Canada 2025

Thursday11September

We are leaving Banff to be at the Lake Louise campground tonight, 60 kilometers away. This leaves us plenty of time to make a stop at Johnston Canyon, a must-see in the region. For this short hike along the eponymous river, we equip ourselves with the famous bear repellent... Bear spray works by projecting a cloud of capsaicin, an extremely irritating chili extract, which saturates the animal's sensory organs. By causing temporary but intense discomfort in the eyes and respiratory tract, the spray stops a charge without causing permanent injury.  

Located in the heart of Banff National Park, the Johnston Canyon trail is equipped with steel walkways fixed directly into the cliff walls.

Johnston River.

The upper falls.

Yes, it gets really crowded when you arrive at the waterfalls.

The lower falls.

Again, a very long wait to pass under a natural tunnel and approach the lower falls... Will the wait be worth it?  

Uh, well no, it wasn't worth it... Just behind the tunnel, you see the same thing... We wasted a good hour just for that...    

All that's left for us to do is turn around and retrace our steps to get back to the parking lot.

Lunch break in front of the masterful Castle Mountain and its majestic mineral towers.  

We are already settled into our new spot at the Lake Louise campground.

As in many campgrounds in Banff National Park, if you have paid for the campfire permit, logs are provided. You just need to go and help yourself from the woodpile provided for this purpose.

That's it for us, it should be enough for the next two or three days. However, the regulations in force in Banff National Park state that campfires are not allowed during the curfew, between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. In addition, to prevent fire risks, these fires are strictly prohibited in some campgrounds, which will be the case later in the trip...   But for now, we can fully enjoy the barbecues for our evening dinners!  

Short walk around the campground. Electric fences are installed to minimize encounters between hikers and wildlife, especially grizzly bears...  

The Bow River that we have been following since the beginning of the trip.

Lake Louise is a very small hamlet that serves as an anchor point for exploring, in particular, the large lake of the same name.

This marked trail is the Bow River Loop Trail, also accessible for cross-country skiing in winter.

In the distance, Mount Temple and its snow-capped peak at 3,545 meters above sea level.

Back to the campsite, starting with a little aperitif with Sortilège alcohol, a traditional liqueur combining rye whisky with the sweetness of pure maple syrup. While this alcohol is indeed Canadian, it is not very local since it originates from Quebec.  

And for dinner, it will be little sausages accompanied by small potatoes, all cooked over a wood fire, of course.   It will do us good to build up our strength for tomorrow's big hike to Lake Louise...