RETIRED ON WHEELS: RELATIVES, RITES and ROUTES Day 18,19 & 20 September 26,27 & 28, 2009 Lake Louise, Alberta to Radium Hot Springs, BC

I know looking back we won’t believe it but we got up, showered, had breakfast and got on the road by 8AM. Our destination today is Radium Hot Springs but there are a few stops and hikes we want to do on the way.

We turned south on Hwy 1 and left Banff National Park. It wasn’t very far down the road that we entered Yoho National Park. The first place we stopped was the Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint. The tunnels were built in 1908 to reduce the grade from 4.5% to 2.2% and to help stop some of the runaway trains. The tunnels are actually switchbacks that allow the trains to traverse the mountains safely.

On our way back from Takakkaw Falls we were able to watch as a train went into the tunnel and come out the other end. The trains are long enough that you can see the engine coming out of one end and the end of the train that has yet to enter the tunnel. Pretty amazing.

A short time after we left the tunnels we turned off Hwy 1 and headed for Takakkaw Falls. It is one of Canada’s highest water falls and is fed by the Daly Glacier and the Waputik Icefield. We were able to walk right to the base of the falls and get some pictures.

The scenery surrounding the falls was pretty spectacular in its own right.

On the way into the falls we came across a switchback that was the hardest to navigate I have ever been on. On the second turn I could not make it without stopping, backing up a short way and they continuing on by cranking the wheel all the way over. Thankfully it was not busy.

We headed back to the main highway and carried on to the town of Field and the tourist information center. I wanted to get info on a hike into another waterfalls that we planned on doing later in the day. I was told that it was flat and a pretty easy walk and to allow 45 minutes each way for the 5 kilometer round trip.

We left the info center and turned on to Emerald Lake Road and the first stop on this road with The Natural Bridge. The bridge which is on Kicking Horse River at one time was a waterfall. However new paths were carved out so that the water flowed under the rock creating the bridge. Sometime in the future the bridge will collapse and it will become a gorge.

We carried along Emerald Lake Road until we came to Emerald Lake. We walked along the shores for awhile and of course took a few pictures. It is just another of the numerous glacier feed lakes in the area. It is called a jewel of the Canadian Rockies and I can see why.

The next stop of the day was the trail head for Wapta Falls. We had lunch and then headed for the falls. The 5 kilometer hike was fairly easy except for all the roots exposed on the trail and one moderate climb that took us to the first view point of the falls.

The falls were pretty nice from the top but we expected the view from below would be awesome. So we headed down and this is where the trail got difficult as it was straight down and the footing was not that great. However we made it and the view was worth it. A totally different prospective.

We took a few pictures, enjoyed the sights for awhile and then headed up. It was not an easy climb and our hearts got a pretty good workout. There were a couple of rest stops.

We made it back in one piece and headed for Golden. We wanted to stop and get a few groceries before heading to Radium Hot Springs. Once that was done we got back on the road and drove straight through to Radium and checked into a RV Park.

We didn’t set up but went straight to the springs for a quick soak. After spending time at Liard Hot Springs we were a little disappointed with Radium. It wasn’t that hot and we ended spending our time in the hot tub. The hot tub did feel good on these tired legs.

After the soak we went back to the RV park had a light supper and called it a night.

Saturday and Sunday were both nice days and we spent the time resting and enjoying the park. We got caught up on our laundry and housekeeping. They also had WiFi access and I was able to catch up on the blog. It took up a lot of my time as I hadn’t been able to post for the last 20 days.

We also had a few visitors. I took most of these pictures standing right outside our camper. There are a sow and her two cubs in the area but we did not see them.