Hal Jespersen's Northern Rockies Trip, August–September 2024, Part 2
This is my (Hal’s) report of Hal and Nancy’s trip to the northern Rocky Mountains, in the US and Canada. We took a tour sponsored by Smithsonian Journeys, followed by a train ride from Banff to Vancouver on the Rocky Mountaineer service. This is our second tour with Smithsonian, the first being to New Zealand, described here.
Because this a long report with many photos, it is broken into two parts:
- Part 1 — Calgary, Waterton, Glacier National Park, Whitefish, Emerald Lake, Lake Louise
- Part 2 (this page) — Banff, Columbia Icefield, Post-tour (Rocky Mountaineer train to Vancouver)
Saturday, August 31 — Banff
Today was not as originally planned. We were supposed to be in the town of Jasper, but wildfires there a month ago destroyed a lot of the town. So a few weeks ago Smithsonian emailed us with a choice: cancel for a full refund or accept an itinerary adjustment to spend an extra day in Banff. Six people chose the former. Our extra day started with a visit to nearby Sunshine Village ski resort, which features the largest alpine meadow in Canada. We took 8-person gondolas on a 20-minute ride up to 7082 feet, then a chair lift and brief hike to a stunning lookout over a broad mountain panorama with two pretty lakes. Absolutely beautiful weather. No bears in our path, although Darcie was armed with bear spray. We took a big group photo that Allen ensured included rocks and Nancy and I tried out an automatic selfie camera.
Most of the group took a 2.5 km hike back down to the gondola station, but I decided to rest my Achilles and we took the chair lift down. Good decision—the walkers took over a hour and arrived exhausted and sunburned. Lunch was at a nice pub called Mad Trapper’s at the gondola station with picnic tables in the sunshine and a lady singer/guitarist. I had the quintessential Canadian dish: poutine with Montreal smoked meat! The portion was enough for a lumberjack. Our experience was enhanced by numerous adorable Columbian Ground Squirrels racing around under the tables. Afterward we watched a local Indian tribe performing some dances.
Back in Banff, we stopped at Bow Falls, a modest affair, maybe 30 feet high. Marilyn Monroe went over these falls in the 1954 movie River of No Return, doing her own stunts for multiple takes. Then we took an hour long 5-mile rafting trip down the Bow River. The inflatable raft was a big one with room for 25 people. The river was mostly calm—only about two feet deep—and the scenery moderately interesting. The best part was the colorful guy who steered and oared the raft. Fifty years of experience on the river and a winter job doing long rafting expeditions in India.
We took the hotel shuttle bus down the mountain to central Banff and found the streets packed and the outdoor restaurants jammed. (It is Labor Day weekend.) The town has a cool feature: most of the streets are named after local animals, such as Bear, Buffalo, Beaver, Moose, Muskrat, Wolverine, etc. We got a reservation at a tavern on Bear St. and had an outdoor table and a Canadian pizza (pepperoni, bacon, and a little maple syrup). Dessert was at Beavertails, my favorite Canadian pastry shop. Decadent.
Sunday, September 1 — Columbia Icefield, Jasper National Park
With an early start we drove through town and were stopped at a crossing as the Rocky Mountaineer departed. That should be our train on Wednesday. On the long ride north on highway 93, Darcie told us the history of Canada since 1867, prime minister by prime minister. After 90 minutes we reached Bow Lake for a rest stop and a view of a big glacier across the lake. This the source of the Bow River that we floated yesterday. Beautiful reflection. And we found a small beaver dam! We viewed many stunning mountains with small glaciers over the next hour on the bus.
Following the recent forest fire, Jasper National Park is closed with the single exception of the Columbia Icefield, the biggest in the Rockies. After an hour and a without cellular coverage, it was nice to get some here, and WiFi too. There is a large lodge and visitor center where we had a buffet lunch. we got a great view of the Athabasca glacier and Snow Dome. (The latter is a three-way continental divide, the point where a raindrop might eventually reach the Pacific, Arctic, or Atlantic Oceans.) We traveled up onto the Athabasca glacier in a special bus with six-wheel drive on huge wide tires and a Mercedes engine. There are 22 of them here and the only others in the world are two in Antarctica. They are designed to negotiate a 36° incline and we encountered one at 29°, the steepest commercial road in North America. That was down a lateral moraine, compensating for the reduction in glacier height since the ice age.
It was rather warm today so the surface of the glacier was slushy and I was happy I travel with waterproof hiking shoes. Some parts were pretty slippery and we were reluctant to wander around a lot. Darcie scooped up some glacial water for us to sample, enlivened with a Banff Maple Rye.
