national parks Archives - Distracted Birder

Finding Solitude in Banff National Park: The Skoki Valley

distractedbirder — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 12:06:40 +0000

We planned a trip to see the Canadian Rockies. I’d never been to Banff, but it’s a popular spot. My first objective while planning this vacation was to find some time away from the maddening crowd. Objective achieved. Canadian National Parks How are Canadian parks different from US National Parks? In many ways they’re similar. Huge areas preserved primarily for nature-based recreation. A variety of campgrounds, lakes, and trails provided for people to get back to nature. But in Alberta parks, at least, there are entire towns within the Parks. Entire towns. Like Jasper. Banff. Waterton. Just sitting there providing all sorts of services, with pricetags ranging from not-cheap to too bloody expensive. To be clear, this is not just a village atmosphere run by a Parks concessionaire, as most lodges are in the US National Parks. These are legit towns, which have their own ordinances and taxes and actual citizens. They operate in tandem with Parks Canada. On the one hand, this makes it easier to get a hotel INSIDE your park without booking more than a year prior to your trip. There are more hotels, after all. On the other hand, there are loads of folks staying in one place. It’s a town, after all, so it might not give the feeling that you’re in a remote destination Basically, it can just be a different vibe. Especially if you’re talking about a very popular destination… Banff National Park Banff National Park is a very popular destination. For good reasons: It’s Canada’s first National Park. It’s beautiful! Fulls of glaciers, glacial lakes, wildlife, and mountain views for days. It’s enormous. The park includes the towns of Banff and Lake Louise, two towns very popular with people looking for access to the outdoors or looking for great shopping, fancy hotels, and instagram backdrops. (I’m sure this Venn diagram has overlap… but not a lot.) It’s very accessible from Calgary, a large urban area (with an international airport). And so, Banff is very popular. And great, too! But don’t expect to be alone if you’re staying in either town. Options for getting away from the crowds: (1) Wake up early. Seriously, the vast majority of people are not on the trail at 7am. Be in the minority. Get out of bed, y’all. (2) Do harder (or just longer) hikes. Lots of people do hard hikes in these parks, true, but not nearly as many who just go to overlooks and paved trails… and the single best tip if you seriously need some alone time? (3) Go to the Skoki Valley*. Skoki Valley Hiking for about 7 miles behind the Lake Louise Resort will take you up to Ptarmigan Lake and over Deception Pass. When you descend, you’re in the Skoki Valley, where you won’t encounter more than 25 other people. It’s pretty awesome. You should do it. There’s a campground. I can’t tell you much about it, except there’s a camping option here for budget-minded folks. If interested, you can read about a backpacking loop, which will take you to both the Merlin Meadows campground (near the Skoki Lodge) and another spot at Baker Lake. The trail is well-described on AllTrails, too. But since I just like being a special snowflake, I opted to stay at the lodge. Yep, a lodge. For no more than 25 people. Skoki Lodge This is it, the hidden gem of Banff National Park. The Skoki Lodge, a tiny rustic getaway from anything resembling a crowd. And yes, this is still in Banff National Park! It’s managed by the Lake Louise Resort, but it’s hidden miles away in the wilderness. Given the effort involved, you’ve gotta really want to stay here. Remarkable* amenities include: No cell service. No electricity. No indoor plumbing. Nope… no lights. No showers. And, to confirm that suspicion that just snuck up on you… nope, there are no toilets here. But I’m not crazy. This place is a truly memorable experience. You’ll always remember that time you stayed in that backcountry lodge with the outhouses and the gas lamps. *Remarks include, but are not limited to, “we paid HOW MUCH for this room???” And if you do make this remark, everyone will hear you. These walls are original build, folks. Everyone hears everything. Cost Also, I said that the campground was for the budget-minded