Shits and Giggles

Beware. Banff Trail Trash is about to get trashy. There's going to be some potty-talk here. Brace yourself because it's all shits and giggles!!
Poo. There's been a lot of it this month. I got the Fever! The Beaver Fever. *Insert bad jokes here please.* That's Canadian-speak for Giardia. It's a nasty little critter which takes hold of your guts and reaks havoc. Essentially, aliens have colonised and reproduced in my intestines. It's been crappy, so to speak and I've been feeling like Ass. The Aliens made me sick for quite a long time. I was out of commission for a couple of weeks with The Fever and my energy has been slow to return. But I'm back! I'm feeling good. Moving on and moving forward. Life has certainly been passing, as fast as projectile poo and bad gas!

After 2 weeks of zilch, nada, zero activity - I was itching to get out. It was time for some shits and giggles. I eased myself back in the saddle with a road trip to visit my folks in Creston B.C and a 2 day backpack with the lovely Danni. I thought I would try and see if I had enough energy to walk, yet alone run. It was an awesome summer weekend in Montana and while I wasn't feeling 100%, it sure was glad to be back in the saddle.

I'm having problems downloading the Montana photos, but trust me when I say Danni took us to a beautiful place.  I had great company in Keith, Danni, Amber and the 2 puppy dogs to keep me entertained.  My energy was still in the tank, but I managed to backpack for 2 days and I sure did enjoy the relaxing.  It was an honest-to-goodness summer weekend with time spent lounging in the sun, playing with doggies, swiimming in the beautiful Crater Lake and it was even warm enough to sleep without a tent fly.  I sure do love my Montana friends and their fine backyard! 

I jumped in with both feet the next weekend, with a 3 day mountain bender. My energy was perking up, so I needed to get moving again.  The weekend was crazy weather-wise. On the Friday, I found myself high atop Northover Ridge in winter-like conditions. Snow had accumulated and the conditions were sketchy enough for us to turn around. Craziness!

Let's Go There!!

Waaaaay Up There!!

Where we came from....

Views

Views.....

....thinking about Winter

...cornice in September!!

...and more Views!!

Despite the snow, Northover Ridge was an amazing place to spend a September day.  It was Awesome with a capital A.  It's an incredible beautiful place and I'll be back next summer. Up high on the ridge line, the conditions got sketchy, so we turned around and lived to "run" another day.  Still, Mike and I had a great day and a fun adventure!

The 2 days that followed were perfect summer days. Oh the difference of a day! 

The sun came out and just like that, summer was back.  It was incredibly calm, we enjoyed clear blue skies, sunshine and warm temperatures to get us all blissed out.  Our friend Lara was visiting on the long weekend, so we decided to go hike the Lake Louise Teahouse Circuit.  You can visit both Lake Agnes and Plains of Six Glaciers in a day - and we added in a bonus hike of both the Little Beehive and the Big Beehive.  We beat the crowds by starting early and had the place to ourselves.  It was a great day and it felt good to stretch out my legs which were surprisingly sore from the day before.  I guess that is what happens when you don't run for 2 weeks!

Lake Louise

The next day, I was joined by some of my favorite Goofballs Miles, Monica and Nicki.  We decided on an extra-special destination and ran a run that features some of the most gorgeous yet accessible scenery in all of Banff National Park. We ran a gorgeous route from Moraine Lake to Lake Louise.

It's the beginning of a Great Adventure!

Heading towards Sentinel Pass

Views from the South Aspect of Sentinel Pass

The North facing side of the pass was still covered in snow and ice.  It was tricky footing as we made our way through the boulder field, the rocks were super icy.  Then we got to make a glissade through the fresh avalanche debris to get us to the bottom in one piece. ;) 

Eventually, we made our way down Paradise Valley and past Lake Annette, before turning abruptly skyward and beginning the ascent up Saddleback.  The views climbing upwars were simply astounding, with great views of Mount Temple the whole way.  At the top of the Saddleback, we coudn't resist scrambling up to the summit of Fairview Mountain - one of the most accessible scrambles in the area.

From there, we had a quick fun descent down to the shoreline of Lake Louise where we couldn't resist jumping in the lake.  It was mayhem on the shoreline of Lake Louise with it being a long weekend and a beautiful day and I'm sure the crowds were entertained by the shenanigans of these 2 lovely ladies.

Glacier Fed!

And then as a grand finalee to a Most Excellent Day, I had to bust out my own personal salute to Lake Louise.

I Love you Lake Louise!

Finally, my energy felt almost normal this week so I was excited to make the drive out to Mount Robson for the inaugral Mount Robson Marathon.  It was an absolute perfect weather weekend and I couldn't pass up my one chance to run a race on the Berg Lake Trail.  As a bonus, I had some great surprise company for the road trip in the form of  my friend Martin Gaffuri.  Martin is from Annecy, France and is part of the extended Trans Rockies family.  We stopped for a run at Parker's Ridge because the weather was so damn incredible.  It was a rather amazing day to be driving the Icefields Parkway with not a cloud in the sky.

French Beefcake!

Upon arriving in Mount Robson Provincial Park, I don't think I ever recall seeing Mount Robson so clearly.  As the largest peak in the Canadian Rockies, it's huge, massive and impressive.  We had a visit with the rest of the friends who were running before heading back to the campground for an early night.

Mount Robson

As one of my favorite trails, I was stoked to be running an actually race in this incredible place.  The Mount Robson Marathon was a one-time only event to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of B.C Parks.  Only 100 people were allowed to run and it was to be a special day for all.  The marathon started at 7:30 in the AM on a beautiful clear cool morning.  I had no expectations on this day and started slow with almost everyone charging out in front of me.  I was expecting a lot of them would come back to me and I was right.  Eventually, I passed a whole bunch of them on the steep climb up - and I walked every inch of it with my hiking poles.  I was looking forward to seeing Berg Lake and Mount Robson under a clear blue sky and when we reached the turn-around there were all sorts of awestruck first-timers gawking at the lake.  This was my 4th time to Berg Lake, but I was equally in awe.  I snapped a few photos before turning around and blazing down the trail.  As soon as the trail turned downhill, I started passing people and I had lost track of how many when I reached the bottom of this awesome descent.  I was having fun and gaining some serious momentum.  I kept it going right to the finish line, elated to be finishing happy and strong and feeling much more like myself.  I think I got my mojo back!!

Sadly, I'm having trouble posting my Berg Lake photos - but you should all seriously put Mount Robson and Berg Lake on your life list.   It's that good.

On that note, I'm all caught up.  That's been a snip of my life the past 3 weeks.  Now, I'm embarking on a new adventure as I right this post from the airport.  Keith and I are leaving for Australia today for 3 whole months!  Now that IS exciting.  It's all about Shits and Giggles.  And Adventures, too!