Alberta / British Columbia / Yukon: 25.06.-07.07.

There we stud, on June 25th all alone at the Canadian border. No human being in sight, just the red cones that blocked our way. Should we get out? Nope, there was a sign telling us not to, so we turned off the engine and waited, sure somebody will show up from that small house up front.

Well, we thought. Just as Sonja had spoken the words it knocked at the driver window. Where did she come from? Hey we almost knocked out a whole bear family, we have had enough adrenalin for a while we don’t need to be shocked by the border control! After this ‘attack’ and about then minutes of questions and a bit of chat, we had a Canadian stamp in our Passports. We also were told that a black black-bear is living on the Canadian side of the border. But that one we have not met, not even while camping real close by.

Early the next morning we went on for the Waterton Lakes National Park, where we hiked up the highly announced ‘Bear’s Hump’ with a wonderful view over the lakes and the mountains. In the afternoon we walked to the Summit Lake which was further back and beautifully in the Forrest. The weather held on the next day, so we took the chance and went for the Crypt Lake, the trail there is one of the most amazing in the whole Rocky Mountains, and one has to climb along steep cliffs and through a 25m long tunnel. But the lake, which was still frozen on most parts, was well worth the effort.

Waterton Towncity in the middle of the park is not just for humans, this town is also home for quite a few deer’s, and you can see them like rabbits or birds in our latitudes, on schoolyards along the road, literally everywhere. Cute, might some of you think; we did so too, until we have seen the traps that they leave behind ;o)!

After three days we moved on through the Kananski Provincial Park into Banff National Park. The guidebook almost drowns you with all the possibilities of hikes and viewpoints, where one is even better than the next. But after we have seen the amount of people in Banff Town, we got an impression how the hikes might look; hike highways. Well, not with us. We’ve been looking for something a bit more remote a bit further away from the big hustle. And the Visitor Center gave us the right hints; A 5-6 hour hike on the Athabasca Glacier. Of course we had to go with a guide so we had to wait 3 days for the event. We used the time to visit Lake Louise, where we enjoyed the view from the Luxury Hotel Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, nope, we didn’t stay there it was just a glass of wine. Also for the rest of the time we took it a bit slower and just went on some short hikes. We even took your Diveyak out not to dive, but to paddle a few hours on the Maligne Lake, why pay for an expensive rental if you have your own. And in the dry suites not even the rain or the cold could bother us.

On the way to the adjoining Jasper National Park, we got once more into a snowstorm, but right on time for our Glacier Tour the sun came out again. At the meeting point we got a bit ‘shocked’ about the ‘masses’ of people who had the same idea. But it was a good troop. And because of James, our Glacier-Guide from New Zealand, we finally know what a Mars bar and a Glacier have in common. If you just bend and twist long enough the Mars bar shows the same cracks, breaks and holes as a Glacier has. There is one major difference though; the Mars bar just tastes a bit better. The tour was definitely one of our favorites so far, because even the fun factor didn’t get neglected, tobogganing down a glacier on your bum, what do you want more. Happy and with wet pants we got all safely back.

Dawson Creek the beginning of the Alaskan Highway, that we wanted to follow until Watson Lake, is the town where we met just in front of a Starbucks Café another Land Cruiser with a Swiss Crew. Together with Ruth and Walter we spent a great evening until deep into the night, before we took different turn the next morning. But who knows, maybe we meet again in the far north.

The Alaska Highway is not the challenge anymore that it once was, and some people even mentioned it was boring. But once you pass the first 200 km (120 mi) it gets more and more interesting. Next to the great scenery we’ve had it like on a Safari were we have seen; eleven Black Bears and two cubs, single and whole buffalo herds, Mountain Sheep and even a Moose (but that is without prove picture, since he just ran away as quick as he came). We got the impression that it is all fake and somebody is telling the animals; hey a bored driver, get out and let him see you.

In Watson Lake we were astonished by the Sign Post Forrest. Here Tourists, Workers and Truck drivers leave their signs, license plates or whatever they feel like on one of the wooden masts. What started in the Second World War with a lonesome solider putting up an extra sign pointing to his hometown has become a collection of more than 62’000 signs. But even with Sonja’s asking and begging to leave the front Plate, (in the US you need only one) in the Forrest, Markus was strict, not even her sweetest blinking helped, and we left without being eternalized on the Campell Highway towards Dawson City. In the meantime the sun was only for about 4 hour gone at night and it didn’t get really dark anymore, nevertheless we slept quite well.

However from the Campell Highway we got a not so nice Souvenir; a speeding Truck took care that we now drive with a stone chip in our windshield, but if it is only that, and in the Yukon everybody is driving with at least a chip in the windshield.

Now we are on the way to most northerly town reachable by car in Canada, but that in the next report.

Till soon

Sonja and Markus

Here it goes to the pictures…