traveler. Skoki Lodge isn’t. It’s not cheap, and a minimum two-night stay is required. It’s pretty pricey, at about $1200 for 2 nights. But some rooms do hold more than two adults, so it becomes more reasonable as group size increases. Noise This place is old. They served their first guests in 1931, and the character of the building remains true to its historic roots. There is no sound-proofing. This leads to a lot of folks heading for the outhouse at the same time in the middle of the night. If you’re a light sleeper, try to get a cabin instead of a lodge room. And definitely bring ear plugs. Meals Meals are provided and included in the room rate. They serve breakfast and dinner, with all guests seated in the lodge at a specific time. The food is really quite good. We enjoyed every entree we were served. And the bread and desserts were especially tasty. They also provide lunch options to pack for taking on the trail – sandwiches, cookies, bags of trail mix. After 2pm, a tea is provided with warm soup and other snacks. Plus, someone is happy to prepare a coffee, tea, or cocoa at any time when requested. Beer and wine are also available, but they are not included in the room rate. Customer Service On your hiking day, the staff will provide loads of advice about local trails based on your interest/abilities. Generally, the staff is very helpful and pleasant. The rooms stay clean, and the meal service is quite good. Rooms have varied configurations, but the website shows these accurately. The site also provides information about getting there, inclusions, and packing lists. We found the customer service for the registration (in the town of Lake Louise) to be friendly and helpful as well. The Journey Genuinely, a great amenity of staying in the Skoki Lodge is that guests hike to and from the lodge through beautiful, serene, and blissfully uncrowded wilderness. And to make the journey more pleasant and less of a chore, guests of the Lodge are provided the option to take a shuttle up the forest road (and back, on the return day). This cuts out about 2 miles of the most boring bit of the hike, and it’s all uphill on the way to the lodge. The hike can be an out and back or a loop. We chose to do a loop, taking Deception Pass on the way to the lodge. If you haven’t saved waypoints, it’s just easier to find (better marked), if nothing else. Deception gives a great overview of the valley below, including the distant Skoki Lakes. On the way back to Lake Louise, we took the Packer’s Pass route, which follows a stream to a boulder field. It is great fun. The scenery is lovely. And you climb up the side of a waterfall. And then you pass the most beautiful blue glacial lakes you’ll see in Banff National Park. Eat your heart out, Moraine Lake. The Skoki Lakes are easily more idyllic that your insta-crowds would have anyone believe. This hike is worth doing, period. Just lovely. This is a Recommendation, I Promise! Please understand that much of the above amenities are described with tongue firmly planted in cheek. You might even think “whew, she is NOT selling this place”, which is fair. I would be terrible at marketing. But hey… let’s be honest. Plenty of people wouldn’t want to stay in this play due to cost. Some wouldn’t want to pay this cost for a place without electric or running water. It’s realistic to see those details and know they’re important. I don’t say those things to be off-putting. I’m saying them to be transparent. This destination simply isn’t for everyone. But if you’re interested in novel experiences, this might be for you. If you’re interested in disconnecting from modern life, you should definitely give it some consideration. If you like great, and not too terribly hard, hikes in the wilderness away from most people, this should be on your to do list. This lodge is a luxury, although it’s a luxury with the limitations of a backcountry wilderness lodge constructed in 1931. Would I go again? Definitely. But only if I could snag a cabin room, just to limit noise while sleeping. Otherwise, the scenery can’t be beat. The food is surprisingly good. The service is friendly and helpful. And the relaxed and restful atmosphere is a great value if quiet and nature are what you’re desperately seeking. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a contrast to the Banff town experience.

