icefields parkway

Getting High in Canada

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds…

Edward Abbey

O Canada
Why is one part of your country nothing but magnificent snow-capped peaks, glacier carved valleys and glistening blue lakes?
Why do you make it so photogenic and expansive?
Why do you make it so easy to immerse oneself in nature?

A weeklong trip to the heart of the Canadian Rockies near Banff yielded these and many more questions as I worked my way from one scenic location to another. I wish I could go back and check out these rocky monoliths one more time.

Canadian Rockies

Return to Nature

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more”

Nothing connects me with nature more than witnessing an alpine scenery like this one, a boundless vista of mountains, lakes and greenery. Here is to one last whiff before winter takes over this life-giving landscape.

Banff National Park
AB USA

Seeking Light

There are times when light lines up. And when that happens in the mountains, it can lead to an explosion of color like nothing else. And as a photographer, you have to be at the right place at the right time to capture nature's showtime.

I was fortunate to be at the right place to capture this one. The summer days in the Canadian Rockies, during the week I spent exploring the nooks and crannies of the montane terrain, were 16 hour long days filled with vibrant moments like these inbetween long periods of cloudy weather. But these vivid interludes more than made up for the exhausting week in the beautiful Rockies.

Saskatchewan Crossing

AB Canada

Alone in the Rockies II

The meandering river led my gaze through the lush green forests carpeting the seemingly endless range of snow-capped peaks. Clouds passed by slowly, foreshadowing a thunderstorm for the future, but a dramatic sky for the present. The sounds of civilization were far away, and except for a few other hikers, I had seen nary a soul.

Such places hold a special attraction. And despite the challenges of ultra-long days of hiking under unpredictable weather conditions with little company, these few moments of grandeur more than make up for the hardship involved. And the Canadian Rockies, and the remote regions away from the Icefields parkway continue to be a draw for the magical landscapes they present.

Banff National Park
AB Canada

 

A Bend in the River II

As I came across this bend in the river, ensconced in the vibrant coniferous greenery of the Canadian Rockies, I was reminded of another similar bend in the Colorado river near the town of Page, AZ. While the contrast couldn't be more different, there was common thread that connected these two natural wonders, ie, water.

It was water that carved away the deep gorge in the red sandstone layers of the desert Southwest, and it was water that carved away these layers of sedimentary rock of the geologically young Canadian Rockies. While one region was a waterless desert, this one had all the markings of a lush rainforest, signifying the over-abundance of water.

I enjoyed walking in this forest, even as I was getting soaked in the misty rain that was so typical of this breath-taking region of Canada

Banff National Park
AB Canada