Tundy, house and beetle build thread...and exploring.

Back to the Wilderness


After landing in smokey Missoula after our second landing attempt, I did some maintenance on the truck. Changed the oil, lubed all the lube points and did a general inspection before I headed across the border. I knocked that out pretty quickly and headed north.


I wanted to see Flathead Lake because of the pictures I had seen and the reviews. I drove north on the east side of the lake, through an active fire area. Many of the houses had temporary water pools out front; I assume to help protect the houses if the fires got any closer. Along the road there were a ton of cherry stands, I was a bit late, but found a few open and had to try out some, they were delicious.





I also had a few random people who made for a great picture.





Next up was Dickey Lake… getting close to the border. There were more Canadian license plates in the parking lot than US. Nice huge clear lake and it wasn’t too cold. It was a little bit of a challenge with the jet ski’s and boats that were making some good wakes to deal with. You could see the bottom in 15-20ft of water.






Time for the border crossing into British Columbia. I figured it would be more than just a quick stop, being my first time, the fact that my truck was packed, and being one of those US people they dont want up north. Not surprisingly, I was selected for an inspection. After about thirty minutes I was free to go… after I put all the stuff back into the truck that was placed on the ground. I hit a little rain, something I had not seen in a while. Once into Alberta, I jumped on Highway 40 which was a wide gravel road that would take me north towards Banff. I randomly stopped for a picture and the serpentine belt was squealing like an idler/tensioner was going out. Perfect place for it! But then it stopped; its never done it before so I figured I would make my way to a town and check them out.





The water on most of the lakes was smooth as glass, and pretty clear.


Spray Lakes Reservoir




I dropped into the town of Canmore, where I was quite confused… speed limits in KM, petrol advertised in cents per litre… There was a Napa that had all of the idler pulleys in stock; the bad news was even after the currency conversion, they were still crazy expensive. I pulled the belt to see if any pulley had extra drag or wiggle. The lowest idler pulley had a tiny bit of drag, and if I were anywhere other than the middle of nowhere, I would not have paid 3x the cost to replace it. But, I figured I should, swapped it out, it had the same drag, but at least now I have a spare...even if it’s an expensive one. I went back up the mountain and did a hike to the top of Ha Ling Peak. These little critters were hanging out at the start.





Again, the whole conversion to metric had me confused so I really didn’t know what I was in for. It turned out to be not too long (5’ish miles round trip), but was STEEP. The whole trail was very steep, some places it seemed easier if I just crawled up. The views were amazing even with the smoke from nearby fires blocking most of the views. It was cold and windy at the top and I make good time heading back down. One hike in, and I didn’t get eaten by a grizzly… perfect!


Lots of smoke over Canmore.



I did find this guy along the trail who obviously has been fed way too often.






I headed back away from the city looking for a camp spot. At one of the little picnic areas I saw some trees move while I was driving out. I thought it was a small cub, I stopped and it was still hanging out, eating berries! A grizzly… the first one I have seen in the wild. I got a ton of pictures from a decently close distance. The bear did not care, looked up maybe once, and just continued to romp over the bushes looking for more berries.





It was always hiding in the bushes, so I took up a better photo position on the top of the truck after making sure that the doors on both sides were unlocked if I needed to make a swift getaway. I would guess it would've easily stood six feet tall. And those claws...

 

My handy Reference to Metric conversion:

5KM= 3.1 miles or 10KM= 6.2 Miles or there is always this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghFntxvlqvM
Love any world where an American 6-pack of beer becomes 42 Metric beers.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezUvGhT4KwM

 

Thats dem words I be hearin round these parts eh.

 

Canada eh


After surviving any further grizzly encounters, and seeing some random meteors it was a laid back day of swimming in 40 degree water… holy coldness! A fellow traveller, who is exploring Canada from Switzerland, needed a climbing partner so we went to the climbing gym in Canmore. It was my first time climbing, but I have always been interested in it. I should’ve brought my phone in to get pictures, but after putting my fear aside, I caught on pretty quick. I was able to make it one hand hold short of the top of a 5.9 route by my fifth attempt and my arms were too tired by then to get up to that last hold. I still have a fear of letting go of the wall even with the auto belay, but it was fun.


