What a brilliant couple of weeks I've had. Having raced the Lost Soul 100km earlier this month, a day or so later, we finally had some visitors from the UK in the form of Andy's parents. Their arrival couldn't have been better timed as I took a few days off from running to recover from the 100k, which freed me up to spend some time with them. We visited a few places in Kananaskis and made a trip down to Waterton, made all the more special with our first sighting of a black bear since our arrival here over 18 months ago.
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| First sighting of black bear since arriving in Canada last year - Waterton National Park |
By Thursday, we'd made our way up to Canmore, and for the next week toured the more popular sights of the nearby Rocky Mountains - Banff, Sulphur Mountain, Lake Minnewanka, Athabasca Glacier, Jasper, Maligne Lake and Mount Robson to name just a few. I've done these at least twice already on my travels over the years, and I never cease to be amazed at the beautiful scenery so close to home now that I live in Calgary. We didn't see anymore bears, but we caught sightings of Big Horn Sheep, numerous deer, elk and caribou, as well as dozens of squirrels and chipmunks.
Whilst every day was truly amazing, some days were more special than others, simply because I was doing what I love most - running on the trails with Wilson and Brandy in the great outdoors, and exploring places I'd not ventured before.
Canmore is one of my favourite places and I've done tons of races there over the past year, ranging from a 6km race as part of the Winterfest, to the Grizzly 50km Ultra on the trails around the Nordic Centre. The views from town are wonderful, and the area is clearly made for the outdoor enthusiasts.
Friday morning, I headed out for an early morning run around Canmore, taking young Wilson with me. He was as enthusiastic as ever and although my legs were still a little stiff from the previous week's 100k race, I found his enthusiasm contagious and once off the main street, I was looking forward to doing a little exploring. I knew the town had a riverside pathway having ran a section of it at the Rocky Mountain 10k last year, but I didn't know where it went, and so once I hit the pathway, I just kept going. Canmore has never really seemed that big a place to me and yet after a couple of km of running, the pathway turned to gravel and we entered a forested area. As the forest became more dense, the trail narrowed to become a proper woodland trail, weaving in and out of the trees with occasional openings which gave spectacular views of the mountains. I had no idea where I was in relation to our accommodation but I was stuck in the moment, running along with Wilson and enjoying every minute, not wanting to stop.
A stopover in Golden and then Hinton meant a couple of days of less spectacular running. Sure, I spotted the Big Horned Sheep and the mountains were still in view - I even managed a couple of km off-road - but in general, they were road runs where I was dodging the odd speeding motorist rather than squirrels and chipmunks, where the drivers appeared a little perplexed at some loony running along a road with no pathway!
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| Beautiful Maligne Lake |
A visit to Maligne Lake about 50km away from Jasper townsite restored the balance as I found a 4km looped trail alongside the lake and up into the nearby forest. The tourists weren't quite as intense here, so having decided to do a couple of loops - one with Wilson, the other with Brandy - I had the trail pretty much to myself.
The trail was actually quite nice, following the lake shore for a short time before turning and climbing up into the woods. A gravel trail gave way to tree roots and rocks making it a little more challenging and interesting as once again, I meandered through the trees, not really knowing where I was headed. I did notice a considerable number of buffalo berries along with bear scat on the trail, and as the distance increased between me and the tourists, it became far quieter and my senses became far more alert. Every snap of a twig or rustling in a nearby bush set my heart pounding, paranoid about an approaching hungry bear, my paranoia not helped by Wilson and Brandy's exceptional hearing that caused their ears to twitch and heads to turn sharply as they too heard things nearby. With Wilson, I made fast progress as he sprinted along with the light-footed agility of a whippet - Brandy meanwhile was more hard work, lacking in confidence and stopping every so often to look behind. Being such a big dog, I felt like I was dragging the poor girl along the trail and it was only when we reached the lake shore again that she relaxed a little and started to bounce along with me, tail and head held high.
It was a splendid little run despite the nerves and I managed around 10km in the end which tired the dogs out and gave us a little peace and quiet for a short while!
