We organized a weekend camping trip to Yoho National Park last weekend. We left town at about 3 pm with hopes to get a spot at the main campground, Kicking Horse. When we got there, of course it was full. The back up plan, to go to walk in sites at Takkakaw Falls was also a bust. We ended up finding a site 20 km further down the road at Chancelor Peak at about 8:30. At least there was a fire pit, which many sites in Yoho don't have. Owen really had a tough time getting to sleep, mostly because he fell asleep in the car on the journey to our campsite. He cried for over an hour.
He woke up at 2:30 am and was inconsolable. I rubbed his back and whispered for him to go back to sleep but nothing seemed to work. Had I brought a soother, I would have used it but I left them at home for that very reason. It felt like the whole campground could hear him. Not to mention that there was a young black bear in the area, which we were now advertising ourselves to. After probably a good 45 minutes, I brought him into the sleeping bag with me. Still pretty upset, I gave him a breast, which he happily took and then fell back asleep. He slept between Kris and I for the rest of the night. The next morning, when I saw Kris wrapped up in his sleeping bag like it was a cocoon, and saw that the ceiling vent was wide open, I realized why he was so upset. Cold. Probably freezing, actually.
The hike we planned was to Twin Falls, where there is a CPR chalet built in the early 1900's. Reading online, the hike was about 6 km one way. Considerably longer than our last one, but still totally do-able. When we got to the trailhead, signage told us that the falls were 6.2 km, but the chalet was 7.9 km. Oops, oh well, we were there, and somewhat committed. Still, 16 km round trip shouldn't be too bad, right? The hike was spectacular. Lots of amazing sights - stunning waterfalls,
roaring whitewaters,
and glacier topped mountains.
There were a few steep parts, but lots of flatter sections too so it wasn't too strenuous. Plus, we knew there was some juice or tea or something waiting for us at the top.
We sat inside for a while and relaxed. The lemonade (Country Time Crystals... way too sweet) was awesome.
The guys who served us told us there was a different way down, which Kris was particularly happy to do. He's always happier to do a loop than an up-and-back style because you get to see different things. It was only one more kilometer (so now we're up to 17 km round trip...) and took us through an old avalanche area. Very cool, but mentally challenging.
It would not do well to break an ankle in there, which was when we realized we didn't have an emergency blanket, or a first aid kit. Foolish.
After the rocky traverse, there was a T-intersection of trails, and we took a left, just like the kids up top told us to... never mind that there was a sign that the trail wasn't maintained. Secretly, I shook my fist at the boys. Didn't they see we had a baby? The trail was supposed to get us back to laughing falls, a pretty big falls we saw on the way up. We heard the water and thought it wouldn't be that far. The sound got quieter, and then louder as we walked. After about 30 minutes, and through a few areas of treefall, where Kris and I both scraped our legs, we came to a bit of a clearing and saw... twin falls! We had been going the wrong way!
Thankfully we had the sense to turn back and got back on the right trail and made our way down. Owen was very upset though. He'd been stuck in that carrier all day and, though he is a pretty patient baby, this was just too much. Plus, I'm pretty sure he felt our stress mounting as we got more and more lost and the sun got deeper and deeper in the sky.
It was an adventure... about 21 km in all after the twists and turns. Not a choice I'd make with a baby, but it all worked out.
