So that we would be able to spend a good while exploring the Columbia Icefields on our way to Jasper on Wednesday we needed to get all our packing and the condo cleaning done today. Thus the morning was spent, well packing and cleaning the condo! We've found that our house swappers tend to tumble dry all washing (there is nowhere to hang washing to dry either inside or out) and that it seems they don't do any ironing either. Indeed our Canmore condo didn't have an ironing board or iron so quite a few linen shirts and blouses had to be packed without being ironed, maybe our Toronto condo will be equipped with an iron......

But enough domesticity! We also managed to squeeze in a local walk to Grassi Lakes. These two lakes were previously know simply as the twin lakes but were renamed after the Rockies trail maker Lawrence Grassi who cut the original trail to the lakes. The trail has rustic wooden benching and steps, both features of a Grassi trail. Lawrence Grassi, an Italian immigrant coal miner, is better known for having made the trails at Lake O'Hara, this trail to Grassi Lakes only came to prominence once the area was included as part of Kananaskis Country. The lakes are the typical magical blue/green we've come to expect water to be. The route up via the waterfalls that are the outflow from the lakes had great views of Ha Ling Peak - the steep side, not the face that our Chinese cook took to the top!

A short extra climb up from the lakes brought us to a small canyon and petroglyphs or pictographs that are at least 1,000 years old on a large boulder. These are easily missed, especially if your gaze is focused on the many climbers on the canyon walls, but we did spot them and do have a photo.

We had a great time staying in Canmore: we had brilliant walks and are both much fitter than when we arrived. Ruth's condo was just perfect and Canmore an ideal location: know we'd happily return another year.