Finally we bused down the Sunwapta Valley for an exhibit called Sky Walk. There were stations about glaciers and wildlife, etc., but the highlight was a semicircular platform with a glass floor that is cantilevered out over the valley. Quite a beautiful view, if a little apprehension inducing. Then we embarked on a two and a half hour return on the same highway. We rest stopped at a shopping center at Saskatchewan [River] Crossing where we bought some maple sugar cookies. Dinner was at the hotel restaurant again.
Monday, September 2 — Banff
Allen gave us his final lecture, “North American Terrane Wreck and Cambrian Explosion.” It was a good talk with a number of interesting PowerPoint animations. Topics included fusulinid fossils that showed a strange connection between Japan and the Pacific Northwest; determining historical locations of features via paleomagnetism; movements of the continents and the effects of subduction; emerging phyla that suddenly blossomed at the start of the Cambrian; the significance of the Burgess Shale at Emerald Lake; and Grand Canyon stratigraphy.
We walked just up the hill from the hotel to the Banff Gondola. We traveled up Sulphur Mountain quickly to 7486 feet and explored viewing decks with gorgeous views of Cascade Mountain, Tunnel Mountain, Mt Rundle, the Bow River, and downtown Banff. There were chipmunks darting around and two nice lady bighorn sheep relaxing nearby. Inside the building at the top were a gift shop, cafe, interpretive center, and a beautiful video. (The mountains in the Northern Rockies, impressive as they are now, are even more spectacular when covered with snow.) There was a boardwalk that proceeded 1 km to the weather station atop Stanson Peak, 7401 feet high, but there were beaucoup stairs so my Achilles recommended that I not exert myself.
Our group was now set loose until midafternoon. Some rented e-bikes, others went to the nearby hot springs. Nancy and I rested in the hotel for a while and then headed downtown for lunch. We had a so-so brunch and then a BeaverTail for dessert. Our final exercise was to visit the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. One room is an exhibition of mostly mountain paintings by J.E.H. McDonald. Another tells the history of Banff National Park in pictures, maps, and many artifacts. Then we had a guided tour of two heritage houses on the museum grounds. The first was a rustic log cabin owned by the Moore family around the turn of the century. The second was one from 1930 built by Peter and Catharine Whyte, the museum founders. Both had a lot of interesting artifacts owned by the families, including some paintings I liked by Carl Rungius, the “Rembrandt of Moose.” I have included a sample from the internet, but photography was not allowed in the houses. The Whytes were both artists and I think their works in their home were superior to McDonald’s in the museum.
Tonight was our farewell dinner in the hotel restaurant. We had an outstanding time with Smithsonian Journeys on this trip. Darcie and Allen were really excellent and the itinerary was great. All the logistics worked well and we had wonderful weather overall—only one day had a little rain (and snow!) and the rest were clear with brilliant sunshine and temps mid-40s to low 70s. We have booked another tour with SJ next year, to Patagonia, and we were pleased to learn that Allen is scheduled to be the expert on that tour as well.
The remainder of this page covers our three days of travel in Canada after the Smithsonian tour.
Tuesday, September 3 — Banff
We transferred by the hotel’s private car from the Rimrock to the Mount Royal Hotel downtown to prepare for our train departure early tomorrow. (The train does not run every day, so we had an extra day to spend in Banff.) Nancy took a one-hour trail ride next to the Bow River; I’m not a horse rider, so didn’t participate. She had a nice time on a horse named Shiloh. She wasn’t able to take photos while she rode, so the evidence of her trip is slim.
We lunched at a Mexican restaurant where I had a bison burrito. Then we rode on an Open Top bus (very similar in shape to the red bus in Glacier NP, but a modern vehicle, very comfortable) for a 90-minute tour around town. This tour is run by the Brewster company, descendent of the original Brewster brother guides famous in Banff history. Our guide/driver was dressed up in historic mountain attire and told us a variety of history info about the town and the national park. She started playing a Benny Goodman song (Stompin’ at the Savoy) and revealed that he visited here in the 30s, but he didn’t like train travel, so the town constructed a grass airfield just for his private plane! We drove near Cascade Mountain and saw a herd of elks munching along the road. Next was Sleeping Buffalo Mountain and Surprise Corner, which yielded a nice view of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. Then we ascended a switchbacky road to the Mt Norquay lookout, where we admired the view of town and mountains and partook in some elderberry soda, served in champagne flutes.
Dinner was down the street at another pizzeria, a pretty good one, too. (If I were to design the perfect group tour there would be fewer hotel restaurant meals and more sandwiches, burgers, and pizzas!)
