Waterton Lakes National Park "Kayak Cameron Lake" August 17, 2022

To give myself the best chance at a successful paddle on Cameron Lake, I knew it needed to be an early start.  Waterton is known for its winds and they were forecasted to make a showing around 10:00am.  I wanted two hours on the lake so left my home away from home around 7:00am, drove the Akamina Parkway up to Cameron Lake, got all geared up and by 7:55am, I was on the water.  

With sunrise being around 6:30am, I got to enjoy the last of the golden hour on the drive to Cameron Lake.  I stopped to let the Mom and her young one cross the road.  The young one did stop to look at me then carried on.  That was such a sweet start to my day.  After that I let my guard down on spotting wildlife as what I just saw was fulfilling. Then as I rounded a corner...  

...I saw two bears crossing the road!  

I stopped to let the Mom black bear and her cub safely cross.

When I drove up to where they crossed, they were feeding on the side of the road!

WOW!  What a morning so far!  I arrived at Cameron Lake and parked in the first spot for regular vehicles.  I checked out the lake first to confirm it was suitable for me to launch my packraft and have an enjoyable, stable time.  This looked ideal!  I hurried back to my car and did all that was necessary...

...and I was ready!

That is Mount Custer at the end of Cameron Lake.

The end of Cameron Lake is in Montana, USA.

I headed in that direction but did not go that far.

same view but on March 17, 2022

the sun popping up over the mountain

taking time to just put my feet up and enjoy everything about this experience

quite the reflection

in my new happy place

aiming for the middle ahead which is where I began 

the view behind me as I paddle back to shore

The "V" is for success!  By now it was so hot, I was over dressed and could hardly wait to change into the lighter layer waiting for me in my car.  I am getting it down to a science with the inflation and deflation of the packraft.  Before deflating it, I clean it, dry it, deflate it, roll it, wrap the straps around it then it is ready to go in the car and wait until the next outing. 

I stopped at the newly constructed McNealy's Picnic spot on the drive back along the Akamina Parkway.  The original setup burned down during the 2017 fire.  It's a beautiful spot with covered and uncovered picnic sites, a wood burning stove, metal racks for your barbecue at the end of each table, washrooms, a trail to the river and great scenery.  I spent a little time here enjoying an early lunch.  

While my dogs were no longer barking after Tuesday's hike, I still put my feet in the lake when I got back to the townsite.  The water was not cold but not hot either, it was refreshing.  Between sitting here with  my feet in the water, feeling the breeze on my face, filling my lungs with mountain air and admiring the surrounding scenery, of course I lingered long! 

Waterton Lakes National Park "Carthew Alderson" August 16, 2022

When this trip to Waterton quickly came together, I knew for sure two things I wanted to do, one was hike the Carthew Alderson trail and the second was to paddle on a local lake.  I did the premier Carthew Alderson one way hike on my birthday last summer and I enjoyed it. I wanted to do it again so immediately booked a seat on the Tamarack Shuttle for 7:30am.  This is one of my most favourite views of the day!

 

There were five of us on the shuttle, a lady from Sparwood B.C., a lady from Michigan USA and a couple from Belgium.  The driver dropped us off and sent us on our way. While the others hit the trail right away, I enjoyed the peace and quiet of Cameron Lake for a few minutes and also wanted to take note of the conditions as this is where I wanted to come at this time tomorrow morning to paddle.  The reflection does not get more perfect than this!  

I started hiking five minutes before 8:00am and was in my short sleeve shirt already!  While it was going to be a scorcher of a day, it was to be the coolest day of all the days I would be in Waterton.  After forty-five minutes of switchbacking up, this was the view I had down to Cameron Lake.  It was now time to hike a bit of flat terrain to Summit Lake.

When I arrived at Summit Lake, the couple from Belgium was still here. They said the two ladies joined up and just left.  Once the couple left, I settled down for a snack and then captured a few photos. 

When I arrived at this section, I knew it was going to be wide open to the elements (sun & heat) for the next few hours.  Holy it was hot!  I came prepared with salty treats and electrolytes.  What I also came prepared for was an attack of vertigo!  In late July I was diagnosed with vertigo resulting from high pollen levels.  After my Doctor explained the whole thing to me, it made sense.  I was not his only patient over the previous few weeks who was diagnosed with this.  So before leaving on this Waterton trip, a few times a day for a couple of days, I went through the exercise routine to make sure my equilibrium was on track.  The morning of the hike, I popped a pill just in case.  

