Moraine Lake Revisited

 With the lessons learned from yesterday we got up early (well, early for the flatlanders) and went directly to Moraine Lake. We opted for rental canoes. It was truly beautiful. The milky blue of the lake water set against the Valley of the Ten Peaks on a day that was warm and windless was amazing.

I reminded Kate that the last time we were here it was cold and windy and the best we could do was climb the rock pile moraine at the foot of the lake. Renting a canoe on a glacial lake of white caps was out of the question with two little kids. Glad we had such a perfect day,

We were back at the hostel mid-afternoon and geared up for the main event, our trip into the backcountry of Yoho National Park to Stanley Mitchell Hut. It is a 6 mile hike, at least 3 of it uphill. Full pack, w/ 4 days of food. We did score a room at the hostel when we come out (Can you shout, sow-na!!!). No bars and no wifi for a few days.

 
 
 

Lake Louise No! Lake Sherbrooke Yes!

One of the many reasons to dislike the Lake Louise area is the crowds. The awesome beauty of this lake with its iconic hotel sitting at the end if often mocked and marred by hordes of tourists on a nice sunny summer day. So to be sure, we did not give the old gal her best chance by visiting midday on a Sunday in August. Just a zoo of traffic and people. We took a quick look and split.

The alternate plan was to hike up along the (slightly) less popular, nearby Moraine Lake. As we drove around to it, the road was closed. The parking lot was so full that they stopped traffic for a while. We went back down to the visitor's center. The helpful ranger suggested a hike just over the Kicking Horse pass in Yoho to Lake Sherbrooke. Nice hike, not a lot of work. A chance for Katie and Nate to stretch their legs in the alpine air. Very picturesque lake.

Couple of pictures - Lake Louise, then Nate on the side of the trail at Lake Sherbrooke.

Elk in Banff

A lone elk grazing on the banks of the creek leading into First Vermillion Lake.

Sir Charles of Evans and the Yukon Medicine Man

Sir Charles of Evans and the Yukon Medicine Man

dedicated to Sondra Grizzlyfingers and Sir Charles of Evans

Sir Charles of Evans and his Merry Men were travelling from Banff National Park in Alberta to Yoho National Park, in British Columbia. They were  headed over Kicking Horse Pass to get there. Sir Charles had an idea. “Men,” he said, “I think I need a little adventure, I would to go to Yoho by way of Lac Sherbrook (he was trying to practice his French while he was in Canada).

“The horses and wagons cannot go that way, so we will divide in half. Half the Merry Men will go over Kicking Horse Pass with the horses and wagons, half will come with me and we will hike up to Lac Sherbrook, through the the pass at the head of the lake and meet the horses and wagons in Field, B.C. That will be a grand adventure!”, he said.

And that is what they did. Half of the Merry Men went toward Lac Sherbrook with Sir Charles of Evans. They hiked toward the lake. The trail was steep. It was a hard hike.

After an hour, the Merry Men were getting hungry. Sir Charles of Evans stopped and said, “Let's have a snack and a short rest before we go on.”

When they went to look for a snack, they realized that they had sent all the food with the wagons and horses! They had no food. It was too late to go back. The other half of the Merry Men had already gone over Kicking Horse Pass by now. They only thing to do was to hike on.

As they hiked Sir Charles and the Merry Men got hungrier and hungrier. Some of the Merry Men saw berries that were blue along the trail. Hmm, they must be blue berries they thought. They started picking them as the went along. Sir Charles of Evans ate some too.

After a while they saw red berries and they thought they must be strawberries, They started eating them as well. Sir Charles ate them as well. Then one Merry Man saw a mushroom, He thought, "I’ve had mushrooms on pizza, and they tasted very good!"

Soon everybody was picking and eating mushrooms as they hiked along.

They got past the lake, and started up the steep part to the pass. Something strange started happening. Sir Charles of Evans started to feel funny. They started to get headaches. They had ringing in their ears. They started getting pains in their stomachs. Soon it was hard to walk. They were holding their stomachs and doubling over in pain. Some of them threw up. They were crawling up the steep trail to the pass. Sir Charles of Evans found his tongue was starting to swell and it was sticking out. He could hardly speak as his tongue would not go back in. He was on his hands and knees crawling as he got to the top of the pass and collapsed.

