vamessyvlogs - canada

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canada's national parks

One of my besties, Lins, made the trek out to Boze for an unhinged road trip planned by yours truly this past August (2024). Could not have asked for a better adventure buddy!!! We caught a Childers concert & hiked a trail in USA’s Glacier NP with my sister before bopping up north. As soon as the Canadian Rockies were in sight I was in awe of the humbling beautiful giants & knew that this wouldn’t be my last trip up this way. We got to check out three of Canada’s beauties: Banff, Glacier, and Yoho. Jasper had a pretty gnarly fire earlier in the year so we changed our trip itinerary, but next time I’m up this way it will be a priority to visit (and I’d really love to see Kootenay too). Hoping to climb on some of these rock faces one day!!

BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA

Lake Agnes Tea House

Johnston Canyon

Borgeau Lake & Harvey Pass

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Hermit Trail

YOHO NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Takakkaw Falls

Wapta Falls

VAMESSY'S FUTURE HIKES ;)

Banff National Park, Alberta

Glacier National Park, British Columbia

Kootenay National Park, British Columbia

Jasper National Park, Alberta

Yoho National Park , British Columbia

BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA

Visited: August, 2024

Banffy Fun Facts yo

There is a shuttle system to both Lake Louise and Lake Moraine out of the ski parking lot area. I got shuttle tickets when they first opened up mid April for the August trip lol. Check Parks Canada for the most updated info!!
The bright blue of Banff's lakes is a result of them being Glacier fed! The glacial silt, fine residue created by grinding of ice on rock, flows into lakes & remains suspended before settling. The gorgeous color comes from the sun reflecting on these these silt particles.
Banff is a town of legends
- A Griz nicknamed "The Boss" has fathered 70% of current cubs in the park, was observed eating another bear, & was hit by a train and survived! He's now 20+ years old
- Wild Bill Peyto, a park warden, has a lot of rad rumors about him including raising cougar kittens.

Lake Agnes Tea House

Elevation Gain: ~1500 feet

Length: 4.6 miles RT

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 2-3 hours

Note(s):

Lake Louise Area so a shuttle pass is required!
The Tea House was built in 1901 and started serving tea in 1905 (building was later replaced in 1981)
It is the highest elevation tea house in the world, located at 7,005ft abv. sea level
Staff hike supplies to the tea house two to four times a week, but a helicopter comes once a year to deliver dry goods & propane!
Online said the tea house only took cash but they definitely took card when we were there!!

Johnston Canyon

Elevation Gain: ~900 feet

Length: 3.4 miles RT

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 2-3 hours

Note(s):

- We did this on our one rainy day of the trip!
- Hecka touristy & parking was a nightmare
- There was a line to go through the rock tunnel to view one of the falls
- Sick af views tho

Borgeau Lake & Harvey Pass

Elevation Gain: ~4200 feet

Length: ~12.8 miles RT

Difficulty: Hard

Time: 6-8 hours

Note(s):

We only went up to the first alpine lake above Borgeau. (I think this was ~11.8 mi & ~3000 ft elev. gain)
I think there are 3 alpine lakes above Borgeau!!!
Views were stunning just from Borgeau & I’m happy we bopped up a bit higher to see more of the valley
TON of loose rock btwn Borgeau & that first alpine lake #mykneedidsogood
Heard it was a fav with the locals & we wanted to get out & not do just the Banff touristy stuff
I turned 26 on this trail :)

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Visited: August, 2024

Glacier Fun Facts!!

This park does not connect to the USA's Glacier NP.
Three vegetation zones exist in the park: Interior Rainforest, Subalpine, & Alpine.
As per the name, Glacier National Park’s landscape includes significant glacial coverage. Monitoring of the park’s glaciers began in 1887 with the Vaux family. Over the years, steady glacial decline has been noted. In 2018, there are 129 glaciers in Glacier National Park, down from 337 in less than 40 years.
The park started monitoring its Glaciers in 1887. In 2018 129 glaciers still exist, but this is a significant decrease from the originally noted 466.

References: https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/glacier/activ/edu/faits-facts

Hermit Trail

Elevation Gain: ~2600 feet

Length: 5 miles RT

Difficulty: Hard

Time: 3-4 hours

Note(s):

Hecka steep – a review said it was similar to hiking in the North East of USA & they weren’t exactly wrong. (For my bozeman friends the steep way up the M is a ~16% grade and this trail is a ~20% grade)
Tbh this might’ve been my fav hike of the trip tho- the views were INSANE
There are a ton of platforms for tents up top- so I think this is a pretty popular backpacking spot! I can’t imagine how sick the sunrise is from up there. (The main view direction is looking East)
Lins had a Speyeria Mormonia Butterfly sit on her hat for a ton of the way up so it was pretty magical vibes (magic was not inclusive of how tired we were with this being the last hike of the trip)

YOHO NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Visited: August, 2024

Yoho Fun Facts yo

Yoho is home to the world famous Burgess Shale, a layer of half-billion year old rock with some pretty rad fossils.
The pass between Yoho and Banff is known as Kicking Horse Pass. The pass got is name from the first recorded expedition through it in 1857-1860. The groups surgeon, James Hector, was kicked right in the chest by a horse & the legend eventually led to the naming of the pass.
Yoho National Park was originally named Mt. Stephen Reserve, but was renamed in 1901.

Reference(s): https://adventures.com/canada/attractions/national-parks/yoho-national-park/

Takakkaw Falls

Elevation Gain: ~200 feet

Length: 1.1 miles RT

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 1 hr or less

Note(s):

Pretty busy spot, but we parked along the road & took that connector trail. Main parking lot was packed.
Waterfall is fed from the Daly Glacier & dumps into Yoho River.
The waterfall is ~1200ft tall, the tallest waterfall in the Canadian Rockies, & the second tallest in all of Canada!
Takakkaw is Cree Indian for wonderful/magnificent

Wapta Falls

Elevation Gain: ~400 feet

Length: 4 miles

Difficulty: Easy-Medium

Time: 2 hrs

Note(s):

Highly recommend hiking the full way down to the waterfall base- it was dreamy af. (thats what these stats are for)
Wapta is Stony Indian for river!

VAMESSY'S FUTURE HIKES ;)

*some sort of reservation system (check parks.canada for more info)

I had knee surgery last Feb (2024) and my way of coping was planning a nature adventure that’d inspire me to work hard in my recovery. Being laid up on the couch and getting excited to plan a trip resulted in me doing a ton of research and I thought it might be nice to share a few of the hikes that made my list that I haven’t had boots on the ground for yet!