Mountain Spirit December 16, 2022

My intentions were to cross country ski when I arrived at the Spray West Trail parking lot behind the Banff Springs Hotel.  The conditions, the weather, the scenery were all ideal but I felt a little on the lazy side.  Instead, I sported my spikes, strapped on my backpack and hiked instead. The first portion is a shared trail and I stayed on that until I reached the connector to take me to the east side where I could hike a good distance.

view crossing the connector bridge

It was an absolute winter wonderland along the trail that followed the Spray River.  

In previous years, I hiked and cross country skied in the area but this was my first time on this section of the trail.  The east side trail lead to the golf course, the Banff Springs Hotel and then on to Bow Falls.  You can see the top of The Hotel through the little tree on the left and that would be the club house and restaurant through the little tree on the right.  

arriving near Bow Falls which is that white space in the centre just below the mountain

The Bow River was open in many places and had lots of snow cover in others.  

I admired it from a distance.  

After seeing the sights in the Bow Falls area, I returned along the same trail.  There were areas where I could get a closer view of the River.  The colour was incredible.  This is mostly ice with a few small open areas.  The ice did not appear to be thick.  I stayed on the edge where I knew there was ground beneath the snow.

view towards Sulphur Mountain 

view of Spray River with the Banff Springs Hotel in the trees

When I arrived back at the connector bridge, I passed on by and continued south along the east trail.  

Up ahead the trail got close to the river and the colours looked amazing so the only thing to do was continue hiking in that direction.  

This view left me breathless and I think I will leave this as my lasting impression of this hike!  I did carry on further and it was gorgeous through the forest.  On the way back, I took it all in and made sure to "remember to breathe"!  It's days like this and views like this which make that mountain spirit such a thing!