I haven’t written anything here for a couple weeks. Did anyone miss their almost weekly installment of environmental happenings in Alberta?
WATERTON
I spent the last week hanging out in Waterton AB down in the SW corner of the province. It’s definitely not the biggest National Park we have in Alberta, but I think it’s probably the most beautiful. It’s sweet driving into town and seeing the old Prince of Wales Hotel perched on top of the hill overlooking everything. It’s the largest wood building in the province and it looks sweet inside and out. There was a giant buck sitting outside the restaurant window watching all the stupid humans run around the outside of the hotel. He looked bored out of his mind. Kind of like how I feel watching deer run around. Not that exciting.
INSANE DEER
I had heard rumors about the deer in Waterton. They were apparently vicious, dog chasing, people kicking demons from another planet that had gained a taste for blood because stupid people have fed them by hand over the years. Below is a picture of the actual sign they have in town. Pictured is a human flying through the air with what looks like blood coming out of his shoulder region after being chased down and booted by a deer. Don’t feed the wildlife people…
GRIZZLY BEARS
I was walking up an exposed mountain switchback when I noticed the people about 100 feet in front of me at a turn in the trail screaming up the mountain. Not knowing what they were screaming about, but guessing it was a bear, I decided to walk up and see what all the commotion was about. They started yelling at me in desperation, “Go back, GO BACK!”. So I ran back about 20 feet and turned around just in time to see a grizzly bear bound down what I thought was a cliff to right where I was previously standing. I remember him looking something like this:
He started walking down the trail towards me nervously (ya that’s right, I made the bear nervous). I flexed my right arm and he ran down the mountain never to be heard from again. I laughed triumphantly and continued my trek up the mountain to Crypt Lake which required passage through a cave I had to crawl through and walking along a ledge that felt 3 inches wide while holding onto a chain. The icy lake at the top was well worth the 18km round trip walk in 33 degrees.
WILDLIFE, WATERFALLS AND MOUNTAINS
In summary, Waterton Park is gorgeous. I kayaked into Montana, saw 7 bears and a bunch of cool animals, hiked all over the place, saw some GIANT waterfalls, visited a lake and waterfall named after me (Cameron) and found some massive old trees. You can go fishing, camp with the family, visit cool rock formations, or even bring a boat and do a little wake boarding. The pine beetle is currently running its course, but it’s still a pretty sweet place with lots to do. The town of only 170 has a Jasper like feel but with less people. I suggest nobody go visit, because it’s a bit of a hidden gem and I want it to myself.
PS
The bear was actually a lanky little guy that just left mom and looked something like the picture below. Although not stuffed, he looked quite huggable and I named him Christopher.