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Hey Tiger: Random Photographic Update

distractedbirder — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:24:12 +0000

I am about to break every SEO rule by basically saying nothing and using zero keywords. I know, I’m blowing minds over here. But I never update… though I should. And I took a birding trip to India that I really do want to post about. I know I really should. Yet it takes me about a billion months to curate photos, so that’s my excuse for why updates never happen. With that in mind, I’m posting this photo now. Because it’s my site, and I can post useless content. That’s how the internet works! I present to you: A WILD TIGER. This handsome adult was spotted with his mate at Ranthambhore National Park. He was a “non-tourist” tiger. He was beautiful. I am sharing this because this particular travel experience is something I have dreamt of for, literally, decades. I am very likely to share this again, because he brings me joy. More to come…

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2021 Vaccinated Vacation Adventures

distractedbirder — Sun, 21 Nov 2021 20:33:41 +0000

It turns out that 2021 was, indeed, better than 2020 in many ways. Granted, the endless working from home and refrigerator access probably hasn’t helped the fit of my wardrobe. Bummer. But in terms of travel, the outlook has become markedly more positive. For those of us lucky to have it, access to the vaccine has definitely opened up more vacation options! The year started with the certainty of… well, uncertainty. But a willingness to be adaptable led to a couple opportunities I wouldn’t have predicted in January. — Sadly, I’ve written exactly zero blog posts in recent months, which means I’ve written nothing about the international trips I was lucky to experience in 2021. I definitely should write about them, and I sure hope to do that (and spend more time on this blog in general). But the highlights: The Galapagos In August, I joined a 7-night cruise with Quasar Expeditions on their Evolution yacht. I don’t mean to toot my own horn here, but this was an awesome decision. This company, their boat, and the destination are just flippin’ awesome. This was a live-aboard experience, which definitely is not as affordable as the land-based options in the Galapagos. But 2021 was a time for amazing deals for those willing to pounce on them, so I took the opportunity to fulfill one of my bucket list dreams. And pay less, while the discount was available. Birdy Note: This was a birding tour for me in that I focused on seeing new birds, but it was also a standard tour offered by a non-birding company. There are TONS of wildlife encounters on any Quasar offering, but the focus is not birding or maximizing species. This is not the way to see all/most of the endemic birds of these fascinating islands – unless you do the full 14-night option. (That didn’t really fit into my budget OR leave balance, though!) For birders, I’d suggest that you must either accept fewer birds or go with an actual birding company. Colombia Ok, this is vacation cheating. This was actually just a little extension of my Galapagos vacation, an extra two days to do a little bit of birding around the capital city. I think I ended up seeing a few dozen new birds (although one ebird list seems to have been overlooked, unfortunately). Colombia is one of the birdiest of bird destinations, so two days in the capital city isn’t remotely scratching the surface. I’ll be happy to get back here for better birding someday. But I did see a fantastic rail and two amazing hummingbird gardens, which was great fun. Hummingbirds are also a wonderful test of high-speed photography skills. I learned that I have none. Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks Amazing trails, fall colors, and multiple covid tests. Plus grizzly bears! This was my first time in Montana AND the country of Canada, which had only allowed Americans for about a month when we arrived. This international peace park is worth a spot on anyone’s destination list, but I am grateful that we specifically scheduled our family vacation for the shoulder season. Our adventure here taught us that we do, in fact, love Canada and will certainly be returning to Alberta someday soon. Barcelona Birthday Hey there, Spain! It’s been a minute (or two decades). I only visited Madrid and Toledo during my first (high school) trip to Spain, and I remember little of that pre-planned big bus tour. I’d wanted to visit this particular destination city for a couple years. When notified of some heavily discounted fares to Barcelona, which generally experiences tolerable temperatures in November, I decided it must be a sign. I needed to celebrate my birthday in Barcelona! This was four days packed with Gaudí, food tours, and walking too dang much. I did kinda exhaust myself. But… I visited Girona, explored the Gothic Quarter, and ate the best croquettes Barcelona has to offer. Yum. More to Come… I’m excited to get back to my photographs and writing here, and I hope to publish more in the coming weeks. Every trip deserves some attention, and I do love how writing about adventures allows more time for reflection and enjoying the memories. Honestly, I wish it didn’t take me so very long to curate photographs. I am tortoise-like in many ways, including my neck-breaking speed. But I’ll plod along. Glad to have you along on the (very slow) journey!

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