recommendations 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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Birding Tours: Finding the Best Guide for Your Travels

distractedbirder — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 17:50:58 +0000

I always use the same birding tour company when planning a big trip. Why? Because they’re great. And also because I’m lazy. This technique can work for you too! But maybe not. Who am I to tell you how to live your life? Now get out there and bird, folks. But first, find a good bird guide! Decisions, Decisions Okay, look. There are loads of companies out there providing wildlife-oriented tours, especially of the feathered persuasion. Birding companies aren’t remotely rare. So I’m just going to tell you who I’ve used before (and recommend), and a tiny bit about why (when I feel like it). And, full disclosure, no tour company is paying me for my assessment so my opinion is my own. Believe it or not, my 5-person readership simply is not going to impress any travel corporation. Global Companies Based in North America, you could go with VENT or Wings. Quite frankly, these aren’t in my budget. Also, I might have heard that some of their tours lean a little heavily on the luxury and less on the actual wildlife sightings. I’m not judging if you use them anyway. It’s just not a price I could pay. Also based in North America, there’s Pitta Tours, and Hillstar Nature Tours. And loads of others. Many Audubon chapters do domestic or international trips. And there is Field Guides, similar in scale and offerings to VENT and Wings but more like international counterparts in terms of price tag. I’ve never used a domestic company, even one that provides international options. Because I’ve never paid for a domestic birding trip. And, I’ve no idea if this remains true, but (ten years ago) the North American companies seemed to always come with a higher price tag. My birding tours started with Ecuador, and I went with the cheapest option at the time. You’ll find many, many options for birding tours – regionally based (like South America) or global. When I was in Ecuador, I found a tour based out of one private reserve. It was just more affordable than other competitors at the time. The Bird Guide/Company I Use Pretty soon, I found Rockjumper Birding Tours, which does a reasonably priced catalog of trips (especially in Africa, as they’re based in South Africa). And I’ll recommend them, because I think they provide good value for the product. Especially in Africa. But if you’re getting one of their great, well-traveled guides, then it’s a great value anywhere. Now, to be clear – there’s a caveat in that sentence. I’ve been on Rockjumper tours before when the guide was new to the country. And it didn’t make the trip a mistake, per se, but it definitely highlighted how amazing and prepared the local guide was! And since I can do what I want, I’ll share info for those guides/companies, too. Some “Local” Birding Options Weird observation: Most countries require a local guide! What’s that mean? If you can find a locally based company, you’ll probably cut out some extra costs. Will the guide be as good or speak your language as well? Hard to decipher with the overwhelming options online. I’ve not found it to be easy information to assess or access, honestly. But these are two that were used on my Rockjumper tours and were great, including having excellent bird guides on our tour. Uganda You couldn’t go wrong with Livingstone Safaris. The owner is just amazing as a birder, can put together gorilla and chimpanzee treks for you too, and is an all-around friendly, approachable guy. This man went to every local establishment in the Buhoma area to find ice, because I twisted my knee on my gorilla trek. Then he did it again to ensure I could treat my injury properly. Then he provided a separate, less taxing birding option for me while I was injured. And on our last day, he made sure our lunch was local fare so we’d have a Ugandan dining experience to end our tour. Everyone on our tour loved this guide! Truly, I can’t recommend him enough. Brazil Birding Pantanal is fantastic. Especially if you’re focusing on the Pantanal and Cerrado, this company is more than capable of providing an exceptional experience. Giuliano was a great, experienced guide and (like most of the local guides) handled all the logistics. The lodges got progressively more comfortable, the birds were great, and few critters are more impressive than the jaguar. That cat has swagger. Hawaii If you’re going to Hawai’i (The Big Island, specifically), and you don’t want to dedicate yourself to weeks of birding among the islands… you can at least see honeycreepers with Jack Jeffrey. He knows all the history of the refuge where native honeycreepers can be found, is super communicative, and has surprisingly good rates for day tours. Our one-day trip to Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge is definitely the best one-day birding tour I’ve experienced. Other Options… and Related Warnings There are also wildlife trip options from luxury companies to the big group travel companies like gadventures and Intrepid. Now, anyone could possibly provide a quality African safari or Galapagos adventure without being a died in the wool wildlife tour company… so I’m not saying you can’t use those companies. But seriously, if you’re a birder? Don’t use those companies. You will not focus on birds. They’ll probably point out hummingbird gardens and hornbills and cranes. Ya know, the flashy stuff. But you won’t be actively seeking them out. You won’t know when to look for specific birds you’ll never have a chance to see again. If you do go with those companies and really want to see a lot of birds, speak up and make your interests known to any guides! You won’t see as much as a birding tour, but you might mitigate your losses a little bit. If you want culture with a very specific wildlife thing (i.e., gorilla trek), then tours with these companies are likely just fine. I used Intrepid before for a cultural trip and had a great time! I’ve also met fellow travelers who also had great wildlife tours with Intrepid, although – again- tours were not specifically aimed at birding. Bird’s the Word If you want to really focus on seeing all the wildlife, especially if birding is the purpose of your trip… Bite the bullet, pay extra, and get a bird guide who is going to do everything in their power to make sure you SEE. the. DANG. GHARIAL. That’s what great guides do. At least the ones at Rockjumper. (And that’s why I keep using them for my tours!) Note: As I was reminded many times in India, gharial are not birds. But if you pick the right tour, you can get wildlife along with birds. If you pick the right guide, they’ll be accommodating when you’re obsessed with crocodiles. Happy birding!

