November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: august 22, 2006
distance: 5.5 km/3.42 miles (one way) plus 2 km/1.242 miles (round trip) to sanson peak weather observatory
highest elevation: 2281 m/7486 feet
elevation gain: 655 m/2148 feet plus 60 m/197 feet to sanson peak weather observatory
time: 3.5 hours

what a fun hike! sulphur mountain is the highest mountain in the banff area. you can take a gondola ride to the summit or (as we did) you can hike up…and ride the gondola down. at the summit you have awesome views of banff and the surrounding mountains.

it was raining and cloudy when we made it to the top…but we still had a blast. to top things off (no pun intended), tyler had a french dip sandwich at the summit restaurant.

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November 11, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: august 22, 2006
distance: 0.4 km/0.25 miles (discovery) and 2.7 km/1.68 miles (marsh)

the cave and basin national historic site of canada is the origin and birthplace of banff national park. it seemed only fitting (and yes…touristy) to begin our explorations there. the cave and basin is a naturally occuring warm mineral spring…which from tyler’s point of view stinks fiercely. yes, sulfur smells like rotten eggs.

there are several trails surrounding the area…we took a leisurely walk on two of the easy trails.

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November 11, 2006 by annie.

so…i didn’t disappear while in alberta. i just haven’t had a chance to post…so here i am…trying to get back on track. the trip to banff national park was probably the best trip i’ve taken in a long time. tyler and i saw so many things that i have never seen before. the wildlife was insane. i was hoping to see a mountain goat on a hike….and i did! we also saw big horn sheep, a black bear, a grizzly bear, elk, and a bald eagle. tyler and i both decided we would go back again one day.

here’s some pictures of the wildlife:

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