His head was spinning, he could hardly move and the rest of the Merry Men were no better off. He looked up. There was a tall man standing in the pass. He had on a blue robe, trimmed with white fur, and red trim on his sleeves. He had a black dog at his side that wore backpacks along his body.

As was his habit, Sir Charles tried to raise his hiking stick like a sword and announce his presence with authority. He only got to his knees. With his swollen tongue it came out, “ I yam Sirth Charfles of Evanths and deese arff my Mawee Menth. Whoth arff yoot?”

The man in the blue and white robe said, “I don’t know exactly what language you are speaking sir, but I am Nay-tan-yell, a Medicine Man from the North, the land of the Husky Nation, the place you call Yukon, and this is my Medicine Pup, Sky.”   

Sir Charles of Evans tried to stand all the way up but fell to his knees. He blurted out with his swollen tongue, “Helffff!”

Nay-tan-yell looked at all the Merry Men lying on the ground holding their stomachs and groaning. He said, “What happened?”

“Berrithese”, said Sir Charles.

“You ate berries?”, said Nay-tan-yell, “Were they blue?” Sir Charles and the Merry Men shook their heads, yes.

“Were, they red?” Again the Merry Men and Sir Charles shook their heads, yes.

“And muthrooms!” said one of the Merry Men.

“Muthrooms, I mean mushrooms?” repeated Nay-tan-yell.

And slowly the story came out of how Sir Charles and the Merry Men ate berries and mushrooms and were sick as dogs (Sky the Medicine Pup, excluded, of course).

Nay-tan-yell told Sir Charles of Evans and the Merry Men how foolish they had been for eating food from the forest when they were not absolutely sure it was safe. He told them that they needed to get to a doctor, right away.

Sir Charles said, “Youth powerfuth Meth-a-din Manth, pleeth helphhh!”

Nay-tan-yell said that he was a powerful medicine man, who had studies the medicines in the Yukon for many years, and that Sky the Medicine Pup carried many powerful medicines in her  bags, but it was the doctor’s job to decide what was the right medicine. It the job of Nay-tan-yell the Yukon Medicine Man to mix the right drugs and deliver them to the person. He needed a doctor’s OK.

Just then a Merry Man threw up and the barf landed on Nay-ta-yell’s blue robe. Nay-tan-yell thought about all his years of medicine training in the Yukon. There must be something. Then he had it. He remembered his teaching from an old French explorer, Oveer de Countear, who taught the Yukon medicine men to collect leaves and twigs from nature and brew a soothing tea that made stomachs feel better.

Nay-tan-yell told Sir Charles of Evans, “I have an idea. I  remember a recipe for a soothing natural tea taught to me by the old French explorer, Oveer de Countear. It won’t be as power as a medicine chosen by a doctor, but it might soothe your stomachs enough to get you off this mountain. Sir Charles of Evans said, “Pleeth, dooth it”

Nay-tan-yell called over Sky the Medicine Pup and pulled a few packages of dry leaves and twigs from the dog’s backpack. He started walking around and carefully picking  a few leaves here and a few leaves there.

Sky the Medicine Pup helped, too. She dragged sticks out of the woods for the fire. She gave the Merry Men some puppy love by licking their faces to help them feel better.

Soon Nay-tan-yell had the tea ready. He had Sir Charles and the Merry Men take little sips. It tasted good! And it was helping! Sir Charles liked it so much he reached over to add extra sticks and leaves to his tea. Nay-tan-yell swatted his hand away.

He said, “Sir Charles, isn’t that just what got you in trouble in the first place? Grabbing things you don’t really know about  and sticking them in your mouth? Look what it did to your Merry Men! I am a Yukon Medicine Man and have dedicated my life to understand drugs. I know that even natural drugs have to be taken with caution!”

As Sir Charles’  tongue was smaller now he could speak better. He asked Nay-tan-yell what a Yukon Medicine Man was doing so far from home. Nay-tan-yell explained that while he lived in the north in the summer, he spent his winters in the south. Part of his Husky Nation had settled in the northeast corner of a state called Connecticut. The tribe was very good at many sports. Nay-tan-yell was making his yearly pilgrimage to cheer on the sports teams for the winter. This was going to be Sky the Medicine Pup’s first trip and she hoped to meet the Yukon Husky Mascot, Jonathan.

