I arrived in Waterton in the midafternoon and managed to snag one of the last campsites avaible in the townsite, the other campgrounds were more remote. The campsite was part of the walk-in section and was really tight quarters, more like a refugee camp, however it was walking distance to the town, lake and some good trails and there were free showers always a plus I m y books. I setup camp and then went into town to the local internet café for a bit of blogging, and trip planning. The town itself is like nothing I have seen in a National Park, it had houses, post office, playground lots of restaurants and lodges, even a hostel but was very nicely laid out and did not feel overly touristy. Afterwards I went for a run and really got to appreciate the beauty of the park. This is truly one of the most beautiful places I have been. One of the main reasons is that in this park the plains are abruptly met by the Canadian Rockies. So you have these grassy plains, dotted with wildflowers, beautiful lakes, and Rocky Mountains in all directions. Really amazing, I got some great photos, but it has to be seen first-hand. Back at camp while making dinner I met Anker and his son Adam from Vancouver. Adam was on summer break from Queen’s university in Kingston Ontario and he and his father were on a 2 week motorcycle trip around BC, Alberta, Montana and Washington. They were taking mostly dirt roads when they could, and carrying all there camping gear on their bikes. They were telling me about some of their previous trips, one they even drove all the way down the Baha peninsula Anker was getting ready to retire and was truly interested in finding out more about my trip, so the 3 of us walked into town for a beer. It’s always nice to meet good people while traveling, and that is definitely one of the advantages to travelling alone. You are usually more approachable, and I find it easier to strike up conversations with random strangers.
The next day, I woke up early and hiked up to Bertha Lake, it’s a very popular hike, but I was the first one up there that morning, so it was really peaceful. It’s about 4 mile hike up to the lake, and you pass a few huge waterfalls along the way, but that was not my final goal. I wanted to scramble up to the top of Bertha Peak, that sat behind the lake. The peak sits at just under 8000ft. At the end of the trail I had to bush wack for a few hundred feet to get to the steeper less vegetated part of the slope, I was then able to follow a dry creek bed / waterfall most of the way up. The rocks were typical of the Canadian Rockies and were very crumbly and kept breaking away in my hands, it makes the climbing a bit unnerving but most of the time I was not exposed very much. Eventually I reached the ridgeline and then had to walk about ½ mile uphill to the summit. Waterton is known for the strong winds that often blow through the area. Most of the way up I was experiencing these winds, although it the weather was clear and warm, the wind kept on blowing. Then when I reached the summit the wind calmed down and I was able to sit and enjoy my lunch and the view of the surrounding peaks, the townsite below and the lakes surrounding them. It was great, I made my way back down to camp, and then relaxed for most of the afternoon.
The next day after breakfast and a quick stop at the Prince of Wales Hotel, which is the old fancy chalet building on a hill overlooking town I headed out on my way to Montana and Glacier National Park. ON the way I picked up a hitchhiker. She was a woman from France, maybe in her early 30’s, she was heading to another part of Waterton for a short hike and then hitching to Calgary. I decided to join her for her hike and then agreed to give her ride to the highway where we would part ways. I found out that she has been travelling around North America for 5 months alone, and hitching the entire time. She usually bandit camps (meaning she camps in the woods and does not pay for campsites). She often ends up travelling with people that have picked her up. She had been through California, Arizona, New Mexico, down to Florida, then up the east coast and eventually to Montreal and then across Canada to where I met her. She was on her way to Alaska and then flying back to France. I inquired as to what she did for work, she explained that she was a teacher, but not a school teacher. She taught people to dance, mime, and be a clown! She really was a free spirit and one of the more interesting people I have met on my trip. I know some of you think it’s cazy to pick up hitch hikers, but I have had to do it my self on this trip, so I decided then that I would pick up any hitch hikers that I passed, that did not look like they were going to kill me. I’ve picked up at least 4 total on this trip, most for only short rides. This was my first time picking up a woman though, and definitely the most interesting. We parted ways and I headed south to Montana and Glacier National Park.
Photo Album: FTF Day 156-157
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