Wednesday, September 4 — Rocky Mountaineer to Kamloops
Down in our hotel lobby at 7 a.m. we were greeted by a train representative who tagged our luggage and we boarded a bus that visited four hotels for pickup. Our luggage is proceeding separately and will show up in our Kamloops hotel. The train departed at 8 a.m. Our car has 64 seats—very comfortable—upstairs in a domed layout. The dining area downstairs has its own kitchen and seating for 32, so we eat in two shifts. (We are in “Gold Leaf” service to get this arrangement. I understand that the Silver Leaf folks are afforded service more like airline cuisine at their seats.) We got the first shift today and immediately had a delicious breakfast. Also downstairs is a small outdoor observation platform, which gives you a bracing taste of cold air, but not dramatically better views. There was a brief stop at Lake Louise for some more passengers and we headed up to the Continental Divide, which is also the British Columbia border. The entire rest of the trip was downhill. We went down through two famous spiral tunnels, inspired by Swiss railroad techniques, in Cathedral and Ogden Mountains.
We crossed the Kicking Horse River a number of times on the way to Golden. Then we turned north into the Rocky Mountain Trench, which means we have the Columbia range on the left, Rockies on the right (just as we did driving from Whitefish to Lake Louise last week) and paralleled the Columbia River. We had a delicious lunch with a selection of excellent Okanagan Valley (BC) wines. (Note to self: this wine region is pronounced oak-a-noggin.) The next major river we followed was the Illecillewaet into the town of Revelstoke. We passed a monument at Craigallechie where the last spike was driven to complete the CPR. (This was an ordinary iron spike, unlike its golden counterpart 15 years earlier at Promontory Point, Utah.)
We passed Shuswap Lake near Sicamous, houseboat capital of Canada, also noted for a nude beach. We saw a beautiful osprey soaring overhead. We heard a story about a resident named Doris who always came out to wave at the train; the secret to her regularity was that her dog always barked when he heard this train, although not the numerous freight trains. At the mouth of the Adams River we heard about the sad, precarious lifecycle of a salmon and we viewed the results of the recent Adams Complex fire. In the town of Chase we had to stop on a siding for 20 minutes in deference to a CPR passenger train, enjoying some freshly baked cheese scones while we waited.
We reached Kamloops about 8 p.m., about 280 miles from Banff. According to Google Maps, driving from Banff would take about six hours versus our twelve. The city is much larger than I imagined, about 100K, spread out over a wide area. Our hotel is the Delta by Marriott, which is modest but modern and comfortable. Our bags were already in our room and they will be picked up there tomorrow morning. This company is super organized; they handed out our room keys on the train, sorted by seat number, so no lines were involved. We had enough food on the train such that we didn’t bother finding dinner. This was a good first day on the rails, although I’m disappointed at the variety of photos I was able to take through the train windows. Scenery always looks better in person than through a camera. We had been warned that there was no WiFi and that cell coverage would be poor, but it wasn’t too bad, particularly when we were close to towns or major highways.
Thursday, September 5 — Rocky Mountaineer to Vancouver
We were picked up from the hotel at 7:10 and the train left on its 250-mile journey at 7:55. Our second seating for breakfast was at 9:30, but while we waited we were served coffee, tea, and cranberry orange bread with a lemon drizzle. We started along the north shore of the very large Kamloops Lake, where we saw a bald eagle perched atop a tree. And a herd of bighorn sheep, but I wasn’t fast enough to get a photo of either. We followed the Thompson River, winding through relatively narrow, steep canyons. The terrain this morning is noticeably different than yesterday’s, quite arid. The Jaws of Death Gorge was dramatic with its narrow passage above river rapids. Rainbow Canyon offered spectacular views from the outside platform.
At the confluence of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers, near the town of Lytton, we saw the two rivers have different temperatures and amounts of sediment, and also that the terrain has changed again abruptly—trees are now covering the hills instead of desert conditions. Approaching Cisco Crossing, I got some really nice photos of the railroad bridges owned by competing companies amidst this different environment. We traveled through Hell’s Gate, narrowest point on the Fraser, popular for river rafting.
When we turned west toward Vancouver, it was pretty much open farm country. I remarked to our lunch companions at about 3:00 that it was 43 miles to Vancouver, so you can feel my frustration when it took almost four hours to reach the city. Many slowdowns and stoppages trying to navigate across the Fraser River bridge and into the freight rail yard where our buses were waiting. Everything went smoothly after that. Our luggage was preloaded on our bus and we drove directly to our hotel, the Hyatt Regency downtown. (I arranged this hotel separately, but informed the train folks ahead of time and they handled the details.) We had a very good time on the Rocky Mountaineer. We met some nice people and had good food and wine and the scenery was often quite stunning, particularly the second day. The staff members were excellent. It’s a slow experience and rather expensive, but it was a nice way to end our northern Rockies trip (better than busing back to Calgary and flying home directly).
Friday, September 6 — Flying home
We had an early morning flight on Air Canada back to San Francisco. I have traveled through airports all over the world and found that YVR has some of the most confusing procedures and poorest signage of any. But US Customs and Immigration were pretty good and we had a fine flight. It is good to be home after a really great trip.