08 September 2013
Summit
My most recent road trip, however, did. In the trusted company of my earliest travel buddy, a dear friend I got to know aged 5 and started travelling with soon after, I took to the classic route through the Canadian Rockies. Setting off from Calgary, where airport greeters in cowboy hats welcomed us to the land of prairies and oil sands, we headed due west and eventually found ourselves at the base of a mighty mountain range. Cragged peaks towering over surprisingly wide valleys, dark green pine forrests and barren rock faces soon surrounded us, and before we knew it, the freeway spat us out right at the toll gate for Banff National Park.
This being a federal institution, I naturally insisted on my constitutionally guaranteed right to speak French, with which the Albertan park ranger coped surprisingly well. Well enough, in fact, to provide us with all the maps and guides for our planned hikes. He even managed to tack on a kind piece of advice: Faitez attention aux ours!
Being Swiss, we came prepared for many things. Proper boots, sun and rain protection, GPS, and of course the trusty Swiss Army knive were all at the ready as we stroke out. In the alps, however, there are no bears to avoid, whereas in the Rockies, a note at the trailhead pointed out that it was currently berry season, and visitors therefore stood an increased chance of getting up close and personal with Yogi Bear.
And so it came that, one sunny August day, a selection of the world's national anthems could be heard on a steep mountain trail, performed by two panting but determined individuals, neither of which would make it very far on Canada's got Talent. In fact, the rendition was such that not just bears, but also any other wildlife was safely kept at bay until we cleared the treeline. The view awaiting us was as breathtaking as the path to get there: As far as the eye could see, unspoilt alpine landscapes lay below us. Only the town of Banff could be seen in the distance, with the prime Alberta beef of its steakhouses calling us back down again for a celebratory dinner.
The photogenic sights kept coming: The next morning, we were up with the larks (and crucially, before the Chinese) and had the oh-so-famous vistas of Lake Louise all to ourselves. On yet another hike, this one to the confluence of seven glaciers (or what's left of them, you global warming skeptics!), we learned about a century's legacy of Swiss mountain guides in the area, and indeed found ourselves taking tea at a little cottage that was visibly built by compatriots. Just like us, they must have felt right at home.
Sadly, but true to our joint travelling traditions, we had no time to dwell. Our journey was set to continue, and more adventures (along with other, less expected similarities to Switzerland) were awaiting us beyond the Rockies. Further dispatches from Beautiful British Columbia shall follow. Westward ho!
# posted by Oli : 18:04
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