backpacking elk pass loop

Way back when the fam got together at Uncle Val's for the annual Canada Day potluck, Mom, Dad, Arianne, and I decided we needed to get a little backpacking in before the summer ended. We all pulled out our phones to check our schedules and all of us had the weekend of August 11th free. It was so perfect because the 12th is Dad's bday! We planned to go to Cleft.

Last week I realized the weekend was near at hand and nobody had really said anything about where we were meeting or what was happening, so I asked Dad if the trip was still going to happen. He said, "Yap", so I asked Arianne if she was so excited to go. Turns out she was really busy with work so she and Daryn weren't going to be able to make it :(

Mom, Dad, and I then put our thinking caps on and turned to the web for more backpacking trails closer to Calgary so that I would be able to go (my car isn't the most reliable thing in the world right now). We all agreed that Elk Pass Loop would be a fun one to try... minus the loop part because that would take more time than just over night.

I invited Lita out but she wasn't able to come, so I invited Haillee. On Friday night she and I went to the mall and we got her a new backpack. I was so excited to use my new backpack that Burns got me for Christmas! Aaaand my brand new hiking boots that I had only worn once before! By the time we got back from the mall, my parents were at my house. We organized and packed our camping gear and headed to bed.

In the morning I dropped Kobe off at Tim and Elise Wright's house. He stayed with them for the weekend. Then I went home and we loaded up the car and were on our way to Banff! When Mom registered for the campground the info guy told her that we could have a fire, to which she replied that we probably wouldn't have one. He then told her that she probably would because of the mosquitoes. They couldn't be that bad could they?

Oh they were bad. So, so bad. The worst I have ever seen added to the fact that these were no city mosquitoes, these were MOUNTAIN mosquitoes. Very large and so many of them! If we didn't have bug spray I don't think I would have done the hike. For those of you who went cliff jumping at Seebe, it was worse than that.

Anyways the hike started just past the Norquay ski resort.

Just about to embark on our new adventure:

On our way, still chipper and energetic:

We crossed a dry stream bed:

And a not so dry one:

We crossed rickety, old bridges:

And had great views of the surrounding mountains:

Nearing the campsite about 11 km and four hours later, we had to follow the trail through large shrubbery.

We finally reached the campsite at around 4:00pm and it was beautiful. There was a tent area and a separate cooking and food storage area.

This was at the cooking area:

Haillee waiting for some grub.

Making some noodles for din din:

The stream that separates the path to the cooking area from the path to the tenting area.

Parents hoisting up our smelly goodness so bears couldn't get it.

The mosquitoes were still really bad so we covered up as much as possible:

After dinner we were just hanging out with the other campers (two guys had taken their sons on the backpack trip and had left their wives at home). They were good company and the teenage sons made a fire. It definitely helped with the mosquito situation.

Parents having loads and buckets full of fun:

Poor Haillee was growing another toe by the time we got to the campsite:

There it is on top of her pinkie toe:

Mom popped it before we left the next morning:

We were at tent site 5:

Welp we had an okay sleep and then we got up early to go to Elk Lake. Mom and Dad were too tired to hike another 5 km on top of the 11 km we had to go back, so Haillee and I went by ourselves. It was worth it.

View in the morning:

2.6 km there
2.6 km back

Haillee and I were just hanging out on a rock, enjoying the sounds of the fish breaking the surface of the water and the chuckling stream flowing next to us. So serene and peaceful. Then suddenly the silence was broken by something big moving through the forest. My first instinct was to remain silent, but Haillee came prepared and started talking really loudly to make sure that whatever it was in the forest knew that we were there so we wouldn't startle it. The biggest problem that we faced, however, was the fact that the beast was in between us and the exit. We were so scared, but we decided it was best for us to leave, so we talked loudly while moving around where we heard it, towards the exit. We talked loudly all the way back to the campsite.

Once we were back, we loaded up our gear and headed out.

