purplecthulhu

Or: There and Back Again, why we got back 2 days early!

The camping trip turned out to be an interesting and surprisingly camping-free
experience!

We started off packing things and getting organiseed on Thursday night, picking up
my pack and sleeping bag from the university kit-hire people, selecting trail mixes
at Save On Foods, sharing out the food between us etc..

Friday saw us up bright and early, though myself up first as I'd misheard what time
we were meant to be meeting at D's. We reached her house a little after nine after breakfast en route, and shifted our bags from the truck into W's car and N's car which were the ones we were going to use for the actual trip. 7 people, 7 packs and other kit only just worked being spread between them, but it was more economical on gas etc. than taking the truck.

Just as we were about to leave the first sign of impending doom arrived... N's mobile rang with an emergency call from his work that something on their website was broken. He thought he could sort it out remotely, and headed off to use D's broadband connection. Less than 10 minutes after he started, just as we decided to go back into the house and wait, he was done and we were able to hit the road.

The weather forecast wasn't great, and it soon started raining. However, the forecast was for showers, so we weren't too perturbed. But the rain continued on, and got harder. We stopped for a break and supplies at Red Deer, by which time the rain was quite hard, the air was distinctly chilly, and the wind was getting up. Undaunted, though, we continued on, towards Calgary and then turning off for Cochran and our planned lunch stop.

During lunch we discussed the weather a bit, and I was informed that this was just drizzle since real rain had to come down at 45 degrees. As lunch ended we noticed that it was now really raining, with the wind blowing the now heavy rain at between 30 and 45 degrees. Several of us got damp feet crossing the now pooling water in the car park back to the cars since we were mostly wearing our in camp sandles.

Once more undaunted we carried on, searching the horizon for lighter bits among the darkenning clouds and trying to convince ourselves that these were in the direction we were headed. Only when we realized that the very large blobs of 'rain' amid the smaller drops were in fact snow flakes, did we begin to get worried. We still had a fair way to climb before reaching our parking spot. We'd then make a 4km hike with full camping gear before setting up camp. Our car (myself, W driving, D in the front and purplejavatroll in the back with me) began to think the impossible - that we might be forced to turn back. But we weren't going to be the ones to call the other car on the mobile and suggest this.

Some time later, as the snow continued and the it started to look as if it might settle, our phone rang. N was suggesting we stop off in Banff to review the situation and decide what to do. This was agreed, and some time later, after entering the national park, and coming off an at the wrong exit, we met up at a gas station. The rain had eased somewhat, and sun was vaguely visible, but time was moving on, and everything was thoroughly soaked. Hiking to a sodden camp ground and setting up in the dark did not appeal to anyone. If it was put to a vote and I had the casting vote, I had decided to vote to carry on - this was the full Canadian camping experience after all - but this proved unnecessary. N suggested we stay overnight in Banff by renting a cabin from a place he knew, we could then see how the weather was set the next day, and make a decision then.

So off to Hidden Valley, and a chalet with full cooking facilities, lots of beds and a very nice wood burning stove. We fed ourselves trail food (we had a very nice lemon chicken with rice concoction from a dehydrated packet), bought booze and had a fun evening of talking, Gimmie the Brain, and admiring the view before heading for bed.

We had met the weather's challenge and, on getting up, we were rewarded by a much nicer day. Still cloudy, but no rain, and some sun. All seemed set for the camping trip to resume.

Then N got a message from C on his mobile.

C was looking after D's cats Remmie and Sassy since her husband was away at a family
reunion. C couldn't get the key to work and so couldn't get into the house to feed or water the cats. They wouldn't like being unfed for 4 days, so we had a problem.

A brief review of logistics with camping kit and food showed that if Dawn was to head back, camping would only be feasible for N, his partner and W. D and I were sharing a tent and there were a lot of other split items. We still didn't know how definite a problem the key was, so we resolved to head towards our chosen camp site, have a look at Takakkaw Falls (very impressive) which were at the head of the trail leading to the campsite, and then go to Field (BC) to phone C and see if anything had changed. We were, of course, in cellular dead zones in the mountains so couldn't communicate away from civilisation. If we'd already got to the campsite then we'd never have received the message and the cats would have had a problem.

So we got to Field, which lies beside the railway and just after a spiral train tunnel, and D phoned C. He'd tried everything with the key, back and front doors, and was completely locked out. D had to head back. We looked into public transport, but even leaving at midday saturday, she wouldn't have got back to Edmonton until 5amish Sunday morning, and this would cost over 200 dollars. N and W were our drivers, so them staying to camp wasn't really feasible. With heavy heart, we made the innevitable decision to head back to Edmonton, though we decided to take the scenic route.

purplejavatroll told the parks people at Field that we wouldn't be using our campsite booking after all, and was pleased to get an unexpected refund. We had lunch at a place with an astounding view, and then headed back to the cars.

There then followed a whirlwind tour of Rocky national parks, taking in 3 parks in our two days on the road. We saw Lake Louise, where all the famous photos of Banff are taken, drove the glacier parkway, seeing glaciers and frost shattered mountains on all sides, stopped off at the Columbia icefields and walked up to the glacier, which has lost 2/3 of its volume in the last century, and finally reached Jasper in time for dinner.

W had noticed an odd noise from his car as we were driving slowly through downtown Jasper, so we had a brief look at this as we parked. Nothing was obviously wrong, with oil levels OK, but he thought the noise might be coming from the water pump. Something else to worry about.

After dinner, it was back on the road for the last blast to Edmonton. As dusk came down we saw a number of deer and elk by the road to add to the chipmunks we'd seen at several other places along the way. The sun set behind us as we left the rugged mountains behind and headed east on the low slow downward slope towards Edmonton. We made a final gas stop in Edson, and got back to the metropolis a little after midnight. We headed for D's house since this is where the truck had been left, and where the cats needed rescuing.

As we pulled up outside D's two things became evident. There was a nasty burning smell from somewhere, and the Northern Lights were putting on a show.

The burning smell was coming from N' car! 'If you think that's bad you should've smelled it at the lights' commented handslive, who'd been in the back of that car. The smouldering was coming from one of the battery connections, and this was generally agreed to be a Bad Thing. I've yet to find out what was the outcome with this. D rushed inside and rescued the cats who, it seems, were just thinking about breaking out of the house to look for sustenance. I headed to the back yard to see the aurora, which shifted around from a brief glimpse of a bright green curtain, to faintly glowing moving cirrus like strands and threads.

While the others were looking at N's car, we transferred our kit to handslive's truck, and made our way home to bed.

Not quite the expected weekend, but an interesting whirlwind tour that, in retrospect, was doomed from the start. The weather saved D's cats, and the cats may well have saved us from being marooned with a dead car, and we all got a whirlwind tour of the Canadian Rockies.

Here endeth the epic tale of the Whirlwind Tour of Doom!