It was a portion of this long stretch where I did not want a vertigo attack.  From here I am looking back after completing the traverse.  The drop from the trail is steeper than it looks and there is more erosion along the way then there was last summer.  I was happy to have this part of the hike behind me and I knew  I would be OK for the balance of the day.  

This is the view from the ridge and just before beginning the hike to the Carthew summit.

The Carthew Summit is that dark high spot at the left of the photo.  If you look closely or click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see two people just to the left of the high point.  At this point I am not sure if it is the two ladies, or the couple from Belgium.

I arrived at the summit location just as the couple from Belgium were leaving.  

There is a tiny bit of rock to scramble to get to the very top. 

 I am almost there.

I made it to the top to have this view of Glacier National Park in Montana, USA.  

I was so close I could almost reach out and touch it.

my summit shot

I did the tiny scramble back down and found a spot to have a light lunch.  This was my early light lunch time view.  I replenished my need for salt and electrolytes,  filled my growling belly and slathered on another layer of sun screen.  I hiked that light pink line to the end and then headed down. 

The majority of the elevation was done by now.  A slight breeze developed which I was thankful for.  Another thing I was thankful for was the lack of bugs.  It was now time to descend to the Carthew Lakes.

I savoured every second of this scene as I descended!

arriving at the Upper Carthew Lake

looking back at the trail on the left that I descended along

view down to the Lower Carthew Lake

you can see the trail middle/bottom on the centre/right

From where I am, I can see two people fishing.

on the shore of the Lower Carthew Lake

the couple from Belgium look like dots on the trail ahead of me to the left

There was a short section to ascend up from Lower Carthew Lake and then a rough rugged trail down the other side.  When I reached this location I could see Alderson Lake down below and that was where I was aiming.  

I spotted a heart shaped rock on the trail so picked it up and carried it to where I would stop for a bit to rest and refuel.  I still have a way to go to Alderson Lake, you can see the trail in the middle. This is a great location to take a rest, there are lots of big flat rocks to sit upon.  The heart shaped rock is about two inches in size but as you know I enjoy playing with perspective. 

another view showing the colours of Alderson Lake

Once I arrived at the Alderson Lake junction, I was prepared for the approximate seven kilometres of  forest to get through.  I was already beat, but just focused to get this section behind me.  When I came around the corner with this view ahead of me, I knew I only had about twenty minutes left to Cameron Falls and then a five minute walk to my home away from home.  

When I arrived back at my suite, I was a hot, beat up, sweaty mess.  I had nothing left to give other than get my boots and socks off,  open a can of cold beer and pour it into the mug I put in the freezer, grab a bag of barbecue chips,  then sit outside in the shade in my rocking chair and savour the beer, the chips and the scenery!

Waterton Lakes National Park "Welcome" August 15, 2022

A mere month and a half ago was when I last spent time in Waterton Lakes National Park!  The more I go there, the more I want to go there!  This trip was last minute when I saw a suite become available for the exact days I wanted to escape the hot concrete jungle.  The suite had a kitchenette, air conditioning and this one had a rocking chair at my front door.  I like that the shade hits this suite very early afternoon.  The weather for Waterton was forecasted to be just as hot if not hotter than Calgary but I will take mountainous heat over city heat any day.

It's a three hour drive which I like to not leave too late in the day to attack. I am fresher in the morning so have a couple of hours to pass after arriving and before checking in. The Buffalo Paddock is on the way not far from the park entrance.  After entering through the fence and driving for a few minutes, I rounded a corner with a bit of a hill and this was what I saw.  The white vehicle must have just driven along here then the bison decided to cross the road.  It stopped and looked at me and then stayed there. I assumed it would just move along but it was just short of a fifteen minute wait for me until it completed crossing the road.  In hind sight with the price of gas these days, I should have parked my car.  

After visiting the Buffalo Paddock, I stopped in at the Boat Inspection Station just outside the Park Gate.  I needed to register my packraft so I could paddle in the local lakes.  The inspection sticker and form gave me permission to paddle anytime I wanted at any lake within Waterton Lakes National Park.

