My 2016 camping trip in the Canadian Rockies remains one of my very favorites, to date. Angie and Laura were the perfect camping buddies and we are arguably very overdue for a repeat adventure. Having shared many highlights of the trips in individual posts related to specific areas of the parks, I wanted to share an overview of the trip as a whole.

I've written a little more here about the philosophical differences between Parks Canada and the United States' National Parks Service. It may be less a difference in philosophy, as both organizations are conservation-minded (and colonial in their origins...), than a difference in founding philosophies that resulted in the beginnings and genesis of the respective organizations.

The photo above was taken at our Lake Louise campsite in Banff, which gave me the odd feeling like we were living in a Jurassic Park movie. The road leading into the campsite had super-sized cattle-guards, presumably to ward off bears. It was comforting, though, knowing that the campsite as a whole had so many precautions, as I hope to never encounter bears in the backcountry or otherwise. 

Our trusty Jeep rental (this rental experience forever solidified my trust in Enterprise. I always use AutoSlash for booking rental cars, and Enterprise is routinely the least expensive, and in my opinion they have the best customer service. They really helped us out of a scrape when our original rental car with a different company fell through right when we were planning to leave town) and my beloved Marmot tent. I love my tent almost as much as I love my vacuum cleaner (which is a lot) and it has served me well on many a camping trip. During this particular trip in the Rockies, we weathered several nights of heavy rain and thunderstorms, and we stayed snug, dry, and cozy. The Marmot logo on the rain fly is also reflective, so it's easy to spot your tent on a nighttime walk back from the latrine. There are many other thoughtful details I've no need to bore you with in this post, but I will say it once more: my Marmot tent has been a dream, and many other camping buddies who've stayed in it have echoed this sentiment. I bought it on an end-of-season clearance, and I highly recommend you do the same, should you be in the market.

stopping at every scenic overlook, obviously

reading in hammocks—how we spent many a light-filled summer eve, while our dinner cooked.

The scale of the Canadian Rockies was so impressive and massive. I love gaining a more complete perspective of the lay of the land throughout the continent, as I feel it adds to my understanding of the natural history and geology of the area. The glacial valleys running the lengths of the parks were beautiful areas to drive through and admire.

We pulled our best Walk-to-Remember for this iconic and obligatory photo-op at the Continental Divide. We got a few self-timer shots before some kind soul took pity on us.

pigtail braids—my M.O. when camping or spending any amount of time out-of-doors. I've found it's the only foolproof way to prevent my hair from turning into a tangled mess of impossible snarls.

On this hike in Banff, signage along the trailhead advised hiking in groups of at least 4. At certain times (I assume when rangers have issued bear sightings), the trail is closed, or the group-of-4 rule is mandatory and enforced. On this particular day, the rule was not in force, but we joined a darling mom and daughter from Minneapolis, Jessica and Ali, and hiked with them. They were the lovely, like-minded kind of people that I love to meet on outdoor adventures of this sort. And our lively meandering conversation was effective in warding off any bears, as we thankfully saw none.

I cannot ever get over the brilliant turquoise and blues of those glacial lakes. On this particular hike, we ran into a couple of friends of Laura's—WHAT ARE THE ODDS?! We hiked with them for a while and enjoyed the sunshine after so much rain earlier in the week.

fossils and geologic specimen of the Canadian Rockies—my inner childhood-aspirant-geologist was delighted.

Lake Moraine <3 <3 <3 I still feel so lucky that we visited it on two days of perfect beautiful glorious summer, full sunshine sparking those most brilliant of hues.

Peyto Lake

Never one to miss a parks-themed photo-op.

Nanaimo bars—when in Canada.

Don't make me choose a favorite hike in the Cottonwood Canyons—I can't do it. Red Pine Lake was a favorite from several summers ago with Laura and Audrey, the best adventure crew. These photos have me longing for summer sunshine, mountain air, and the smell of sunscreen (I suppose I could have two out of three of those things if I picked up skiing, but... I'll pass. I'm the Lara Jean Covey of the group, who would spend ski trip doing Korean sheet masks instead of the titular activity—doing activities that could clearly result in broken limbs are strictly on my list of personal Don'ts).