To-Do:
-read a book in a hammock
-get a sunburn
-play with water guns/ garden hose
-have a frozen drink outside
-pick flowers
What do you still need to do before summer ends?
To-Do:
-read a book in a hammock
-get a sunburn
-play with water guns/ garden hose
-have a frozen drink outside
-pick flowers
What do you still need to do before summer ends?
The one thing we had most been looking forward to was the Lake Agnes Teahouse Hike we had planned for our last morning at Banff. We had plans to meet our family at Lake Louise by noon, so we essentially ran up and down the mountain in order to have time to sip tea and have a second breakfast. (We told you “The Hobbit” is a great read on a hike!)
This was one of our favorite hikes of the whole vacation. It was so special to visit this teahouse hidden up in the mountain between two lakes. In the future, we would also like to visit the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House.
We shared a large pot of “Top of the Mountain Zen” herbal tea. I had a smoked salmon bagel, Kendra and Thor each had a bowl of beautiful rainbow root-vegetable soup. We shared tea biscuits and jam before jogging back down the mountain.
We made it to Lake Louise at the agreed meeting time. Only once we had regained cell service did we learn that our family was just leaving Calgary! We spent the next few hours waiting for our family at the lake. We read a lot… look at how many books Kendra read during our 3 days of backpacking!!!
And finally, we hugged our family and climbed in the car for the next 4 hours up to Jasper.
This is day 5 of an 11 day trip! Tomorrow, I will share our adventures from Jasper National Park, where we spent the remaining 5 days of our trip. There we visited hot springs and met families of elk! Be sure to read about our backpacking trip while we were in Banff National Park.
Until then, check out the hiking advice from my brother and sister, see what we packed, what we read, and what you should read.
As you are reading this, my brother, sister and I are loading our packs and headed out on a three day backpacking journey in Banff, Canada! We are so excited about this, but it took a lot of planning. I wanted to give you a glimpse of what we did to make this happen.
First, do you remember all the stuff we packed to hike the Grand Canyon? In case you missed it, here is that breakdown:
Not numbered: trekking poles ($10 used for the PAIR, purchased from Grand Canyon rentals!), 2nd skyn blister kit, Mountain House breakfast, hiking clothes and a trusty red bandana
Not pictured: flight duffle, book, many maps crammed in a sheet protector, food for days, allergy pills.
With three of us, the distribution of stuff is a little different. We share the big and bulky things, like the tent and dry sack of food, but we still have a number of personal things to pack up, like clothes and trail snacks. This is a direct CTRL-C/ CTRL-V straight to you from the backpacking google sheet. You should see our packs. They are LOADED.
Thor- completed | Thor | Kendra- completed | Kendra | Kelsey- completed | Kelsey |
X | Pack | X | Pack | Pack | |
Duffle | X | Duffle | X | Duffle | |
Sleeping bag + pad | X | Sleeping bag + pad | X | Sleeping bag + pad | |
X | WARM CLOTHES, 2 pairs | X | WARM CLOTHES, 2 pairs | Emergency Blanket | |
X | All hydration systems | X | All hydration systems | X | TP+ shovel |
Day pack | X | Day pack | X | Dinner for Thor and Kelsey | |
X | Wound Power + First Aid | X | First Aid | X | Bear bin |
X | 3-5 changes of underwear | X | 3-5 changes of underwear/ sports bras | X | WARM CLOTHES |
X | 3-5 sets of athletic clothes | X | 3-5 sets of athletic clothes | X | 10 L Water Bladder + all others |
X | hiking boots | X | hiking boots + athletic sandals | X | Water filter |
X | Lunch for self- 3-5 days | X | Lunch and dinner for 3-5 days | X | Day pack |
X | Spork + cup | X | Coffee filter/ pour over | X | Suture + Second Skyn |
X | Sunscreen | X | Spork + cup | X | 3-5 changes of underwear/ sports bras |
X | Dry sack for dirty clothes | X | Sunscreen | X | 3-5 sets of athletic clothes |
X | Dr. Bronner’s, toothbrush | X | Dry sack for food + rope | X | hiking boots + athletic sandals |
X | 3+ wool socks | Dry sack for dirty clothes | X | Breakfast for all | |
X | Deodorant | X | Dr. Bronner’s, toothbrush | X | Lunch for self |
X | Headlamp | X | 3+ wool socks | X | Coffee |
X | Pack extra clothes with parents | Pack extra clothes with parents | X | Stove, fuel, mess kit, matches | |
X | Rain jacket | X | External charger battery pack | X | Knife |
X | Towel | X | Deodorant | Alcohol for steralizing wounds, similar | |
X | Hiking PANTS | X | Headlamp | X | Sunscreen |
X | Long sleeve FOR HIKING | X | Rain jacket | X | Water tablets |
X | Light jacket | Fuel tablets | X | Dry sack for dirty clothes | |
X | Tevas | Lighter | X | Dr. Bronner’s, toothbrush | |
Retainers | X | Towel | X | 3+ wool socks | |
X | Debit card | X | Trekking Poles | X | Deodorant |
Cash | X | Pack extra clothes with Anthony | |||
ID | X | Headlamp | |||
X | Trekking Poles | X | Towel | ||
PHONE CHARGER | |||||
X | Trekking Poles | ||||
For the people who have never ever ever never camped!
After having gone backpacking a few times, car camping feels a bit like glamping. This is glamorous camping, because you can bring anything you need for maximum comfort, including whole food (as opposed to dehydrated meals) and luxury items like an air mattress, or pillows! Here are some basic camping tips from around the web.
