Déjà Vu : Trans Canada Trail from Calgary to Cochrane Again

After a much needed break and swapping out of gear, we flew back to Calgary yesterday, and headed out onto the Trans Canada Trail again this morning.  One of the biggest changes we made was leaving our hiking carts behind, so we decided to give ourselves a short first day back on the trail with full pack weight by re-walking from Calgary through Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park.  We ended the day back in Cochrane, which is where we left off a couple weeks ago.   In the end we were both exhausted and sore. 

 

 

This morning was sunny and gloriously cool, but sadly the skies were a hazy brown and the air smelled of wood smoke, likely from the forest fires that are currently burning in BC. One of the challenges we face ahead is an extremely high risk of forest fires starting from lightening strikes in southeastern BC. In addition, 83 of the 305 fires that started in this area this year are still burning. 

 

 

 

Even without the spectacular backdrop of mountains, we endured repeating the highway trek and enjoyed our second walk through Glenbow Ranch as much as our first.  As we passed the education centre near the parking lot a children's camp was just assembling outside, the kids climbing the hill in groups of 2 or 3.  Outside the centre a mist net had been set up, and the kids were already trying to guess what it was for.

 

 

As we headed down the steep hill we passed a stand of trembling aspens that was full of a flock of very noisy and active Cedar Waxwings.  We marvelled at their agility as they stopped and dove for flying insects in midair.  They were joined by a small group of flycatchers and American Goldfinches, who were moving through the shrubs below.  Beside them a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers made their way slowly up the trunk of an aspen.  It was exciting to see so much bird activity again!

 

 

Instead of turning west towards Cochrane when we reached the bottom of the river valley, we decided to explore Glenbow a bit more, and chose to head east down the paved cycling path. 

 

The grassy hills rose steeply up on one side of us, while on the other the improbably turquoise waters of the Bow River slipped past.  Between us ran the railway tracks, and several very long freight trains chugged through as we walked. 

 

 

As we headed east we could feel a change in the air, like the peak of summer has passed and the beginning of autumn is coming.  The yellow blooms of goldenrod mixed with the purple blossoms of asters and Michaelmas daisies on the sides of the trail.  Huge hay bales sat in fields now turned a golden yellow, and the the grasses in the surrounding pastures have taken on the dried, bleached, not quite colourless look of fall. 

 

 

Just before the trail crossed over the tracks we stopped for a break at a picnic area.  Two Richardson's Ground Squirrels were chasing each other through the tall grasses, hissing indignantly at each other as they went.  They stopped their frolicking and approached us, stopping only a few feet away and clearly hoping for a snack. 

 

 

Taking things slower today allowed us to enjoy the smaller things.  We stopped to watch an enormous bumblebee on the path, buzzing loudly enough to be audible from a few meters away.  We also stopped to watch several beautiful butterflies drinking from the abundance of colourful wildflowers along the trail. 

 

 

As we made our way down the valley we enjoyed seeing the layered landscape.  The silvery foliage of wolf willow gave way to the vibrant green leaves of trembling aspens, and behind them all, on the far side of the turquoise Bow River rose dark green slopes covered in spruce.  

 

 

A few kilometres farther along we stopped again at the edge of the river, somewhat discouraged to find that we could still see the Olympic village at the edge of Calgary in the distance.  Despite our seeming lack of progress, the winding contours of the crystal clear, turquoise river, following its forested banks through the valley created breathtaking scenery. 

 

We caught a flash of red out of the corner of our eye, and stopped to watch a mule deer bound along the top of the valley high above us.  A group of three Swainson's Hawks was soaring majestically above the ridge, being mobbed by a group of  over a dozen American Crows. 

 

 

Around noon we decided to head back towards Cochrane, backtracking along the cycling path.  The scenery was just as stunning going in the other direction, and we paused often to admire it, or to take photos. 

 

 

Eventually we found ourselves back on familiar ground, retracing our steps from a couple weeks ago.  We climbed up and down the coulees, going from stands of aspens in the valleys up to grassy hilltops and back down again.  The climbing was much easier without the carts, but we certainly will have to get used to carrying more weight again.  This is especially true since we have now added bear barrels for safer storage of food in grizzly country to our packs! 

 

 

We arrived in the subdivision at the top of the ridge again, and were weaving our way around the golf course when we passed two older ladies out for their daily exercise.  They smiled and commented "Oh, you must be training for something!"  

 

This is an assumption we've encountered across the entire country with one exception.  It reflects one of the ideas we try to counter in our presentations - that exploration, adventure, and nature must exist in some far-off or exotic location.  Nature and our adventure can exist in our own backyards, but we often dismiss this, assuming the adventure will occur elsewhere.  Except in the prairies, where farmers and ranchers knew exactly where the Trans Canada Trail went, and no one would ever walk or cycle there except if they were on it, did they assume we already on the adventure. 

 

After this well meant encounter we continued through the affluent neighbourhood, climbed back up through the golf course to the highway, and then wove down into the town of Cochrane. While the views down the valley were stunning, we didn't enjoy the endless climbing up and down in this stretch any more the second time around. 

 

 

We headed back to the same hostel/hotel we stayed at during our first visit.  While we were waiting to check in we noticed a heavily bicycle sitting on the covered wooden veranda, and soon learned it belong to a retired man from Germany.  He had ridden his bike over 6,000 km across Canada, having started in Newfoundland 6 months ago.  Another man from Switzerland was also waiting to check in, who had just driven back from Tuktoyaktuk, and was planning to continue his and his wife's adventures in North and South America until March 2023. Both were very enthusiastic about long distance travel, and the benefits of seeing the world on foot.  It was so refreshing to have a chance to speak with like-minded travellers. 

 

 

After checking in we quickly did some errands, including mailing some more of the electronics back home to further reduce weight, and going to Canadian Tire to re-buy the camp fuel and bear spray we couldn't bring back with us on the plane. It was a good first day – though a tiring and sore one - and hopefully we will now be a little more ready for what lies ahead.

 

See you on the trail!

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