Day 2 - Banff - Jasper - Valemount Lodge
Our journey today takes along one of the most spectacular highways
in North America, the spectacular Icefield parkway, past Crowfoot
Glacier, Bow Lake and the mammoth Columbia Icefield, with the
citadel-like peaks of the Canadian Rockies looming above, graced
eith glacial lakes, tumbling glaciers and spectacular waterfalls.
We travel through Jasper and Mount Robson Provincial Park
to arrive at the exclusive Valemount Lodge... Upon arrival we
are greeted by the lodge manager, outfitted with boots, day packs,
rain gear, etc., and settle into our rooms.
After a helicopter safety talk, we climb in and soar up
for an afternoon of getting acquainted with the High Country.
In the late afternoon, our chopper picks us up and it's back to
the lodge where delicious hors d'oeuvres are served in the lounge.
Our casual gourmet dinner, served family style, will be at 7:00
(save room for the pastry chef's latest inspiration). Then some
camaraderie by the fire, maybe a sauna or whirlpool, and a great
night's sleep. (CB,L,D)
Day 3 & 4 - Heli-hike or Just Relax!
You might want to join the optional morning stretch,
or sleep a little later. A hardy buffet breakfast is served
before our full day of heli-hiking begins! The first
helicopter leaves with a flight into the Cariboos that takes
us to a range of personality-rich glaciers, emerald lakes, airy
mountain ridges and soft fields of wildflowers. We'll have a
picnic lunch at a particularly winsome spot or on special days
enjoy a barbecue lunch surrounded by spectacular utterly unspoiled
high country landscapes.
When Jo Ann Taylor, founder of the Walking Connection, first
arrived at the Valemount Lodge she had an overwhelming sense
of this is a place to stay for a few days and just RELAX. Your
choice sit back and relax on the beautiful porch or spend another
day hiking as you please! The lodge is all ours to do what we
want!
Now, we hope this web page makes it clear not only that the
landscapes in which we spend our days are knock-down, world-class
gorgeous and varied, but that there is probably no other place
on earth where you can experience such wildness and solitude
without lugging a 40-pound backpack.
So, message delivered! Great hiking, picnicking,
a little learning about glacial landscapes and their hardy life-forms,
and lots of fun accomplished, we fly back at day's end to the
lodge for (depending on our mood) maybe a massage, a browse
in the lodge shop, a game of chess, a go at the lodge climbing
wall, a cocktail on the deck as alpen-glow bathes the peaks
we've been communing with, dinner, storytelling in the living
room, and another great night's sleep. (B,L,D)
Day 5 - Banff or Calgary Airport
After breakfast we board a deluxe motor coach and
retrace the journey along the Icefield parkway. You will have
the chloice of being dropped off in Banff or the Calgary Airport
(B.L)
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OR EXTEND
YOUR STAY!
Post-Tour Banff & Lake Louise Optional
Extension
August 2 & 3, 2008
From $798.00 per person, dbl. occ.
August 2 - Arrive in Banff at your
convenience and check in tou our centrally located Banff Hotel
August 3 - Meet after breakfast
for our transfer to Lake Louise for a moderate hike to the Lake
Agnes Tea House. (Or enjoy an optional walk along Lake Louise
on your own.) We'll arrive at the Chateau Lake Louise in time
for a bountiful lunch buffet. Following Lunch we will transfer
to Morraine Lake where we will meander along a trail along this
forested vivid blue lake.
August 4 - Enjoy the day on your
own before meeting arriving guests for a beautiful walk followed
by a welcome dinner.
Please note that the details of this itinerary are subject to
change. Many of the planned activities are organized according
to appropriate weather conditions and the discretions of the hosts,
lodge managers or mountain guides. We make every effort to provide
the experience described in the above itinerary with the understanding
that some things may change.
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