Bye and bye, Sir Charles of Evans and the Merry Men were feeling better. Not great but good enough to try hiking again. Nay-tan-yell reminded them that as soon as they went down the mountain they all had to see a doctor. He gathered up some of the berries and mushrooms so they could show the doctor what they had been eating.

Sir Charles of Evans asked what he needed to pay the Medicine Man for helping the Merry Men and Sir Charles get better. Nay-tan-yell explained that it the north it was not necessary to pay for these kind of services. He said that they believed that it was enough reward to just make people feel better.

Sir Charles was shocked. He insisted on paying something. Nay-tan-yell explained again that it was not necessary, but Sir Charles insisted again. Nay-tan-yell, said it was only in the south that people argued and fought about paying to help people feel better. Sir Charles insisted again. Nay-tan-yell finally said, “I know in the south they have something called a "co-pay", where you have to pay a little as part of the service. Give me $10 and I will consider it a co-pay.”

Sir Charles quickly counted out 10 Canadian Loonies and gave them to Nay-tan-yell.

Sir Charles rallied his men with the traditional cry, “Tally-ho!”

His men answered, “Let’s go!”

He led his men through the pass and Nay-tan-yell and Sky, the Medicine Pup went down the other side. As they went Sir Charles could her Nay-tan-yell singing the Yukon Husky Fight song,

Connecticut Yukon Huskies

Symbol of might to the foe

Fight, Fight, Connecticut

For victory, let’s go…….

Skythe Medicine Pup was barking and howling right along!

Sondra Grizzlyfingers and the B.V.B.S.

Sondra Grizzlyfingers and the B.V.B.S.

dedicated to Sondra Grizzlyfingers and Sir Charles of Evans

Sondra Grizzlyfingers was turning 5 years old. She wanted a very special present. She wanted press on nails. Most girls turning 5 don’t get press on nails for a birthday present, but she was insistent. She bugged her Mom and Dad for them. She told them that she thought that they would make her look beautiful just like the older girls she had seen in magazines. She bugged them night and day telling how happy press on nails would make her feel. On the day of her birthday, sure enough she got her nails.She was very happy to press them on and show them off.

What she did not tell her Mom and Dad was that she had a secret deep in her heart. She did want the nails to make herself beautiful and fashionable like the older girls, but there was more. In her heart she had always wanted to join a bear clan. She knew that if she got those press on nails she would look more like a bear, and be one step closer to being able to join an bear clan. She knew this was kind of nutty, so she kept the secret wish to herself and told no one.

Later that summer her Mom and Dad took her and her brother. Sir Charles of Evans, on a family vacation to the Canadian Rockies.  It was going to be a wonderful trip and maybe Sondra Grizzlyfingers would be able to meet some bears and ask how she might be able to join a bear clan.

On the trip the family went on a hike to a beautiful meadow. The meadow was full of wildflowers and berries. It was going to be a glorious hike. Just as they were about to start Mom said,”Oh no, I think we have a problem here.”

Sondra turned and all of a sudden she smelled it. Sir Charles had messed in his diaper. And this was no ordinary mess.  It was big, and it stunk! It was going to take both Mom and Dad to clean this one! And they were just on the edge of the beautiful meadow. Mom said, “Dad and I are going to quickly take Charlie to the car and clean this up. You stay right here Sondra, we are going to be right back.

Sondra was kind of mad at her brother, but she made the best of it. She used her nails and pretended she was a bear. She picked a berry here, she picked a flower there. She ate red raspberries, and blue huckleberries. She sniffed yellow flowers, she sniffed purple flowers.

All of a sudden she looked up. She was no longer at the edge of the meadow, in fact she was not sure where she was. The meadow was like a sea of flowers with no end and no beginning. she tried going right for while, she tried going left for a while, she still did not know where she was or how to get back to the edge.

She tried again. Left, right back and forth. She called out. She listened for people calling for her. Nothing. The sun sunk behind the mountains. It was getting dark. Sondra Grizzlyfingers realized she was lost! She sat down, put her grizzlyfingers over her face and cried.

