29 JUNE 2003 SUNDAY
amanda and i are at the tunnel mountain campground (site b43) which is up on tunnel mountain’s shoulder above banff townsite. we have quite an awesome view of mt. rundle. we orginally were going to stay in the hostel until thursday, but the campground is much cheaper … ~$112 for four nights with fire as opposed to $72 each night for the hostel. the hostel itself seems pretty much the same since we were here last, tho they did renovate the bathrooms with new wooden doors and paneling and the like for the stalls and showers.
the guy at the front desk asked us when were were checking in, “so, are you two getting married?” he claimed he was using his psychic powers. “i can feel it.”
the last time we were there, the front desk guy asked me if we had been backpacking, and i said “yes” and asked him how he knew. he said, “i can smell you.” harsh! of course, we had been hiking for five straight days in the backcountry (around the sawback range and pulsitilla pass), so perhaps it was not surprising that we were a bit malodorous.
today, we checked out of the hostel and got a site at the campground for four days (the campgound is just down the road from the hostel). we then ate breakfast at coyote grill, which is by far the best place we have found to eat breakfast in banff. i had a veggie frittata and green tea while amanda had berry pancakes and coffee. we then left for our first hike up to the sentinel pass in the valley of the ten peaks. it was gorgeous, but amanda got really sunburned even after slathering herself with 45spf sunblock all day. we were in surprisingly good shape, but the altitude eventually started getting to me, and i started hyperventilating while ascending the pass. after the hike (~5.5 hours), we stopped in lake louise townsite to look for cheap royal gold film, but we failed as the photo place wised up and increased the prices. the small shopping area in lake louise was pretty much the same; although the pizza place we ate at two years ago was gone.
we drove back to banff, got some wine, bread, cheese, and other stuff for dinner (and aloe for amanda) and had a relaxing evening at camp. amanda tried to call karen on my cell phone, bit it didn’t work, so she just used the pay phone by the restrooms to wish her luck on the boards. now, freshly showered, amanda has made a fire; i just killed a mosquito and have blood smeared on my arm.
amanda’s notes:
the fire starting stuff we got at the grocery store is quite stunning as it is able to light four very large logs aflame. the fire is nice and i am already plotting what kinds of yummy dinners we can have with it. i’m drinking cheap red wine out of a styrofoam cup and getting to know the mosquitos a little too well.
our 1st hike today was a success, although i wimped out at the end as usual.
“darren, the other dark meat” think the mosquitos.
we do not know what hike we will do tomorrow. the one today was very nice… “too much for a boy from new jersey” said a man we passed. i reminded him that he was from the garden state.
i called karen to wish her good luck on her boards. i am glad mine are over and i hope we both pass so we never have to worry about them again. i took them less than a week ago, but already it seems like an eternity.
time to brush teeth and the bed, as i am easily tired in my old age.