One year and still happily hikin'

The one firm plan we had made before leaving Madison en route to Alaska was to stay at Brewster's Shadow Lake Lodge (outside of the town of Banff) for our 1-year wedding anniversary celebration.

On Saturday August 22nd we hiked to this historic lodge which is about 13 km (or about 9 miles) from the Redearth Creek trailhead in Banff National Park. Although some reviews claimed the hike in was boring, to our mid-western acclimated eyes the trees and mountains were invigorating.

One of our favorite things about Shadow Lake Lodge is the afternoon tea - freshly baked scones, delicious cheeses, and all you can drink tea served from 3-5pm. Perfect to recover from all the calories burned during a day of hiking.


We spent our anniversary on a beautiful 8 mile hike from the lodge over Gibbon Pass to Twin Lakes and back. Splendid.









That evening we set our alarm for 12am to see the stars which were amazing (sorry, no pictures). On the 24th we got up extra early to check out sunrise above the mountains surrounding Shadow Lake. The ground was frosty and there was beautiful mist rising off the lake as the mountains turned shades of scarlet.

After 2 glorious nights we reluctantly hiked back down to Banff for the evening, but not before we were given a proper farewell by a moose grazing in the river near our cabins as we were packing our bags. Back in Banff we took a stroll to Bow Falls and soaked in the hot springs before driving to Yoho National Park.

Perhaps we're starting to get a hang of this 'vacation' thing.