Out of the shadows stepped a bear. A big grizzly bear! It huffed and grunted and growled a little. Most people would be scared. However, Sondra’s mother had been teaching her English, but other languages like French, and Spanish. Sondra was getting very good at these languages. What she hadn’t told her mother was that secretly she was teaching herself another language, Bearish - the language of bears. so, while other humans might hear growls and grunts, she heard the bear say, “Hello, little one! What pretty claws you have. What are you doing way out here in the meadow? My name is Momma Grizzly. What is yours child?”

In her best Bearish, Sondra Grizzlyfingers told Momma Grizzly that she had wandered away from her family, and she was lost. She also told Momma Grizzly about her wish to join a bear clan someday. Momma Grizzly told her that she did not know where her family was, but if she wanted to join a bear clan maybe she could help.

She explained that her bear cubs had been with her for two years as they grew up. This was the summer where they could go out on their own so they could start their own families. For the first time in a long time she was by herself. She missed her cubs, but knew they had to grow and move on. She told Sondra that if she wanted, she could stay with Momma Grizzly. Momma Grizzly would have a “new” cub to raise and Sondra could join Momma Grizzly’s bear clan.

Sondra thought about it. If she had lost her human family, this might be the best thing. Momma Grizzly seemed very nice. She told Momma Grizzly that she would be glad to become her cub and join the bear clan.

They spent the next few hours before it got dark eating berries for dinner. Momma Grizzly showed her how to tell the best berry patches. She taught her how to her how to use her press on claws to scratch the ground to get tasty roots. She even taught her how to find the super sweet Saskatoon berry! As the daylight faded, Momma Grizzly led her to her den, just off the meadow in the woods. She curled up in the den hugging Sondra Grizzlyfingers to her belly to keep her warm. Sondra was warm and cozy all night night.

The next morning, Momma Grizzly stretched and yawned. She told Sondra that it was going to be a great day. She was going to take Sondra to meet the rest of the clan. First however, they had to get breakfast.

“Come Sondra,” said Momma Grizzly, “we need to get breakfast. I have been keeping my eye on a herd of elk just over the pass. That will make a nice breakfast”

Sondra and Momma Grizzly climbed up into the pass. The looked down at the meadow on the other side. There were the elk.

“Look, Sondra.” said Momma Grizzly, “That little elk off to the side by the woods will make a nice breakfast.”

Sondra followed Momma Grizzly around the edge of the forest. They walked quietly, sneaking up on the young elk that had wandered off to the side. When they were just close enough, Momma Grizzly, leaped out the woods with one big jump. Sondra had never seen anything animal or human move so fast.

In one move Momma Grizzly had the young, elk pinned to the ground. The young elk was bleating and crying calling the other elk to come and help. Momma Grizzly yelled to Sondra, “Quickly Sondra, make the kill, before the other big elk come. Use your grizzly fingers, rip open her belly, I’ll hold her! Come on, it will be your first kill as a bear!”

Sondra, was stunned. She could not move. The young elk was crying and scared. Momma Grizzly held her perfectly for Sondra to make the kill. She couldn’t do it. She could not kill the elk. She just stood there.

The other elk were running over. Big adult elk with antlers that could really do some damage.  Momma Grizzly let the young elk go, grabbed Sondra and dashed back into the woods before the big elk could get there.

After they caught their breath, Momma Grizzly said, “Oh Sondra, I am so sorry. Did you not know that bears sometimes kill other animals to eat?”

Sondra shook her head no. Momma Grizzly explained that bear mostly ate berries, flowers and roots, but also ate meat. If they could kill and eat an elk, or a sheep, or a mountain goat they would. Sometimes they caught fish to eat. Sondra told her that she never thought she could kill others animals to eat. She knew the young elk was helpless and scared. It was just like she felt when she was lost. She could never take her grizzlyfingers and kill another animal.

Momma Grizzly, finally said, “I am so sorry Sondra Grizzlyfingers. If you can’t kill to eat, you can’t join my bear clan. Maybe I should try to take you back to your family.” Sondra, was sad and cried about not being able to join the bear clan, but wiped the tears away and agreed it was best to try to go back and find her family.

