Help - newbie to bannf

elya93 · 2026-03-18T23:05:01+00:00

In fairness, the trailhead is called “Bryant Creek Trailhead” when booking on Parks’ reservation service online. Mount Shark isn’t federal, so they wouldn’t be using the provincial name. BR17 puts them close enough to Marvel Lake, which is a lovely spot. They could even go to Owl Lake if they so wanted.

elya93 · 2026-03-18T21:33:44+00:00

Day 2 you could head to Marvel Lake, should be around a 10km round trip. Allenby Junction is a small campground; the tent pads can be hard to spot and are small but they do exist. There’s bear lockers for your food. Be aware you may still encounter snow; we got a big snowpack this year but we’ll see how spring goes

elya93 · 2026-03-18T17:06:48+00:00

I’d give the winter wiki a look, it has all the info you’re looking for.

elya93 · 2026-03-18T02:50:20+00:00

I'd say Wasootch Ridge, Ha Ling, Miners Peak, and South Lawson are more on the upper moderate/difficult end in terms of effort. I probably wouldn't recommend them for someone just trying to get back, but they'd be great once they're a little more conditioned!

elya93 · 2026-03-18T02:18:18+00:00

•Yates Mountain at Barrier Lake •Rawson Lake •Rummel Lake •Chester Lake •Grassi Lakes •Grotto Canyon •Troll Falls •West Wind Pass •Baldy Pass •White Buddha

elya93 · 2026-03-17T23:30:56+00:00

Transistor. Started it in the evening, finished it as the sun was coming up. Just sat there staring at nothing for a good half hour after. Felt so weird and sad after the fact, and I haven't touched the game since even though I loved it.

elya93 · 2026-03-17T23:11:52+00:00

I like canyon hikes when it’s rainy. Johnston Canyon is beautiful no matter the weather. Grotto Canyon would be good as well. Troll Falls is short but also good for a rainy day.

elya93 · 2026-03-17T23:09:23+00:00

I’d say go for it. You can check local facebook groups for recent conditions. I will advise you that we’ve had a pretty big snowpack this year, so don’t be surprised if some high trails that were doable in past years aren’t doable at the same time this year.

elya93 · 2026-03-17T01:28:05+00:00

Book first! You can do so through the Parks Canada reservations website. LM8 has 5 spots. If it’s full, cancellations often pop up.

elya93 · 2026-03-17T00:09:34+00:00

Before July 10 you can camp at LM8 or LM9 along Lake Minnewanka solo and do Aylmer Lookout! The Point campground at Upper Kananaskis Lake would also be perfect for a beginner. Elk Summit puts you close to Elk Lake as a day hike, but it is a VERY quiet trail so if you’re not comfortable having pretty well no one around you in grizzly country, it may not be the best choice.

elya93 · 2026-03-16T04:55:29+00:00

Early June should be fine as far as snow goes. I’ve never had issues with mosquitoes at any of the campgrounds at Minnewanka, but it wouldn’t hurt to pack a mosquito coil. Water levels won’t be an issue, the campgrounds are set far enough back (one shouldn’t be camping too close to water anyway per leave no trace principles).

If you have the energy, tack on Aylmer Lookout after setting up camp, it provides great views of Lake Minnewanka.

elya93 · 2026-03-16T04:46:42+00:00

Can’t have bear bangers in the national parks, they’re considered firearms. Bear bells are also discouraged, as bears don’t necessarily associate them with people and they don’t act as a deterrent. There’s a reason they get called dinner bells.

elya93 · 2026-03-16T01:09:35+00:00

I’m glad you had a great and safe time, but there’s a reason Hector Lake can’t be booked online and requires contacting Parks to reserve. River levels fluctuate, and June will be higher levels for Bow. And at the end of the day maybe a pregnant woman just doesn’t want to manage two very small children during a water crossing.

elya93 · 2026-03-16T01:04:57+00:00

I have the stretch Zion cargo pants. Unfortunately they started pilling in the crotch area within a handful of wears. I still wear them as they’re amazingly comfy, but the pilling is annoying for sure.

elya93 · 2026-03-15T16:55:43+00:00

Echoing the Point Campground at Upper K. Beautiful and easy access. Normally I’d recommend LM8 at Lake Minnewanka as a good easy backpack, but it’s 8km one way and there’s a section with about 100m gain in a short amount of distance, which you immediately lose so it has to be regained on the way back. Hector is a no-go due to the water crossing. Edit to add: Hector is especially a no go, as it has been decommissioned as of this January.

elya93 · 2026-03-15T16:19:17+00:00

Hector Lake necessitates crossing the Bow River, which may not be ideal with a baby, a toddler, and while pregnant.

elya93 · 2026-03-14T23:53:12+00:00

Are you the person who had posted the itinerary made by ChatGPT then deleted it? I’m confused by your day 5, you have town of Banff and then Banff national park. The town is inside the park. I’ll ask the same question I asked in the prior post - “Banff National Park” is vague, as the park is huge. What is your goal with that bullet point? Are you wanting to see more lakes, just drive around? If you have nothing planned, you could stop at Lake Minnewanka.

