My first off impression is that the Crowsnest Pass is that it’s not the place for me. It’s crowded, the mountains aren’t nearly as dramatic as Waterton, and the trail heads are not marked (more on that later).

CAMPING

We camped at Chinook Lake just 6km north of Highway 3. It is very clearly marked and easy to find. This was my first time camping in a crowded camp ground EVER! I always camped in remote camp grounds or back country. I did not liek the experience at all! I was kept up until 3am the first night by the drunk d-bags two camping spots over from us and then awoken at 7am by the screaming kids right next to us. I was not a happy camper.

Tent # 1

Tent #2

We intended to buy wood from the camp site but when we arrived they weren’t home. It was 8pm on a Friday night, prime camp site hours. I left a note and it wasn’t  until 10 pm that the host came by with some wood for us to purchase. In the meantime we were starving and so picked up dead wood around the site (which we weren’t supposed to) to get a fire started to cook on.

Searching for wood

When we tried to go down to Chinook Lake, it was so crowded we couldn’t find any parking. By the end of the trip I was pretty annoyed with the whole camp ground experience. From now on, I am sticking to back country.

Reflection of the trees in my coffee

ACTIVITIES

We did have a good time being tourists in Crowsnest Pass. Ryan wasn’t with us on the first day as he had to work so Ben and I were complete tourists and started off our day walking through Blairmore.

Ben hopped the fence to get this shot with a historic train on display in the town

We had breakfast as this amazing cafe! It is just like Luke’s Diner from Gimore Girls.

I ordered a fresh carrot juice and it was so tasty!

We headed to Crowsnest Lake to enjoy the view

We went on the Bellevue Mine Tour! A blog post about this awesome experience to come.

We hit the Interpretive Centre and learned all about Frank Slide. More info to come soon.

HIKING

I wanted to go on an epic hike with Ben, at least once. SO I researched local hikes and found one that goes to a World War !! plane crash site where the shell of the plane is still there. From that site you can hike 3km more up to the peak of the mountain it’s on.  I was so excited to take Ben and Ryan and I found a free hiking map at Stone’s Throw Cafe so I thought I knew the way.

We followed the map to the North Creek Road and stopped under a big sign that said North Creek Staging Area while we looked for a sign somewhere. I stopped a group of passing mountain bikers (one of whom happened to be an old aquaintence) and got directions to the trail head. He said that we had to go over the yellow York Creek Bridge, up a few switchbacks and we would see a sign. We passed the bridge, drove up the switch backs and saw two trails forking. First we tried the left but that lead to what looked like a quad trail then we turned around and tried the right and ended up on another quad trail.  We drove through puddles and over rocks and ruts and I was shocked at how awesome my car was doing.

This was the highlight of this morning. We drove around for over an hour before I gave up trying to find this trail or the trail head because there are several trails shooting off the main road and not one is marked and the map’s instructions were clear as mud. But I still enjoyed myself because my car Norman a small 2-wheel drive SUV was ROCKING on this off road terrain! I couldn’t believe it. I will never call Norman boring again! 

Just a little of the mud when we first started off-roading with Norman.

So after about an hour and 15 minutes I stressed right out and said forget it. We went to a gas station and looked at the trail map and tried to find something that was a nice hike but short because we were quickly burning daylight. We decided on Saskatoon Mountain a 1.2km hike each way that was rated moderate. More details on this hike to come.

I was not impressed when we started the trail. More info on this hike to come soon.

We ended our weekend with a swim in the Crowsnest River and headed back for home.

It was a good time, I enjoyed my time with my brother, but I will stick to Waterton from now on. It’s closer, there are less crowds, and most importantly trail heads are clearly marked!!!

Now I need to start planning my winter. It should be a good one. I want to do a lot of cross country skiing and snow shoeing in Waterton, I want to go snowboarding more than once this winter, and I would love to do some winter hiking.

Jensen’s Reservoir

Windmills at Jensens

Docks at Jensens

Betty with her top down, enjoying the view

Note: I am no photographer and my camera is a cheap digital.

I found this list on Cosmo’s website, meaning these tips are geared toward women, but  many of them apply to men too.

Secrets to an Amazing Summer

1. When a random friend mentions that you’d be welcome at her family vacation house in Spain/the Virgin Islands/Italy, don’t just daydream about going. Book a flight.

2. Challenge a group of good-looking dudes to a beach volleyball game against you and your girls. Win or lose, you’ll have met a bevy of prospects.

3. Spring for the outdoor massage.

4. Whenever you’re bored, find something free to do: cook-offs, concerts in the park, local produce-themed festivals. These goofball ideas create the most fun, memorable moments.

5. Don’t just go to a bonfire — learn how to build one.

6. Avoid that impossible end-of-summer photo-sharing task by uploading your shots after every wild weekend.

7. Don’t go on vacation with a coworker whom you only sort of like.

8. Get pedicures in colors you have at home so you can always do touch-ups on the cheap yourself.

9. Go ahead and download that cheesy, inescapable dance-pop hit you secretly love. Anytime it plays in shuffle, you’ll have great summer flashbacks.

10. Play at least one game of Marco Polo, campfireside Chubby Bunnies, and that paddle thing.

11. If you’re away from your bf — for a week or the whole summer — use it as extended foreplay. Think up smoldering ways to flirt from afar so your reunion will be even hotter.

12. Take a day trip…by yourself. Enjoy the company.

13. Make a little extra time for your pal with the convertible, nudge nudge.

14. You know that really great bud whom you talk to less because she moved away? Reconnect with her.

15. Take a random midweek day off work. You’ll stress less about weekend trips because you’ll have that time to catch up on stuff at home.

16. Get a few cute tanks in bright colors: hot pink, lime green, cobalt. They’re stylish and affordable, and you’ll stand out in those inevitable party pictures.

17. Reality check: You can dump a bad-news guy, even if you have travel plans together. Yeah, when you’ve been focused on the trip, it seems jarring to consider, but it’s so worth it compared to feeling free.

18. Pick a great position from Cosmo’s Aqua Kama Sutra. Try it outside.

19. Institute a summertime ritual with your friends, like twice-a-month gimlet Tuesdays. You won’t all make every one, but it’ll give you a place to pop by, check in, and make new memories.

20. When you see a cute guy at the beach, tell him he looks hot, and offer him an icy drink from your cooler.

21. Leave your cell phone off for an entire day. What’s the worst that can happen? Guess you’ll find out.

Swimming in the pool