I never thought I would be so happy to see a ski lift in the summer. Haillee and I got back to the car first and I nursed her blisters while we waited for Parents to get back. I had a really great time and I'm glad I got to go backpacking with my parents for the last time. They decided it puts too much strain on them, so this was their last trip.

We went to the Banff townsite and I suggested we get some sandwiches from Squish. So good. Then we went home, I picked up Kobe, and went to relax at home.

Once I was home all by myself, a lot of stresses built up all at once, so I felt pretty miserable. Lita came to the rescue and we went for a walk at Bowness Park. The ducks kept following us even though we hadn't fed any of them. It was kind of creepy haha.

Thanks for the great trip, Parents and Haillee, and happy birthday Dad!
And thanks for cheering me up, Lita!

Another great weekend.

the successful surprise

Ever since I found out that August 6th was a holiday I planned on visiting Burns up north. It was a little over a month or so ago and Denise had asked me if I would like to go up there some weekend in the near future. YES! Of course I wanted to go visit! Then I found out about the holiday a couple weeks later and Denise wasn't sure if Rick would want to go. Then she said they might go. Then the week before the holiday Denise told me that they might not go. It became quite clear to me that I needed a back-up plan. Time was running out.

I was considering taking a Greyhound all the way to Lloydminster. When I checked how long it would take to get there and how much it would cost me, that idea quickly became "Plan Z". I had mentioned to Burns a while back that his mom might drive me up but instead of the hallelujah I was expecting, he told me that it was weird for me to just tell him and not surprise him.

Oh. Okay... if you're expecting me to surprise you, I guess I'll try to surprise you then.

If Denise couldn't drive me, it would be a lot easier to lead him away from the idea that I might come up. Maybe the Tuesday after I got my wisdom teeth out, I discovered that Haillee would be going to a cabin close to Edmonton for the long weekend! There was my chance! But how would I get to Lloydminster from there? I then asked Mandi if she would be willing to come get me if I paid for her gas.

Everything fell into place beautifully. On Friday night Haillee and I drove to Rocky Mountain House to pick up Rusty (her dog) and catch a ride from there with Ron and Dawn - the people we would be staying at the cabin with...also Haillee's ex-boyfriend's parents - to Seba Beach on Lake Wabamun. It's about an hour west of Edmonton.

We arrived at the lake and Haillee and I went for a walk along the beach. We went to bed soon afterwards because we had to get up early for our race the next morning!

Isn't it beautiful?

Saturday morning was the 3rd annual Seba Beach Regatta 5+ km race. It was 5.5km to be exact. There was a lot of competition in Haillee's age category (19 and under) but not so much in mine. I only had two competitors in the 20-29 age group haha.

This was Haillee's first organized race and she did so well :D

Haillee crossing the finish line.

My goal was to beat my fastest 5k. It was about 25:05min before, but I slaughtered that with my new record of 23:40! Aaand I got 1st in my category! I got a ribbon and even a cute little trophy.

After the race, Dawn and Ron took us out on the lake to wake board.

Getting ready to go out and shred some waves!

I went first to help Haillee get an idea of how one gets up on a wake board. I was even able to get some air and land it! I always wipe out when I get air but I was pretty happy with myself.

Haillee tried a few times and finally she got up! I even have photographic evidence but I didn't have enough time to zoom in before she wiped out.

We got back to the beach and we were freezing! The sun was hiding behind some clouds so we decided to go back to the cabin. While we were walking there, the sun came out so we went back to soak up some rays.

We, we so excited!

While we were lounging about, I got a text from Mandi that she was on her way to pick me up from Edmonton! Ron and Haillee drove me to the Liberty Security office and we met Mandi and her kids there with pretty perfect timing.

