November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: october 13, 2006
distance: 6.8 miles
highest elevation: 800 feet
elevation gain: 640 feet
time: 3 hours

eagle creek trail runs along eagle creek to tunnel falls and wahtum lake. i hiked until i reached high bridge and then hiked out. i plan to return for a tunnel falls hike soon. the hike was beautiful and for as popular as it is…it wasn’t very busy.

soon after i took the picture above, i had the misfortune of having a quick episode of syncope. the fall bruised my knee, hip, and elbow…and worse still….broke my camera, which i had stuffed in my pocket. so…no more pictures until the camera gets fixed.

as an aside…the doctors have determined that orthostatic hypotension may be the cause of the syncope episodes. after much poking and prodding, the cardiologist has scheduled a tilt table test on monday, november 13, 2006 at ohsu to explore the episodes.

tyler believes it is only fitting that something may be wrong with my heart. he says its bad karma for not being compassionate.

truth is…i can make fun of the possibilities…but in the end…i’m just scared.

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November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: september 16, 2006
distance: 6.2 miles
highest elevation: 3950 feet
elevation gain: 1300 feet
time: 2.5 hours

the larch mountain loop hike was much better than i anticipated. the hike incorporates four trails to make the loop (trails 441, 444, 446, 424).

most people mention the view from sherrard point, where you can view eight of the surrounding peaks, including mt hood, mt st helens, mt adams, mt jefferson, mt rainier, and the three sisters. however, i hiked the loop on a rainy, cloudy day when the view was non-existent. other than the point, the loop is through forest and makes a great, quiet hike (especially on a rainy day). i passed two hikers early on…and after that i felt like i was the only person in the world…which was awesome. i love it when the outside matches my insides. sometimes when it’s rainy, cloudy, and quiet on the inside…views are not what’s needed…a solitary, wet trail is perfect.

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November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: september 9, 2006
distance: 8.13 miles
highest elevation: 760 feet
elevation gain: 710 feet
time: 5 hours

well, i’m back hiking in my hometown. after banff, you’d think i’d be disappointed, but the pacific northwest rocks for hiking! tyler and hiked this great waterfall hike, which includes horsetail falls, ponytail falls, and triple falls. the trail actually runs behind ponytail falls, which tyler thought was cool.

triple falls is where we waded in the water a bit, had lunch, turned around and hiked out.

i think i’ve maxed out tyler…and we agreed to go our separate ways when it comes to hiking. strange to believe a 13 year old boy would prefer video games to the great outdoors. go figure. he’s been such a trooper…and he says it hasn’t been all bad. i’d have to agree.

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November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: august 25, 2006
distance: 3.5 km/2.2 miles
highest elevation: 1420 m/4660 feet
elevation gain: 10 m/33 feet 
time: 1.5 hours

johnson lake is minutes outside of banff. there are several trails in the area surrounding the lake, the most popular of which rounds the lake itself. the trail never strays far from the shore. it is intended for cross country skiers, but makes a leisure summer hike as well.

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November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: august 24, 2006

there are several trailheads surrounding lake moraine, which is minutes from lake louise. we didn’t hike any of the trails fully, and several trails were closed due to berry season (grizzly bears) unless you were in a large group. tyler and i hung around the lake, which is a gorgeous blue. we enjoyed climbing the rockpile, a huge pile of boulders next to the lake, which geologists believe came from landslides of the tower of babel. the lake holds one of the most famous backdrops in canada, the valley of ten peaks.

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November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: august 24, 2006
distance: 13.9 km/8.7 miles
elevation gain: 396 m/1300 feet
time: 5 hours

the plain of six glaciers trail begins along the shore of lake louise, about 30 minutes north of banff,along hwy 1. the trail is named after the six glaciers (aberdeen, upper and lower lefroy, upper and lower victoria, and popes) that are in view from the abbot pass lookout. for some reason, most people do not continue the short distance (1.6 km) from the teahouse (where you can grab a drink) to the lookout. the trail beyond the teahouse has you traverse a glacier moraine to abbot pass.

this was my favorite hike of the trip. although it was more populated than i like, it was here that i found my mountain goats. they were quite a distance away…and i’m sure i would’ve missed them if it weren’t for tyler’s observance…but with binoculars they looked awesome. they are so at home in this alpine terrain. and i still think they look like they’ll start talking at any moment.

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November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: august 23, 2006
distance: 5.8 km/3.6 miles
elevation gain: 215 m/70 feet
time: 2 hours

johnston canyon trail includes both the lower canyon falls and the upper canyon falls. it is a popular trail, paved until the lower falls. the lower falls cascade 10 m/33 feet into a round pool. you can enter a cave and feel the water spray on your face.

the upper falls plunge 30 m/100 feet from/into the rocky canyon. you can continue on the trail from the upper falls to the ink pots, pools of water that remain a constant temperature year-round.

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November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: august 22, 2006
distance: 10.2 km/6.33 miles
elevation gain: 60 m/197 feet
time: 3.5 hours

hoodoos are tall, thin formations made from the erosion of soft rock. hoodoos are most abundant in the northern section of bryce canyon national park, utah, usa. in banff, the bow river/hoodoo trail carries you under cliffs of tunnel mountain, along meadows of bow river, and up to the hoodoos. tyler and i sat and imagined all of the possible things the hoodoos looked like.

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November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: august 25, 2006
distance: 4.6 km/2.86 miles 
elevation gain: 300 m/948 feet
time: 2 hours

the most obvious surprise of this hike is that it’s missing a tunnel. tunnel mountain was given its’ namesake due to a proposed tunnel that was to be blasted through the mountain for a railway. the railway was rerouted around the mountain and the proposed tunnel never materialized.

the hike is easy, with switchbacks tempering the elevation gain. near the top, there are great views of banff and of mt rundle…which is tyler’s favorite surrounding mountain. he named it cookie monster mountain because it looks like bites were taken out of the top.

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November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: august 23, 2006
distance: 2 km/1.242 miles
time: 45 minutes

the athabasca glacier is part of the columbia icefield and is the most frequented glacier on the north american continent. you can take a short venture to the forefield of the glacier (as we did). you can also ride an ice explorer onto the middle of the athabasca and walk about 5 km into the glacier (which we also did). it was a cloudy and cold day…so much of the glacier is not visible in our pictures.

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