From Liz Stanley of Say Yes
Skip the campground. Campgrounds feel like cities, only you’re closer together. The only thing between you and a bunch of drunk college kids is a thin sheet of nylon. If you’re scared of bears, campgrounds are the worst place because they know that’s where food is. In Yosemite, we saw a couple a day! You are allowed to camp in any national forest or wilderness area surrounding a national park.
WHY IT’S SO WORTH IT: It’s so nice to wake up in the morning when it’s chilly, and have a long hot breakfast with coffee or hot chocolate… Sitting around the campfire at night — drinking a mug of wine, talking, making s’mores — is amazing. Since it gets dark at 8pm, we’ll often hang out for a while yet still go to bed early, which feels so good, too. My husband and I once took a kayaking trip and ended up on a gorgeous lake under the Grand Tetons. We went skinny dipping at midnight. I loved that combination of paddling and camping. It was magical.
Joanna Goddard at Cup of Jo
Do periods attract bears?
Poor Joanna was shamed into sleeping in a cage while camping on a school trip. She reports that periods do not attract bears. Yellowstone reports that polar bears are likely attracted to menstruation, but black bears are definitely impartial. Grizzlies? Unknown…
From Ranger John
Make campsite reservations as soon as you can. Campsite Reservations have become the norm in today’s campgrounds. Packing a car at the last minute on a Friday afternoon and rushing to a park typically leads to disappointment and driving around to multiple campgrounds all with their Campground Full signs posted. You end up camping in your car overnight at the Wal-Mart parking lot or the local motel/hotel with everyone complaining about this being the worst vacation ever.
Pack bacon! I consider bacon the official torture smell for all Park Rangers. There is nothing like going to work and heading through the campground and smelling bacon cooking everywhere. For some reason, this smell triggers all hunger senses in your brain and you too now want bacon. I will look at my watch and have another 3 1/2 hours to lunch and the sandwich I packed doesn’t smell as good. Of course, I will notice other campers getting up walking to the restroom starring at the campsite next to them cooking bacon, they have this look of wanting to invite themselves over for breakfast too, perhaps the look of plotting how to get the bacon from them devising a scheme used by the famous bear known for stealing picnic baskets. Save yourself this torture and pack your own bacon and be the envy of the campground.
Carry the 10 Essentials! I encourage everyone to carry the 10 essentials with them anytime they head outdoors. It’s the one thing you hope to never need but will also be your best friend if the occasion arises and you do need it. Click here for a list of the 10 essentials you should have with you camping!
From Joanna Hawley of Jojotastic
Use the Airbnb of Camping: When it comes to travel, I have two schools of thought: living like a local via Airbnb and dirt-bagging it by camping. I’m a mix of hi/lo, luxe and earthy. Plus, if I’m camping, often that means I’m also climbing… which equals one very happy Joanna. So you can imagine my excitement to recently discover Hipcamp, which is like Airbnb but with campgrounds, ranches, farms, even a vineyard! This is definitely the option for the adventurous of heart.
It’s the best kind of Saturday- full of spice and caffeine, color and nature.
Thoughts from today:
I hope your Saturday is as blissful and peaceful as mine!
Have you ever heard of this National Park- Isle Royale? I was looking for some backpacking in the Midwest, and I found this gem! A 42 mile one way trip, on a wild island in Lake Superior, with otters and foxes and wolves around! It takes about 4-6 days to cross the island, going one way. This is definitely on my summer bucket list!
In April, I went backpacking in THE GRAND CANYON! It was one of the most awe-inspiring experiences I have ever had. It was dangerous and required a lot of planning. We did a three day loop, lugged heavy packs and traversed in heavy boots, and slept inside the canyon with a full moon overhead. Here are some photos from our experience!
We warmed up before our backcountry trek on the Grand Canyon Rim Hike. We only did a short portion, but it would be a nice hike to do in entirety one day! It is also an easy but long hike, and if I can ever convince my parents to visit the Grand Canyon, it is one they would enjoy. At this point in the hike, we had a clear view of the Colorado River and the strata of the canyon.
The descent is long and arduous, and it is easy to lose track of how far you have come. These are moments where you look down and can’t believe that you are still hours away from the river, but turn around and realize you are days away from the top. We took the South Kaibab trail in.
My favorite view of the hike. I only took this photo, even as the colors and angles continued to open up along our descent, because photos don’t capture even a fraction of the majesty revealed in these rural places. South Kaibab is not for the faint-of-heart or weak-kneed individuals, but the views in the bottom quarter of this trail were my favorite part of the entire hike.
In the dry, rough rock of the canyon, it is hard to believe that there is a river down there, but this vegetation proves it! The interior of the canyon is a small wetland, with a humidity not found in the rest of the west, and leafy trees lining the waters.
Whenever you are not near the river, you are definitely in the arid desert, as demonstrated by these bright flowering cacti and thistles.
We hiked out through the popular Bright Angel trail, and while it started somewhat remote, by the time we were finishing our ascent we were surrounded by day-trippers who were astounded at our accomplishment. We felt like heroes!
It was an amazing trip. I am already plotting more challenging backcountry treks in the Grand Canyon for future trips. We met backpackers inside the canyon who had been down there for weeks, following the Tonto trail. If I found 3 days strengthening and meditative, I wonder how I would be changed by 7 or 20 days.
Happy trails!
Or “enjoying nature while doing what you love.” My sister is at it again at Red River Gorge, in Kentucky. And, markedly, today is the end of my “beginner to badass” climbing program at Brooklyn Boulders, Chicago location. In a few months I hope to be able to climb with her outside (but first I need to master the 60 foot indoor wall)! Climb on, Kendra!
I’ve made the case when planning and reminiscing about the Grand Canyon, but my sister and fellow traveler makes yet another argument for visiting the wild west- especially for visiting Moab, Utah. Everyone should have a moment like this.