Back to my search for beautiful water, Lake Minnewanka did not disappoint. It was right next to Banff, so it was quite crowded. The lake is HUGE, it is almost 18 miles long and gets as deep as 466 feet! It was also chilly, and I wanted to jump in, but by the time I ate lunch the clouds had moved in and I wasn’t feeling so adventurous anymore.





One of the many sheep along the road… after it decided to run towards me. Apparently you shouldn’t try to talk to them. Haha





While heading north towards Jasper, Castle Mountain is just off Highway 1A. All of the mountains in Canada have been very steep and rocky, but these were a different color and juttting out from the earth like no others. They were pretty amazing and the smoke thankfully was taking a break so I could get a decent picture of them.





Closer to Jasper, I figured I should check out Lake Louise even though its a main tourist trap. Being a little later in the day it was not too bad. It is another glacial lake, with a resort placed at the base. There are many hiking trails in the area, but arriving late meant I could only walk around the lake, which was a nice hike.


Looking towards the glaciers




Looking back towards the resort.




Banff and Jasper are different from many National Parks since they have the city center in the middle instead of cities being around them. Being in Canada during peak tourist season coupled with the 150 year anniversary (and all National Parks being free) means all campsites in the parks are full, leaving the closest free/dispersed camping an hour or more drive outside of the park. Because of that, I continued through the parks skipping some hikes since I did not want to drive back and forth so much just for a hike when I’m sure there will be more hikes along the way.


I’m planning on heading north towards Grand Prarie before beginning my northwest route into the Northwest Territory before arriving in Alaska. The nights are getting cooler which is awesome. I also found an app that’ll alert me if the chances of seeing the northern lights will increase. I’m hoping to escape the smoke before I see them so I can also get some awesome photos. This Thursday through Saturday shows an increased chance for this area, and I’ll be heading north from here, so I am keeping my fingers crossed!

 

Looking over the top of Panther Falls in Banff. Its a bit choppy but that was because I was trying to not fall to my death.

These were right next to a viewing area parking lot but nobody had any idea... literally a 200ft "hike" from 15 cars and a ton of people! So awesome.

 

I saw a white turd gen yesterday with a habitat while driving north in Banff.

Also ran into a couple from Arvada with a silver 2nd gen and a trailer... Saw them a few times over the last few days.

And a green or black first gen in Banff with a university of north? Colorado sticker

 

Thought they are easier to catch out after September.

 

Shush, I want to see them now!

 

Did you need a passport to get into Canada? Or was ID and SS card (or something similar) sufficient?

 

Let me google that shit for ya...

From CBSA " If you are a citizen of the United States, you do not need a passport to enter Canada. However, you should carry proof of your citizenship, such as a birth certificate, certificate of citizenship or naturalization, as well as photo identification.

Edit: I just found this too.. Before you visit Canada, be sure you have a valid passport. ... As of March 2011, Enhanced Driver's Licenses are available in several states that border Canada, including New York, Michigan, Vermont and Washington State.To re-enter the United States through air travel, however, a valid U.S. passport is required.

I don't know, now. I'm so confused.

 

I also looked it up online, but figured I would ask as he just went through

 

Hey I live in coeur Dalene and work in prudhoe bay let me know when you come through!

 

Good call. I'm curios too now...

 

Last time I crossed the border we needed to have a birth certificate. If you cross by air you need passport.

 

I already had my passport, so passport and ID worked for me.

 

Sweet I'll let you know. Guessing a week or week and a half until I'm up in Alaska.

 

Don't mind if I do.

 

I go back to Idaho for RR on the 28th and then back up to prudhoe on the 14th let me know man not to much up here and I hope you have a couple spares with you FYI. I work for Brice equipment pretty much the first shop off the dalton highway right before prudhoe bay so if you need anything tire work, mechanical etc.

 

And a fishing pole the Arctic char are running through the sag river right now to and some nice size Dolly Parton be a great dinner lol.