Momma Grizzly took Sondra back around a mountain and through a pass. There below they could look down on the big meadow where Sondra got lost. She could tell it was the meadow because way at the far end, she could see flashing lights and park trucks and a lot of people. There was even a helicopter. Her family and the park rangers were looking for her!

Momma Grizzly said, “Oh, no! I can’t go down there! The last time I got close to those park rangers, I got shot  with a tranquilizer dart and fell asleep. When I woke up I had a big radio collar around my neck. I wore that thing for two years before it fell off. I think they were tracking me and my cubs everywhere we went. I am not doing that again. You’re going to have to do this on your own Sondra. Look ahead, just keep very straight as you cross the meadow. You will run right into them.

Sondra Grizzlyfingers, said that she thought she could do it alone. She thanked Momma Grizzly for all her help and was about to start off, when Momma Grizzly said, “Wait a minute, I just thought of something! You told me you lived in Master-chew-nuts or something, right?”

Sondra said yes she did (she was too polite to correct Momma Grizzly, that it was pronounced Massachusetts, in human English).  Momma Grizzly went on to say that she had heard of a small clan of bears that lived in western Massachusetts. Momma Grizzly said, “This clan of bears had decided that they will not eat meat, or kill other animals to live as bears. They are a very small clan, but they are interested in getting more bears to join them. The are called the Berkshire Vegan Bear Society or the B.V.B.S. It is hard to find them as they live quietly, but they do have an office in a town called Amherst. The office does something called “advocacy” ,whatever that is, but if you still want to be a bear that does not eat meat, this is the bear clan you ought to talk to.”

Sondra Grizzlyfingers thanked her again and walked off in a straight line across the big meadow. In a short while the park rangers and her family heard a grunting and growling noises coming through the tall flowers. The rangers raised their tranquilizer guns, but it was Sondra Grizzlyfingers who stepped out. Sondra had been calling and yelling for her family, but she forgot she was speaking in Bearish and all her family and the rangers heard was grunting and growling. She quickly switched back to English, and yelled, “Mommie, Daddy, Charlie, it’s me, Sondra! I am back I found you!”

Sondra’s family was so glad to see her and she was glad to see them. She was so happy to be back with them, that she did not care that they did not believe her story of meeting Momma Grizzly (and she did not mind being scolded for wandering away from where her parents told her to stay. The family went on to enjoy a great vacation.

And next year for her 6th birthday, all Sondra Grizzlyfingers wants is a trip to Amherst, Massachusetts to find the office of the Berkshire Vegan Bear Society and she is beginning to bug her Mom and Dad about it already.

Laundry Day in Banff - Katie & Nate are Coming!

We arrived yesterday in Banff. What a thrill to be back! It is busy here. It is by my estimate 1/3 more crowded that it was 15 years ago. There are cranes  on Banff Ave. (Main Street) doing construction. You can now take a free shuttle bus up to the Banff Hot Springs. Granted we arrived on a Friday afternoon in the middle of the peak vacation period, but the change was noticeable.  One of the thinks I noticed was that there are flower baskets everywhere. The last time we were here, there were so many elk roaming through downtown that everybody who had flowers had them wrapped in chicken wire to prevent browsing. Have not seen any elk yet but with the flowers unguarded I fear that the increase of people and traffic the elk have moved out of town.

The town has still has its charm its vibe. I am on an octagonal bench outside the visitors center this fine Saturday morning and two girls are speaking German behind me. A saxophonist busker is playing across the street and a guy we heard playing classical violin solos in the parklet off to my right is setting up for his day of busking. And now folks speaking French have joined the scene. Saturday morning breakfast smells waft up and down the street. It is a bluebird clear day and the mountain peaks that surround the town are providing the background.

The most important thing second only to having clean underwear come out of the laundry, is that Katie and Nate arrive this afternoon. We can't wait. As we came into town our phones woke up and we got a text saying that they were boarding. Kate said she was going to take a picture of the pool with a newspaper and the sparkling clear water she was turning over to Sarah, aka, the mistress of green algae.

Wifi here is flakey and we hope to be able to post pictures tomorrow as we stay at the Lake Louise Hostel tomorrow and Monday.