Mandi ran some errands in E-town and then we were off to surprise Boonie! On our way there the kids had to go potty so we stopped by this beautiful scene:

We got to Lloydminster, I checked in to my hotel, and Mandi then drove me to their hotel. She had asked Luke to tell Burns that she had picked up a package from the office in Edmonton. She phoned Burns to come out to the parking lot to pick up his package. He took his sweet time, but soon enough he was walking across the parking lot! I was in the back seat and Mandi rolled down the windows. He was about to get in the van when he saw Kobe trying to get to him and then he saw me!

"What?! You're here? You liar! You're actually here? You're such a liar!" All with a huge grin on his face. I had told him that I was going to a lake with Haillee for the weekend but I conveniently "forgot" which lake it was when he asked so that he wouldn't catch on.

He had another job to go to, so he dropped me off at my hotel and I got ready for our date that night.

Just waiting.

He was finally done at around 10:30pm and we went to his hotel so he could shower and change. I got to meet all the salesmen and techs that I always hear about and now I can put names to faces. There's no Denny's in Lloydminster apparently, so we went to Original Joe's. I was starving by then!

We ordered nachos and my oh my was that plate huge!

But that didn't matter cause I was HUNGRY! If it wasn't so spicy I would have finished the plate instead of leaving the very bottom lined with chips.

It was pretty cool that I slept in Saskatchewan for a night. What wasn't so cool is the PST I had to pay on top of the GST. Lame. I love Alberta. If I didn't have Kobe I could have stayed in Burn's hotel in Alberta haha.

The next day Burns and I went to the Saskatchewan/Alberta border and we found this cute little guy. We took pictures of him just for you, Arianne:

Here I am being torn between wild roses and the land of the living skies:

We then got some picnic supplies and drove out to Sandy Beach about 10 to 15 minutes outside of Lloyd. Yes, it actually had a beach that was sandy.

Dogs weren't allowed on the beach (of course) so we just hung out in a little corner by some shade and nobody complained.

Burns' ponytail is looking pretty dang good these days.

So happy :D

I had such a great time just relaxing on the beach, eating our picnic, and talking. I just can't even put words to how awesomely satisfying it was. After we finished our food, Burns noticed that some guy had lost his wedding ring in the water, so he went to help look for it for a few minutes. We then ran around a grassy picnic area with Kobe and waited for Luke and Mandi to arrive with their kids. They showed up with a tonne of food, making me wish Burns and I hadn't just eaten a lot of our own food haha. Brian and Bianca (a married couple that sells with Luke) came out too.

While we were waiting for the tinfoil salmon (courtesy of Luke) and burgers to cook, we played a little catch with a football. Then we got super hot so we decided to take a dip in the lake.

I was so proud of Kobe. He HATES water but we made him swim back and forth between us, then we went to the beach and he followed us out into the water again! Oooohh it made me so happy. We went back to the picnic area and the food was finished. I don't really like seafood but that salmon was pretty alright. Good enough for me to eat it at least haha.

Luke, Burns, and fish.

We had such a great time but it was 8:00pm and Burns and I had to hit the road! We had to make it back to Seba Beach that night (about a 4 hour drive). We rolled in at midnight and poor Boonie had to be back in Lloyd for a job at 10:00am the next morning. I wanted to show him the lake so we walked down with Haillee.

I wish my camera could have done this picture justice:

Dawn's parents told Burns to come back to the cabin when he had some time to stay there for a while. That family is seriously soo nice. Poor Boonie would have loved to go wake boarding but he had to work :(

I got him up at 5:00am the next morning so he could make it back in time. I went back to bed until 8:00 and woke up to a calm lake. Perfect for more wake boarding action! Haillee did so great yet again!

We went for a walk around Seba Beach after we warmed up a little. We got too warm so we had to stop for ice cream.

Then it was time to go home. Kobe couldn't have been more happy to get away from Haillee's dog. Rusty kept pestering him haha.

Oh and I found these forgotten pictures on my camera from cliff jumping in Seebe a while back. Enjoy.

OOOoooohhhh I had such an amazing weekend! So worth all the travel time in between everything. ^_^