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An Amazon Ecolodge Experience at Rio Cristalino

distractedbirder — Sat, 26 Jun 2021 18:41:07 +0000

Brazil is a great wildlife destination. But it’s also a huge country with an overwhelming number of possible birding destinations – from coastal Atlantic forests and cerrado to cloud forests and the Pantanal. But despite all the options, it’s almost impossible to skip the rain forests of the Amazon River, especially when the itinerary includes a comfortable Amazon ecolodge like Cristalino Jungle Lodge. My trip to Brazil was a packaged tour with Rockjumper Birding Tours. I spent ten days traveling through the Pantanal and the cerrado habitats north of Cuiaba. But they also offered an option to extend the tour, adding a 4-night/5-day excursion to the Amazon. So although my stay was part of a larger birding tour package, but anyone could independently book a stay at Cristalino Jungle Lodge. Like most (similarly remote) Amazon ecolodges, stays will include transportation, full board, and at least some of the offered activities. On the River The airport in Alta Floresta is a tiny affair, basically a single large room where a crowd of people impatiently wait to retrieve their luggage. But highlighted on the wall is a large photographic display of birds, which is a reassuring sign that we’ve come to the right place! And, more importantly, it is an indication of how important the bird life here is to local tourism. I’m not sure if the birds win in the prime-time economic battle raging in Brazil and through the rain forests of South America (i.e., conservation vs. cattle production). Optimism is difficult after years of new reports about raging wildfires (exacerbated by deforestation and agricultural interests). But it’s safe to say I am, and will always remain, on Team Bird. Join us, we have macaws. The lodge provides a one-hour shuttle from the airport, through landscapes that aren’t terribly notable aside from the occasional nice bird. And nice birds are, of course, what we came for. This is not an hour of city traffic, though. We’re driving through back country until the road ends, and down a few steps there are boats waiting to finish the journey. I feel like I’m at the lodge as soon as I step on a boat. Even a slow journey down the river, watching for birds and other wildlife, seems filled with potential. And, as it turned out, our boat journey was an eventful one: neotropical otters swimming along the banks, fancy razor-billed curassow standing by the water’s edge, and the most adorable tapir trying to enjoy its bath. We didn’t chase the tapir away or anything dramatic, of course. Birding and wildlife tours try to maintain ethical distances to reduce disturbance. But if I were trying to have a relaxing bath and a boatful of people passed by, I might appreciate them moving along without taking so many photos, thanks so much. Eventually we reached the dock of our lodge – what should have been a 30 minute ride taking a bit longer, because birders tend to slow things down. It’s just how we operate. Perhaps being on the water just always feel like an adventure, or maybe I just enjoy the reduced chances of being attacked by biting insects. Whatever the reason, being boated to a destination will always seem like a bonus adventure, an extra amenity. And it certainly trumps being dumped off at a hotel by a busy shuttle van. This is just a fact! Hit the Trails Once at the lodge, we have an additional four days to do whatever we like. In our case, that means a lot of birding… Heading to a full-board eco-lodge is a bit different with a birding tour. We travel with a group guide, but the lodge also provides a guide for any included activities. So on this particular part of our itinerary, we often had two guides. The benefit, though, is pretty obvious – two guides is always better than one! When we had to split the group into separate boats, each boat could always have a guide. We explored a number of trails nearby, and several would require a quick boat trip to access the trailhead. One trailhead led to a canopy tower that was a bit quiet but gave distant views of a several new species. This canopy tower was tall, which provides an unobstructed view of the forest but also puts you well above the trees. Towers like this are a good opportunity to see birds and wildlife, although close shots (for photographers) are less likely when the platform is so far from the trees. But does it matter? Toucans, cotingas, araçari, and tanagers – distant or not, there are some great birds to spot up here! And boating to a further location led us to a site where I got an (unsatisfactory) first look at an umbrellabird! One of the more memorable experiences of our stay was our return to the lodge, because we were boating in the dark as rain threatened. Passengers were given ponchos to hide under, and it turned out that it wasn’t to stay dry. Oh no, it was to protect us from the clouds of insects we’d encounter along the way. It was… somewhat disturbing, honestly, but I’m really thankful for those ponchos! A few trails are accessed directly from the grounds, even just behind the main hall. They provided good early morning birding before breakfast, no boat ride required There’s even a canopy tower in this area, but the better birding were on the trails nearby, which produced a good number of antbirds and their allies. Antbirds, antwrens, antshrikes… no kidding, the birds in South America are eating loads of ants. Many of them bit me, including army ants. So maybe I’m still bitter (I am), but I really think all these birds could be doing a better job of maintaining the place. Get it together, antbirds! BirdGeeking Out One afternoon, we chose to visit a bird blind. This is probably not a typical activity for the average visitor, but one that holds appeal for the most avid birders: a quest for the rare and elusive ground cuckoo. For once, I am being