Day 38 - Sunday June 25/17

Today was the first day of several when we will be based in the Lake Louise Campground in Banff National Park. We had a later wake-up, shower, and strawberry/blueberry pancakes and sausage breakfast ‘al fresco’. It was 7c overnight, and about 14 in the later morning. Nancy was not feeling well, so she stayed at the trailer to rest, relax and recoup, while Michael went off to explore.

Michael’s explorations took him back down Hwy#1 into Yoho National Park, towards Field BC.

First stop was the Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint, which had many interpretive signs and a great view of the entry/exit portals for the Lower Spiral Tunnel. (photos)

Train is entering the spiral tunnel under the mountain upper left, and the same train exiting the spiral tunnel lower right

The Spiral Tunnels were a marvellous engineering accomplishment in the first decade of the 1900’s, based on designs for similar mountain terrain in Switzerland. The tunnels through two mountains each make a 280degree loop, reducing the railway track gradient from some 4.5 degrees to about 2 degrees. (the Trans-Canada Highway now follows and uses some portions of the old railway bed).  (photo)

After that stop at the Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint, Michael proceeded down into the valley to the Kicking Horse Campground, and proceeded to hike the “Walk in the Past” trail which reviewed the history of the early rail tracks through the Kicking Horse Pass, before the Spiral Tunnels. It was a fabulous walk through the forest, with an interpretive brochure that recounted the development of the early train route in the 1800’s. The trail ended where a narrow-gauge (36”) locomotive used in the construction of the Spiral Tunnels had been abandoned after the tunnels were completed. It is slowly settling into the Rockies landscape! (photos)

Michael had lunch at the site of the abandoned locomotive, and as he sat and ate, freight trains passed on both the (unseen) CP rail tracks above him (upper spiral) and below him (lower spiral).

Throughout this ‘trek into the past’ today, and in fact several times over the past several days as we travelled (and even a couple of weeks ago on the Prairies), Gordon Lightfoot’s ‘Canadian Railroad Trilogy’ came to and ran through our minds. We have played recorded versions of it several times as we travelled. (We invite you to find it on your vinyl or CD collection or on line, and listen to it now.)

One fabulous occurrence for Michael as he came back down the ‘Walk in the Past’ trail was when he came to the convergence of the trail with the CP main line and the Trans-Canada Highway (both the railway and the trail pass under the highway - you have to walk across the tracks on the trail), was that a passenger train pulled by CP deisels came from the west and passed by in front of him. The engineer waved gladly as Michael snapped photos of the train passing by (photos).

After returning from the trail, Michael proceeded to drive up the Yoho Valley Road to Takakkaw falls, encountering full 180degree switchbacks on the way, the confluence of the Yoho River and the Kicking Horse River (near its source at Wapta Lake), (photos)

and then Takakkaw falls (which have a drop greater than Niagara Falls, and are glacier-fed) (photos)

Along the path to the Falls, Michael discovered a signpost pointing toward "Michael peak". Of course, a photo op ensued!

Here it is - Michael Peak

On the Yolo Canyon Road both into and out from the Falls, Michael drove through snowbanks from an avalanche, but didn't have any opportunity to stop and grab a handful! (photos)

There is a wonderful "wildlife overpass" over Hwy#1, the Trans-Canada, just north of Lake Louise (photo)

After a wonderful day of touring, Michael returned to the campsite at about 5:30pm. We then enjoyed a great feast of pan-fried potatoes, mushrooms and onions, pan=fried steelhead trout from Saskatchewan, and brocolli coleslaw.

Tomorrow we are heading off to Banff/Canmore, to go white water rafting on the Kananaskis River and then take the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain, with a late supper in Banff.