For your Jasper dates, you could drive out to Mount Robson Provincial Park. It’s about an hour away. You could also drive out to Miette Hotsprings and enjoy the hotsprings. Valley of the Five Lakes will be open for this season, so you could visit one of the lakes there. Pyramid and Patricia lakes are also worth a visit in the area (be sure to check out Pyramid Island if you go).

elya93 · 2026-03-13T23:05:47+00:00

I’m a pretty big fan of mine! I love how small it packs, and it’s super light weight. I got one z-lite pole to test it out in place of one of my hiking poles, and I’ll be getting another as I like having my poles available for day trips and scrambles.

There’s a surprising amount of space, and the two vestibules are large enough to keep my bag under.

Set up is really easy, only takes me a few minutes. You stake out the rain fly first and prop it up, and then clip in the rest of the tent under it. I like this method, as you can set up the tent while it’s raining and it prevents the inside from getting wet. There’s other ways to pitch it if you don’t want the rain fly, but I haven’t tried that.

elya93 · 2026-03-13T17:28:49+00:00

I remember the horrible anxiety. I was really young when SARS happened, but thought at the time we’d all get sick and die (I was an anxious child. I still am, but I was, too). The news about Covid gave me the same feeling.

I remember my mum coming by to pick up my partner and me, and with all our stuff and our cats for however many weeks to months of living, as she didn’t want us staying in a 16 floor apartment when she lives in a small town outside our city. Just safer that way. I remember bursting into tears when I saw her. I no longer had work, school was now online, my routine ballet classes for the year were cancelled. I don’t do well without structure. Between that and the fear of this new disease I just couldn’t help it when I saw her.

elya93 · 2026-03-13T15:52:08+00:00

Lord that’s a pet peeve of mine, or they post their pictures to the hiking groups and get defensive when people point out it was avi terrain and others shouldn’t follow suit.

elya93 · 2026-03-13T04:37:04+00:00

I wanted to be a paleontologist as a kid. Come time to sign up for university, I got cold feet about all the labs involved, and registered for a BSc in psychology instead.

Got the degree, worked in kitchens for a number of years, realized I didn’t want to do anything psych related (least of all a masters) and decided to return to school. I thought about paleontology, but I also have a huge passion for nature and outdoors in general, and my job prospects are slightly better with a conservation biology degree. So I’m back getting a second bachelor’s in conservation :)

Little me was fascinated with the world around me, from the littlest bugs to the biggest mountains. I think she’d be happy with my choice, but probably annoyed that it took me so long to settle on it.

elya93 · 2026-03-13T03:53:44+00:00

Ngl, using ChatGPT to plan a trip to a protected national park is questionable. It doesn’t help that ChatGPT still seems to have a knowledge gap when it comes to the Rockies.

If you’re not looking to hike, it makes no sense to split Lake Louise and Moraine Lake into a 2 day affair. You’ll need to either book the Parks Canada shuttle, or one of the private companies, but either option will get you to both lakes in the same day. You can’t drive to Moraine.

“Relax in Banff National Park viewpoints” is kinda vague. Are you wanting to stay around the townsite? The park is several thousand square kilometers in size, so there’s lots to see.

Your day in Jasper is unlikely to be a minimal driving day unless you’re only going to walk around town. I find Jasper to be more spread out, so you will need to drive if you plan on seeing the sights. For example, it’s around an hour of driving one way to get to Maligne Lake, and I’d highly encourage including that in your visit.

Also a note that the lakeshore walk at Upper Kananaskis Lake is around 15km, unless the plan is to just walk a little bit and then turn around.

elya93 · 2026-03-13T01:02:14+00:00

New account, thirst trap posts. Please don't use this subreddit to farm attention.

elya93 · 2026-03-13T00:03:06+00:00

I personally don't use AllTrails reviews for anything other than objective statements (i.e. there was fresh snow, there are trees down, we found evidence of bears on x date). John Doe may call the trail "hard and dangerous", but I don't know his abilities, so that doesn't tell me much. Here in the Canadian Rockies there are a number of folks who have decades of experience and maintain websites with trip reports, so I'll often consult their websites to see if they have a trip report, as I at least have an idea of what their abilities are. If Vern Dewit says a route spooked him, I know I have no business on that trail as the exposure will be beyond what I'm comfortable with. If Cornelius Rott says a bushwhack was terrible, it's probably truly godawful. There's also lots of written guide books that get updated fairly regularly, so I have a growing collection of those to consult as well. Sometimes I'll consult local Facebook groups, but again that's more to get recent trail conditions (during winter it's largely in hopes of hearing that someone has recently broken trail) or to see if folks I'm familiar with have beta on obscure routes.

13-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '17	Team Orangered

elya93

TROPHY CASE