utterly serious when referring to something “rare and elusive“. Boy, these ground cuckoos are the stuff of South American birdy legend, from what I can tell. And this one is the scaled ground-cuckoo. It might be a species endemic to the Tapajos River (the tributary of the Amazon where Cristalino is situated). Or it might be a subspecies of the rufous-vented ground cuckoo. Whichever it is, it is certainly not a bird I’d seen before, so let’s just call the great genetics debate an entirely moot point. Birders want to see ground cuckoos! So the four most enthusiastic of our group went to spend hours sitting at a bird blind. Just waiting. And the waiting is done quietly. With as little movement as possible. No swatting at flies, no reacting to mosquitos. Channel your inner boulder, folks. No one wants to be that guy, the insufferable twit who scared off one of the most eagerly anticipated birds in South America. The ground cuckoos often follow swarms of army ants (or other disruptive foragers, like peccaries) through the understory, so their appearance is based upon the movement of the ants. It is not something that can be well-predicted. Dedication and repeated attempts will probably help the odds of success. And so we waited, hoping to hear the approach of a pair of foraging ground cuckoos, as the light dwindled. And finally, we gave up. After seeing a few pretty cool birds at the feeders but exactly zero ground cuckoos. Perhaps not the desired result, but it was certainly an “authentic” birding experience! The Lodge Cristalino Jungle Lodge provides comfortable rooms, nice facilities, and a private preserve for exploring the forests. There is a primary facility complex that includes the dining room. There are also small staff offices, as well as plenty of outdoor seating and a meeting space with recessed seating. They’ve kept the atmosphere of the natural environment, but nothing seems “rustic”. Everything is clean and comfortable. And there’s plenty of lighting where it’s needed but none where it’s excessive. The dining hall here is really the best part of a stay at Cristalino Jungle Lodge. The food is quite good. The cocktails, if you partake, are great. They provide a nice selection of breakfast options. And Brazil or not, an aversion to beef is not problematic here. The dinner buffets offered a rotating selection of options (including desserts) that generally kept everyone content, if not overfed. Also, they will serve fresh fruit juice upon request, made to taste. Full disclosure: I asked for passionfruit juice every day. Fuller disclosure: And a caipirinha most nights. The juice is included, the cocktails are an additional cost. Both are worth it. The Rooms Sleeping quarters are found in separate buildings just a short walk from the main hall. The superior rooms are generous. Everything feels new. The bathrooms are large and include a great shower. The sleeping areas feel large enough, even with a twin sleeping configuration. The ceilings are high and there is plenty of light, helping the space seem larger. Of the five lodges visited in Brazil, these rooms seemed average to large when only considering size. However, the bathrooms here were easily best of them all and the room itself certainly felt more upscale. Oh, and there’s a floating dock. It provides access to the river or a quiet place to relax by the water. Various chairs are provided for anyone wanting the company of a good book, such as Birds of Brazil. The Greatest Amenity: Naturalist Guides The services of a naturalist guide are provided by the lodge for each activity. This is what makes a stay at a full-service ecolodge really special. I might love a nice bed and fancy shower, but there would not be a facility here at all if not for the pristine wilderness surrounding it. The guides transform that wilderness from “nice hotel grounds” to an educational – and possibly inspirational – experience. Because many people visit these ecolodges independently, the provided lodge guide is an excellent resource. The guides at the ecolodge have often worked there for years and are familiar with the local fauna, flora, and the best places to find them. They’re trained naturalists, and their knowledge usually includes all flora and fauna. You needn’t exclusively focus on birds! The lodge guides can provide hikes on a variety of trails. Naturalist-guided hikes are available to all guests, as are the canopy towers, and there’s even the chance to add canoeing activities during a stay at Cristalino. And if you have special interests (e.g., butterflies, photographys), an ecolodge might be able to provide a guide most suited to those pursuits if arranged in advance. Getting There To visit the Cristalino Jungle Lodge, you’ll need to schedule a domestic flight to Alta Floresta. Blue airlines provides service to Alta Floresta in Brazil. Some more “accessible” ecolodge options might exist, particularly in larger cities (with more flights) like Manaus. Not all will provide the same natural, remote atmosphere and non-touristic experience, though! A trip to an ecolodge in the Amazon River basin of Brazil will likely require a domestic flight once in Brazil, regardless of the specific lodge visited. The Lodge provides transportation directly from the airport, including a van shuttle to the river and then small motorized boats to finish the trip. Return shuttles to the Alta Floresta airport are also provided. The total time of the shuttle service should be about 90 minutes, each way. And that’s the beauty of most of these remote ecolodges. Transportation to and from the facility is often arranged for you and included in the price of your stay. No language barriers to deter you. No logistics to sort out. They’ve got you covered. Beyond Cristalino The Amazon flows across the continent from the Andes to the east coast of Brazil. Tributaries extending north and south of...

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