2 Toddlers, 1 Infant and 4 adults – 3 nights on the Icefields Parkway

The scenery, terrain, and adventure options up the Icefields Parkway are second to none. Some of the tallest peaks and biggest glaciers in Canada live up here creating a spectacular view no matter where you look. Now that we have kids we aren’t doing any alpine starts or mountaineering routes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find adventure. To get here drive west from Calgary on Hwy 1 until you get to Lake Louise, the turn north and take Hwy 93, all the way to Jasper if you want. Since it’s such a long way to go we wanted to make it worth our while without making things too difficult. We elected to forego camping (and give our 8 mo old somewhere to crawl) and booked the Hilda Creek Hostel instead. Located just 8min south of the Icefields Visitor Center Hilda Creek Hostel is a 6-bed wilderness hostel without any running water or electricity. It does have propane heat and light and a nearby creek for water (and beer cooling!). On this trip the creek was extremely cloudy and we were all glad that brought water to drink. The drive up was fairly easy. We traveled convoy style with another family: Kirk, Dianne, and their 2-yr old Annabelle; and agreed to leave Calgary at noon when all of our kids were due to for naps. Both Logan (2yrs) and Riley (8mo) crashed out hard in their car seats and we had peace and quiet all the way to Lake Louise. We stopped in LL for about 45min to give the kids a chance to wiggle and run and then started up Hwy 93 N towards Hilda Creek. Total driving time was roughly 3 hrs and leaving at nap time meant the kids slept for most of that. We arrived in late afternoon and spent  some time getting unpacked and organized while the kids ran around outside the hut. There is a nice wooden deck out front and a flat play space where they could run and play within easy sight of the adults.

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Marble Canyon – Canadian Rockies Photography

Marble Canyon is a fantastic place. It’s a very accessible slot-canyon with an easy paved path right off Highway 93 South. The path starts out at the river level and before long you’re climbing up and up while the canyon and river drops beneath you. The rocks there have a great rusty-red colour and lend some contrast to the pale-blue glacier water.

 

Marble Canyon is inside an old wildfire burn area which lends it a very spooky and other-worldly feel.

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Images from Banff – Canadian Rockies

I took some time this weekend and spent a full day in Banff. I love the mountain Parks, and Banff has some great scenery to offer.

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This osprey nest is home to a female with three chicks and the male was in and out of the nest a few times while I was there. The female wasn’t too happy with me though and gave me the stare a few times.

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The flowers in Banff this time of year are great, the fireweed and Indian Paintbrush are in full bloom.

 

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Castle Mountain is one of my all time favourites. It’s a classic to me, you can see it all the way up Highway1 and over the years I’ve taken a lot of pictures of it but the right conditions thus far haven’t materialized. I think this one is close

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Spring Safety Article in Outdoor Photographer – Canadian Rockies Adventure Photography

We (Jonathan Neufeld and Keith Szlater) were published in the April 2011 edition of Outdoor Photographer.

Check out the Solutions: Spring Safety article on pg 94, it’s got some great information on avalanches, running water, and hypothermia. It’s the second article now that we’ve had published and hopefully there will be a few more on it’s heels.

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