The next day, we made our way to Mt Robson in British Columbia, and were absolutely delighted to find accommodation available in a log cabin for the night. The setting was spectacular - located in a forest alongside the river and with the most amazing views of Mount Robson which at a little of 9,800ft, is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. I'd never felt more at home - no people, no cars, shops or anything - just pure peace and quiet, fresh air, and the sound of the river rushing by.
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| Very much at home - relaxed and happy :o) |
Being so close to Mount Robson, I wanted to explore a little, and having followed a minor road for a short while, I found myself at the trail head for Berg Lake at the foot of the mountain. I'd only intended to do about 8km - I didn't set off until early evening and it wasn't long before dusk was setting in. The battery in my Garmin had already faded by 8k, but with the enticing trail up through the trees and with Mount Robson looming ahead, I really didn't want to turn around without exploring further. The parking lot still had a few cars so there must have been people about and I figured I would be ok carrying on.
I've no idea how much further I ran. All I know is that it was like entering the enchanted forest - something kept drawing me further along the pathway carpeted with pine needles, through the trees, alongside the raging river, twisting and turning as the path started to climb. When the path veered away from the river, there was just complete silence and all I heard was my own breathing and the pounding of my heart from the exertion and altitude. I kept thinking, "I'll head back at the next bend", but the next bend kept bringing even more amazing views and I found I just kept going. For once I didn't feel nervous and was instead feeling fit, strong and enlightened by the experience - I was absolutely loving it :o)
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| View of Mt Robson whilst out on an exploratory run |
Common sense eventually told me that I needed to head back - not only because it really was dusk by now, but also because I had been gone much longer than anticipated and no doubt peeps would be worried about me. Reluctantly I headed back down the trail, but I had a spring in my step, felt excited, and felt that I needed to return some day soon to finish what I'd started.
As with everything, all good things must come to an end, and with having to earn a living to pay for such enjoyment, I was due back in the "W" place by Monday, and so needed to start heading back to Calgary.
Our final night out on the road saw an overnight stay in Banff which gave me the perfect excuse for one last run on the trails before heading home. The previous day had seen snow falling across some of the mountains of Banff and Canmore, so when we came in to town on the Wednesday evening, everything was shrouded in mist and looked somewhat bleak, with the higher mountains having a covering of snow across their tops. Things had gone much cooler and the shorts and t-shirts we had been wearing for the past week were replaced with woolly jackets and warm trousers.
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| Approaching a bleak Banff the night before |
Regardless of the weather, I had every intention of sneaking in one last run on the trails the following day, and went to bed that evening with strange dreams of being out running in a whiteout in just shorts and vest.
The following morning, I was greeted with cool temperatures and some cloud cover although the sun was attempting to break through and patches of blue sky were starting to show through. We had spent the night near to Tunnel Mountain, and as I headed out with Wilson into the cool air, I was hoping to find a trail run that would cover around 10km. I wasn't disappointed, and within 200 yards, a mountain bike trail veered off into the trees - perfect for me and Wilson.
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| Dogs Eye view of the trail and Wilson looking for squirrels |
Thankfully, it was too early for the mountain bikers, and yet again, it was a magical experience running alongside each other without another soul in sight, the trail to ourselves as the sun started to burn up the cloud and blue skies started to appear. The local squirrels were having a feeding frenzy which certainly kept Wilson interested, and as we ran the ups and downs of the trail, I was dragged all over the place as he tried to give chase. The views through the clearing in the trees were awesome and the snow added a beautiful contrast to the blue skies. That familiar feeling once again returned as I felt the urge to just keep on running.
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| Me and my boy out in Banff and loving every minute |
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| Beautiful views whilst running Banff |
In 2 weeks time I will be running my first 100 mile race. It will be on the trails near to St Paul in Northern Alberta and in recent months I've said several times that I have no idea how I will cope with the distance.
Whilst I know that the race is not a mountain race, I am looking forward to being out on the trails, exploring an area I never knew existed until recently, and challenging myself more than ever before. I know that it's going to be tough, but I'm pretty sure that the past week will have helped someway in preparing me for the terrain. |With my love of the outdoors and my growing passion for trail running of any kind since moving here, I'm hoping that this will go some way to helping me achieve my main goal of just finishing.
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