Originally our plan had been to do some backpacking in Bryce Canyon National Park, however to be completely honest, Nick and I were getting a little weary of being on the road for 2 1/2 weeks and didn't want to feel pressed for time. We decided instead to "take it easy" and do a 6 mile combined hike of Navajo and Peekaboo, two connecting trails looping through the south end of the park. The start of the hike was at the lookout for Sunset Point, and the cloudy weather made for some great views of the canyon. It was a fairly easy hike, minus the climb back out of the canyon at the end. It would have been cool to see the sunset at the lookout point, but we needed to drive to camp at Dave's Hollow, some designated camping spots in the woods just a few miles outside the park. I would sum up our experience at Bryce canyon as very "chill". The park is small and slightly less crowded, but has very different landscape than anywhere else. Hopefully we will return to do some backpacking here in the future.
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Nick has always been a fanatic of the Tiny House movement, even dreaming of living in the wilderness somewhere totally off the grid one day. With my newfound love for AirBnB, I had found a modern tiny home in SLC that was ideally located between West Yellowstone and Bryce Canyon, our next stop. I thought this would be a really fun way to “test” out the feel of a tiny home, and stick with the goal of staying in completely unique places for every stop. I loved the layout and design of this tiny home, and wouldn’t have changed a thing. The only downside to the stay was the home on wheels had to be re-located to an RV park due to zoning laws in the city. What was really cool is that while I was scrolling through facebook, an article had been shared about the home right while we were in it!
tinyhousetalk.com/couples-192-sq-ft-tiny-house-on-wheels/ Following our time in Glacier National Park, Montana, Nick and I were back on the country road with our GPS set on Wyoming. This turned out to be an incredible drive through a remote part of the country with blue skies and open fields. The next stop would involve something we were excited to try out, “glamping” near West Yellowstone. We certainly were not accustomed to this kind of camping, as our usual outdoor recreational experiences tend to be a bit more on the rugged side. There would be a queen sized bed with soft, fluffy sheets and a stove for fire waiting for us, with hot water showers right around the corner. These amenities were totally welcomed after we pulled in around 9 pm, just as the summer sun was setting. Thankfully the receptionist allowed us to have a late checkout the next day so we could relax and enjoy our tent. I would highly recommend this experience to anyone looking for something unique, and has the feel of an amazing campsite already set up and the amenities of a hotel.
I gotta admit, my paranoia levels were pretty high pulling into Glacier National Park. One of the downsides of being the trip planner is the research can at times provide you with more info than you really want to see… Such as the fact that our backpacking trail to Cracker Lake would be in Grizzly Bear country, with a narrow and winding trail and tall bushes on the sides. Sounds like the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack. Then to put the nail in the coffin, when checking in with the park rangers we were required to watch a safety video which reminded us of how to handle to a bear or bobcat attack. Bobcats, eh? Fantastic. Nevertheless, I had booked one of the three campsites on Cracker lake months in advance, even waiting 30 days to find out that we got the site. I wasn’t going to give up without a fight (just hopefully not a literal fight).
The northeast entrance of Glacier National Park was beautiful, and quieter than some of the other parks we've visited. Once on the trail, the first few miles were a bit challenging as it was a muddy horse route that was in fact extremely narrow. Finally the path opened up and the hike became more enjoyable, including the scenery. Another handful of miles later we were in the valley closing in on the turquoise lake. It seemed like we got to the top of at least 5 hills expecting to see the lake before it finally happened, close to sunset. To our surprise we had the entire picturesque lake to ourselves for the night! But it was also windy and freeeeezing plus we were exhausted, so we ate dinner and retired pretty early. The next morning we were able to enjoy better weather and knew the morning hikers wouldn’t arrive for some time, so we took our sweet time soaking it in before packing up. While Nick and I only got to see a glimpse of Glacier National Park, we were extremely impressed with our experience at Cracker Lake. After a peaceful night of post backpacking sleep at the Overlander Lodge (just east of Jasper National Park), we were on the road headed towards our campsite in neighboring Banff National Park. Today wouldn’t be just any commute from one place to the next. The drive itself would be the destination. There was no agenda, only a map of the two parks with suggested stops on the Icefields Parkway. The well known suggested places tended to have hoards of tourists, and we preferred hoards of wildlife and the spontaneity of hopping out of the car whenever we saw something cool. That being said, we did make a quick stop at the popular Peyto lake and Lake Louise before rolling into our Johnston Canyon campsite late that evening. It’s pretty hard to put into words how amazing it was to see such a vast amount of beauty in one day, but I suppose that’s why I cart around my trusty Canon, for proof of just that.
