but sorta slow restaurant at Emerald Lake. Emerald Lake itself wasn't as interesting as I expected. Still worth the stop, but didn't "wow" me like I expected. Takakkaw Falls is underrated and is actually really cool. It's easy to get there from the parking lot, but it's a lot colder than you'd expect, as ice-cold water is constantly misting/spraying at you. Jacket is recommended, especially one which can repel water.
Kootenay National Park (Marble Canyon)
Not worth a special drive to get out here, but worth a stop if you're going that way anyway (or need to go in that general direction, and choose a small detour). I was going to Waterton from Banff, so I chose to go this way through Kootenay. Marble Canyon was interesting, but not as beautiful as the pictures make it seem on the internet. There was some other major sight which I couldn't see in Kootenay due to a bridge being washed out, but I forget which one it was.
Waterton National Park
This is the Canadian version of Montana's Glacier National Park. It's the same park, but the northern side is in Canada and called Waterton. I tried to go here in 2013, but the Alberta floods had half the park closed, so this was my return visit. Cameron Lake was a nice destination, and we took a boat out on the lake. Also took Red Rock Parkway, and saw the red rock area and Blakiston Falls. The "Bison Paddock" is also an interesting visit if you want to see a bunch of bison concentrated in one area, but you can get stuck in traffic jams there (seriously), and something kinda feels contrived about the whole thing. I much more enjoyed seeing Bison roaming on their own on Antelope Island near Salt Lake City (same trip).
Anyway, all of the above took a week. The remainder of the trip was in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Salt Lake City.
Glad you enjoyed that hike to Kinney Lake @ Mt. Robson. It has to be the best easy hike I've ever done. Perfect for kids.
Too bad you didn't stop at Rearguard Falls where the salmon jump. It's pretty spectacular if you're there at the right time. Overlander Falls did nothing for me.
Where did you stay when you were at Mt. Robson? We stayed at the Mountain River Lodge B&B just a mile or 2 west. It was a last minute trip & I booked it on about 3 days notice & got a room that looked directly at Mt. Robson thru the big sliding door window.
Did you stay at Pyramid Lake just outside Jasper? Sorry you decided against Maligne Lake. It's well worth it if you had the time.
Marble Canyon is nice, or I should say, was nice but they had a pretty major fire a few years back. It's just not the same.
Last edited by Hockey Guy; 03-13-2018 at 04:56 PM.
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