We woke after an eventful evening of a Korean Party of 4 joining our dorm at 11pm, all wearing the inevitable head-torches that are very indiscriminate of where their light lands upon each turning of the head J After we breakfasted, we made our way back to the spot where we had organised the car since there was a really beautiful and appealing hike past 3 lakes to reach the 4th called Jacques Lake. My husband informed me that it was a 12 ½ km walk with only about a 240 ft elevation. That sounded do-able, so I was game. I did not bother to check the specs (silly me to be so trusting!!!!!!!!)….it was 12 ½ km each way!!!!

However, it was a truly gentle walk through the most stunning woods and forests and so one is not really aware of distances being covered. Also, not a well-known walk and so very unpopulated. We stopped for so many photo ops and saw the most beautiful macro life on the forest floor and in the vegetation.

Some of the memorable sightings were:

· a little squirrel carrying a mushroom twice the size of its head. It was stunned to see us and was totally at a loss as to which direction to take since we seemed to be right in its path. I was not quick enough to get my camera before it decided which way to go and it danced quite nimbly upward and past us towards its destination. Absolutely made my day.

· The closest we got to any Mooses was to find their poop along the pathway. I was very tempted to pick some up as a souvenir, but the hubby wasn't having any of it - looks a lot like horse poop J. We also heard them on the other side of the lake - it is mating season, so noise is inevitable.

· The closest we have come to grizzly bears was upon arrival at Jacques Lake to see the pulley system erected for food storage to prevent raiding bears from joining your picnic J

· And then on the way back we encountered two fowl type birds (waterfowl?) on two separate occasions. These birds seemed absolutely convinced that if they sat dead still and did not move or make a sound then we would not notice them at all. As we approached them they realised that we were not going away and so they fanned their spotted butts very threateningly and slowly moved out of our path. However, on both occasions, not a single sound peeped from either of them.

The walk was tranquil and mind-blowingly beautiful with the Rocky peaks surrounding us through the dappled shade of the forest as we made our way from one lake to the next. The reflections and settings of and around the lakes were picture-perfect and certainly helped to start the extreme relaxation process of a holiday. My chest did tighten up once or twice, but we simply stopped for me to cough it open and to relax until we could move on again. I absolutely cannot get over how quickly I have recovered from this illness - a true miracle in answer to so many pleas on our behalf. The one thing that has struck me has been the absence of birdsong in the forests. The birds are there….they are just so silent!!!!

The walk back to the car was a little more strenuous…especially the last 5 km or so, but hey!!! I did it and my legs let me know soon after what they thought of my accomplishment!!! I would do it again in the blink of an eye though - so beautiful it was.

We had booked into the hostel in Jasper for the night and so made our way there - however, it proved to be exceptionally costly, so we made our way back to town to try and find alternative accommodation - no luck!!! Everything was fully booked. So, back to the Wapiti campsite we went………..me with very, very long teeth!!!! Only to find they were fully booked as well! J We did find a site at the Whistlers Campsite and so erected the tent asap, this time putting our space blankets under the mattress in an attempt to stop the glacial temperatures from permeating through the mattress from the deepest bowels of the earth!!!! (It worked by the way). We then went back into town to consume what we felt was a well-earned dinner of pizza.

Back at the campsite we learned from our lessons from the first camping attempt and dressed in every thermal and other warm item of clothing before getting into bed. We were warm J I did not freeze my butt off and actually managed to sleep - fitfully, but well enough. Spooning also worked to assist with transfer of body heat.

So, one anecdote for your pleasure…. Graeme had popped in to a store en route to purchase shower gel since he seemed to have left his at a previous stop-over and after our very primitive digs the night before, he was smelling ripe as can be and I was not going to have pizza, nor anything else for that matter in his company until he had sorted out that issue. Whilst in the shower he tried to lather up a foamy storm and was most disconcerted to find that no lather was making an appearance. Through the wet drops of a button-timed bomb of hot water, he then made the effort to actually read what he had purchased - it was in fact, hair gel - to be applied to dry hair after washing J I laughed and laughed and laughed…….

We woke this morning to a very hazy and smokey environment and to the sounds of ravens raiding whatever pickings they could find from the night before - not sure which irritates me more - the ha-de-da ibis or the raven!!!. The smoke from all the forest fires in British Columbia had moved into the area and had blocked every view we were hoping to re-experience as we started our trip southwards again. First stop was to go and buy shower gel and shampoo and for me to get a pair of ski-pants, since my thighs had chafed each other along the 25 km walk and I realised that the walking clothes I had packed would not cut the grade if these are the kinds of walks to which I am going to be exposed. Also popped into some tourist tat shops and started my shopping….. J.

We then decided to visit the Athabaska Falls, the Sunwapta Falls and the Athabaska Glacier - the smoke did not do much for the glacier experience, especially since the bar for glaciers has been set so high by our Perito Merino experience in South America.

Thereafter, the hostel search began again (after a little WhatsApp time with our daughter during her stopover in Dubai). We found a bed at Beauty Creek (Praise the Lord………..another night of camping so soon might have killed me J) Another very rustic little set up along the banks of the Athabaska River - no running water, no showers, no flushing loos, no electricity, no etc. But very quaint, and very pretty and very peaceful. We sat on the banks of the river for a good long while and watched the red ball sun set behind the haze of smoke before preparing supper and making ready for bed.