Johnston Canyon and the Inkpots
I hiked this trail with my parents when I was young, but somehow confused the place with the ‘devil’s paint pots’ in South Dakota. I remember the vision of clear, deep pools recessed in the ground with trees growing immediately next to water, and always bugged my family to take me back, to what I thought was South Dakota. I apparently forgot that the Inkpots are set against a striking backdrop of Rocky Mountains.. Well, I found them again after nearly 20 years.
Scenic Johnston Canyon
The first of the Inkpots, and my favourite. Replete with a crust of ice
Fascinating
Grey Jay, moving fast
The larger Inkpots, and landscape typical of the area
Mount Cascade
After a week of staring at Cascade through my studio window, I decided to head up. A controlled burn was in progress just South of Banff, so the light was bad for photographs, and the forest slog on the way up to Cascade Amphitheatre killed my motivation, however once on the ridge this was a pleasant trip.
I could actually see my studio window from the summit
Mount Norquay ski area
Ridge route to the summit
Cascade from my studio window
Cory and Edith Pass Circuit
This was a great day out, especially since the commute from Banff is only 10 minutes! I suppose the Cory Pass trail was nothing special, but the view from the pass was great, and the return via Edith Pass was quick and pretty. Today really began to feel like late fall or even winter; at Cory Pass I was wearing a long sleeve shirt, a down sweater and gore tex shell and I was not hot! (not to mention gloves and a tuque). I hope Healy Pass was at least slightly warmer, since many from my residency went on an organized hike there today.
Looking towards Banff (Mount Rundle on left). It was raining off and on this morning
Mount Bourgeau was looking especially wintery
Mount Louis from Cory Pass
The fun part of the hike
Looking back at Mount Louis from Edith Pass
Mount Bourgeau
10 / 10! Followed the popular hiking trail (7.5 km and lots of woods) from the highway to Bourgeau Lake, then continued up to Harvey Pass, took lunch, and plodded up the ridge to the summit of Mount Bourgeau (2931 M). The conditions were perfect, but the real highlight was meeting Romain, a visitor from France who pushed a bicycle up the first third of the mountain! He joined in our summit bid, was a strong hiker, and full of great stories. The view from the top was absolutely spectacular. We could identify at least 200 major peaks in the rockies. Thomas (barely) walked away with huge blisters, but loved every minute of it, and was quite impressed.
Looking back over a tarn just below Harvey Pass
Looking out from the ridge, approaching the summit - Beautiful light!
View to the North, Mount Brett in foreground. Still on the ridge
Part of the summit view
Thomas and Romain identify peaks with the topo
Mount Brett again, this time from the top of Bourgeau
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