After spending the week working remote from Seattle and a pit stop in Vancouver, two Phoenicians made their way north, deep into Canadian territory. Action plan: to explore as much of Jasper and Banff national parks as possible in a weeks time. But first, a 3 day backpacking trip was in que on the Berg Lake Trail in Mt. Robson Provincial Park. I knew this trail would pack an incredible amount of punch in the 14 mile one way trek, but after seeing heavy wind/rain/potential snow in the forecast there was a moment of panic. After all Nick and I were spoiled Arizonan’s who rarely even faced a sprinkle on our excursions. That being said, it didn’t sit well to skip what appeared to be the most epic backpacking trip on our summer vacation, or ever for that matter. So we tied our boots, put on our rain coats and began our journey to the glacier lake, complete with bear spray (this is bear country after all).
The first notable stop on the hike was the beautifully turquoise Kinney Lake only a few miles in. The weather was still on our side until we began the uphill climb past 3 waterfalls, where we met our first rain and a little snow. At this point, the 2600 ft. elevation gain and the milage had really began to kick our butts. The final blow was at the clearing for Berg lake, where we were kindly met with an icy wind that could knock us right over. We dragged the last few miles to the other end of the lake where the designated campsites were located. Being that we had planned to spend 3 days and 2 nights in the Berg Lake wilderness, when we first stumbled upon the enclosed Hargreaves Shelter we were ECSTATIC. It was so windy and cold that even being outside of our tiny tent for long periods of time was not super enjoyable, so this was a welcome place to rest our feet and cook. On day 2 we hiked up to Toboggan Falls (more elevation!) and the Hargreaves Lake where we were met with both insane views and weather. We returned to the shelter exhausted and wind-burnt, yet happy we got out and explored the area nonetheless. Day 3 came quickly and we loaded up on ibuprofen and made our way back, much quicker than on the way up. According to Nick’s Garmin watch, we clocked in at 42 miles total for the trip. In terms of all we were able to see in one hiking trail, I am left with no choice but to give Canada the new honor of the Hansen’s top backpacking location. It’s official: our first experiences with Airbnb have rapidly turned us into loyal fans. For us Vancouver would only be a resting place between Seattle and Mt. Robson Park, therefore a cozy yet modern place a block from “The Drive” seemed like a good fit. Funny thing is at the time of booking, we were naively unaware it would be Italian Days on The Drive, an event with tons of Italian food vendors and live music which typically draws a crowd of 250,000. Meaning it was crazy busy in the area, but fun to explore and gorge on pizza anyhow. As for our lower level garden space, we loved it! I hope we are able to return to Vancouver someday to really do it justice, and hopefully stay longer here!
Stay at Jason’s place on The Drive: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3829365 A happy Friday, indeed! After working remote for the week, I was ecstatic to officially enter into vacation mode. Hiking at Discovery Park was the perfect way to do so, and spend some quality time with the Choi’s. Nick and I sure are suckers for destination hikes, like climbing to the top of a mountain for a view, going to some remote lake, or in this case a sandy beach with a photo-worthy lighthouse at the end. The hike itself leading to the lighthouse was a fresh hue of green, and of course Nick took the liberty to graze on the berries that were lining the side of the trail. Overall we had a blast on this hike, especially watching the little ones explore the bunnies, crabs, and sandy shore.
Leaving from southern Oregon, there were multiple paths considered for our drive up to Seattle. Head east to Crater Lake and head up through Bend, visit Hood National Forest, go directly to Portland, or drive a portion of the coast which we skipped on our road trip last year (had left the coast in northern Cali). I was pitching the coastal drive with a stop in Portland for dinner to Nick. I thought it would be best to spend the time and make a whole trip out of Crater Lake, Bend and the Hood area. Plus we would be seeing plenty of lakes in the mountains on this particular trip, but no ocean.
Well… being that there was a heat wave in Portland, Nick and I weren’t the only ones heading west to the cooler coast. It turned into an entire days worth of driving, and time ran out for a stop Portland. That being said, the stretch of scenery we were able to enjoy was completely worth it, only wish there would have been more time to actually get out and explore as opposed to painfully slow driving. Soon enough we shall hit up our other Oregon wish lists locations! This little cabin in the woods was a steal, especially considering we had no idea where we’d be staying the night between LA and Seattle at the start of our summer 2016 road trip. Our hope was to stay in as many unique yet cost effective places as possible on our way up to Canada and back down to Phoenix. So when we began to fatigue in northern Cali we went straight to AirBnB hoping to find a spot in southern Oregon (we had already booked some places through AirBnB further along on the trip). As fate would have it, this adorable little cabin was available so we booked instantly.
Our favorite thing about the stay was the solitude and the peaceful river flowing adjacent to the property. Talent is a small town, and we had to drive an extra 10 minutes to get to the location. We enjoyed having dinner outside on the table overlooking the river and left our windows open at night to hear the water flowing. In the morning we did a little exploring down by the river. Our host was actually right next door in the main house but we didn’t see her until we went to thank her in the morning. I would highly recommend this stay for anyone who is spending time in southern Oregon or road tripping like we were! |
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October 2017
AuthorAmber Hansen |