Next on the agenda was to drive the Chief Mountain Highway to the closed border.  The first time I did that was during my last visit and I really enjoyed the scenery along there.  Because the border is closed, there is no traffic other than the odd person like me who enjoys the drive, the Parks People patrolling it and those that enjoy bike riding.  It is a great place to bike while the border is closed.  Not far from the closed border I spotted a black bear on the side of the road.  There was no worry with creating a bear jam, so I pulled over and watched it feast on the berries. It looked at me twice but then carried on with its business.

There are two locations along the highway that have lookouts.  They have signage, one has picnic tables and washrooms.  This is the view from one of the viewpoints. This is the view towards Waterton and Lower Waterton Lake. 

the view driving the Chief Mountain Highway back from the closed border

With still some time on my side, I drove up to Cameron Lake.  By now it was mid afternoon and the typical breeze picked up making the lake not so calm.  The water was unbelievably warm.  I picked a spot to stand away from all the others who were doing what I was doing and from some who were even swimming.  I will be back to Cameron Lake tomorrow morning when I begin the Carthew Alderson hike.

view driving back along the Akamina Parkway towards the townsite

This was my welcome as I checked into my home away from home!

 

artsy urbanite

You may have noticed some changes to the left side of my blog over the past little while.  I wanted to find a way to put some of my sketches to use so a few have become promo photos for categories of posts.  A watercolour kayaking sketch done solely for this purpose is my most recent painting. 

This painting represents the maiden voyage of my packraft. The backdrop is the range of mountains that you see when facing west while in the middle of Forgetmenot Pond.  Me sitting in the kayak was rendered from my mind.  The duck idea comes from a recent paddle at Bowness.  I look forward to paddling more and sharing my stories here.  

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Drawing food has intrigued me lately.  I had all intentions of getting more into anime but got distracted by food.  This burger was quite the project and took loads of hours.  I followed a tutorial which took me in a new direction for creating the image of the burger.  Each ingredient was completed before moving down to the next item.  That means, the entire image was not sketched out first.  Each item was first drawn with a white coloured pencil then filled in with white using various levels of pressure.  The colours were then laid and layered on top of the white.  First came the top half of the bun, then melted cheese, the beef pattie with pieces of onion in it was next, that sat on a layer of mayo sauce, below that are two tomatoes, red onions, lettuce and finally the bottom half of the bun.  What a yummy project to work on!  

The goal was to make the skin of this kiwi look fuzzy and the inside look juicy!  I am content with the fuzziness but not so much with the other goal.  I used a different brand of coloured pencils than what was listed in the tutorial.  I tried to match up the greens as best I could yet I was short two shades.  The white spots on the seeds and at the tip of the skin are done with a gel pen.  

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Time spent enjoying nature locally has been plentiful.  I no longer always take my camera with me knowing I have my phone to snap a shot if something grabs my attention.  I knew there would be lots to see on this early morning visit to The Ranch.  I beat the heat of the day and was happy to be back home inside well before noon.  

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After a recent kayak outing at Carburn, I realized I missed meandering the dirt trails there to see and hear the birds.  I booked off a morning to do just that and this view was what greeted me! I like to believe the deer was admiring its reflexion but in reality it was having a sip of water.  I am still tracking all my bird sightings and I saw plenty on this morning.

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With the sun rising  a tad bit later, it is easier to get out the door to at least catch the golden glow.  I wanted to accomplish that on this morning yet the main reason was to, I hate to sound like a broken record, but to beat the heat!  A quick little note about the yellow bird, it is an American Goldfinch and I could hear its constant call from a distance away.  The call lasted long and I headed to where I heard it coming from.  I found it and not far from it was the other bird which is a Kestrel, a bird of prey.  The Goldfinch's call may have been a warning call to all others in the vicinity.

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The Sanctuary continues to offer me much joy so I have been trying my best to get there once a week!  I like how there are a couple of early morningers (I made up that word) like me and we share our sightings with our greetings.  The ducklings are growing yet others are quite new. The adult ducks are beginning to all look alike, tis the season.  It's funny how in the winter seeing the Black Capped Chickadees is such a joy but during the summer the sightings feel lacklustre.  As we approach the end of August, the seasonal visitors will now be thinking of heading south.