Archive for category Hiking
Hiking – Sunshine Meadows and Two Cairns Mountain
Posted by bradinator in Hiking, Photography on August 28, 2011
When someone tells me I need to take a bus for any part of a hike, I am immediately turned off it. Why would I go into the mountains just to waste half of the available hike on a bus? Sunshine, a ski resort in the winter, is one of those hikes. After taking the bus to the start of the hike I could see why you would want to consider this option. The hike from the base to the start of the trails is both ugly and long, but the hike itself is one of the most rewarding hikes to do in the summer. The valleys fill with flowers and herbs for only a few weeks a year, turning this ski resort into a brightly coloured meadow.
The main hike itself is only around 6KM and very pretty, but my friend and I decided to detour and hike up the small mountain called Two Cairns. This added a couple extra hours and a few hundred meters more elevation to the hike, plus give us some incredible views of the valleys from its summits. I highly recommend this hike for both avid hikers, hikers with kids or even the infirm. There is something for everyone on these trails.
Check out the gallery here.
Hike – Burstall Pass
Posted by bradinator in Hiking, Japan, Language Practice, Photography on July 18, 2011
Burstall Pass located about 30 minutes up past the Nordic Center in Canmore, heading down Highway 40, is a true gem. Its gives rewarding views through the entire hike with only a moderate effort. It’s about a 15KM hike from top to bottom and takes you up through forests, mountain valleys and finally through a mountain pass. I would only consider this a moderate hike due to the distance and the difficulty of the terrain. During the summer months the valley near Burstall Lake floods with hundreds of small creeks created by the runoff making it difficult to navigate. It’s doable for sure, but just be prepared to jump and detour often while making your way through the first valley. Mud and snow are plentiful the further you go up for gaitors are a good idea.
All in all this is probably one of the best hikes in the Kananaskis.
You can see the rest of the photos in the Canada Photo Gallery.
ﾌﾞﾙｽﾀﾙパースは （Burstall Pass）きれいな ハイキングコースです。 ｶﾝﾓｰﾙの都心から （Canmore）道路４０で 運転しました。 ハイキングの間に たくさん きれい 情景が あります そして ハイキングの難易は 仏です。 始まりから 終わりまで １５KMぐらい ５．５時間 かかりました。たくさん 小さい川が ありますから 地形が 難しいです。そして 泥と 雪も ありますよ！ ｹﾞｲﾄﾙを 持って来ますよ！
まだ ハイキングすることが できますよ！
ｶﾅﾅｽｷｽの中で 一番 きれいな ハイキングコースですよ！
Beer Review – Saigon Export
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Hiking, Photography on December 1, 2010
Name: Saigon Export Lager
Origin: Vietnam
Style: Lager (4.9%)
Appearance: A pale gold, slightly clouded lager, this pours with a nice soft medium head that survived the entire session.
Taste: The smell is sweet and sugary, with some more metallic odours in the background. The taste is sweet and grassy. There are some subtle notes of apples. It finishes crisp and clean with minimal aftertaste.
Mouth Feel: A very smooth drinking lager. Light bodied and filling.
Final Thoughts (3.5 out of 5): I did not have much hope for this beer, but it surprised me. I rarely buy beers that use cheap adjuncts such as rice to give additional body to a beer, but Saigon Export is a pleasant surprise.
Hiking – Raspberry Ridge
Posted by bradinator in Hiking, Hobbies, Photography on October 24, 2010
I really wish I got out hiking every weekend. Calgarian’s are blessed with some of the most amazing hiking trails in all of Canada, if not the world. Raspberry Ridge is another gem, snuggled away 100km South West of the city, somewhere at the entrance of the Rockie Mountains.
The first hour of the hike is quite easy, but the second hour is a where all the elevation gain is making it challenging.
You can check out some of the other pictures in the Canada Photography gallery.
Beer Review – Manns Brown Ale
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Hiking, Photography on August 18, 2010
Name: Manns Brown Ale
Origin: England, UK
Style: English Mild (2.8%)
Appearance: The ale is a slightly brown, dark cola like colour. It pours with out any head at all and shows very little carbonation.
Taste: Overall aroma is bread-like. It has a sweet, malty taste to start but difficult to define. It becomes more bitter, reminding me of club soda. There is some light sweet, coffee tones as well. There is no aftertaste at all.
Mouth Feel: A very sharp drinking beer that is rough on the tongue, but not very carbonated and not filling.
Final Thoughts (2 out of 5): This was a very bland, uninspiring ale even for a mild. It could have been so much more…
Somewhere between Calgary and Canmore is this odd shaped mountain.
Hiking – Valley of the Gargoyle
Posted by bradinator in Hiking, Photography on August 15, 2010
The Valley of the Gargoyle is possibly the most challenging hike I have ever done, but also possibly most rewarding I have ever done. It is considered one of the most difficult day hikes in the Banff area, but provides some unique scenery.
Near the beginning of the trail there is a fire place.
The hike starts at an intersection allowing you to take either Cory Pass or Edith Pass around the loop. Cory Pass is much more difficult with an aggressive elevation gain for the first two hours, but provides much better scenery and gets the ‘hard part’ over first.
There are great views of Bow Valley for the entire length of Cory Pass
Coming through the Valley of the Gargoyle itself is inspiring. Nestled between several mountains, the views are breathtaking. Its a short hike down into the Valley, but we found ourselves constantly stopping to take in the epic scenery.
Mount Loius, in all its epic glory
Coming down into the Valley behind Mount Loius
The final leg of the hike is Edith pass, which has less of a incline than Cory Pass (or in our case a decline as we were descending) takes you into a third change in scenery through lush alpine forests. The entire loop is just about 20km (don’t believe the guides stating its under 15KM, we all has GPS and it showed 20KM) and took around 5 hours to complete.
You always find snow on the top of these mountains, no matter how late into summer it is.
There are some more photos in in the galleries.
Hiking – Old Goat Glacier
Posted by bradinator in Hiking, Hobbies, Photography on July 25, 2010
I cannot think of a better way to spend a beautiful summer day than on a mountain. I highly recommend Where the Locals Hike in the Canadian Rockies if you are looking for both rewarding and challenging trials. It should be noted that the couple that wrote this book are avid hikers and when they say “moderate to challenging difficulty” be prepared for a physically demanding hike.
Yesterday we located Old Goat Glacier trial with the help of that book.
The rest of the pictures can be seen in the gallery.