Sunday, June 07, 2026

Day 2 - Lakes, Canyon, and Tunnel Mountain

if you want it, you can get it
if you feel it, you should let it
Got To Be Mine - Vulfmon & Evangeline

Day 2 day tour started just as late as the day before so I had plenty of time in the morning. This time I decided to go a bit expensive for breakfast and ate at a more expensive place. Chose blueberries pancakes and it came in 4 stacks and each pancake was very big. I made the mistake of just pouring all the maple syrup I got on them and ended up having to ask for more syrup and was a bit shocked when I found out they charged 2 dollars for this :( That being said, I think the whole thing especially considering the portion (which I couldn't finish) was cheaper if compared to Singapore. In Singapore the portion would be smaller and would be just as expensive or may even cost more :( The waiter did ask if I wanted to pack the remaining to go which I didn't. He also acknowledged the portion was big and said I did good tackling it, but I do not feel good about wasting food, ever. It's not so much about the money but the idea of throwing good food in the garbage, that doesn't sit well with me. Anyways, after breakfast I went back to my room and still had enough time to relax before going to the meeting point for the day tour I was going to take; it was at the same place and time as the day before. The weather was getting sunnier, I didn't recall any more snow falling.

First stop was the viewpoint for Castle Mountain. Day 2 was perhaps the day I started to realize there are many mountains all around. I don't know what the mountain range is in the second picture below, but it's also from the same viewpoint.

Next was Emerald Lake which was not frozen. The emerald-like colour of the water is interesting. I saw a number of people taking the canoe out on the lake. I think it would be fun exploring the lake that way, but I also know I most probably will not have the stamina to explore far and would need to rely on someone stronger for this. As for I did there, I actually walked a bit to that part by the lake where there was still snow, but I didn't explore much of the area or further than that.

Then it was off to the Natural Bridge which was not very big or high, but I still found it rather interesting. The river is the Kicking Horse River and here also the green colour of the water is pretty nice.

The Emerald Lake and the Natural Bridge are in Yoho National Park which is is British Columbia (see their other pictures here), while the rest of the places I've explored and were going to explore that day are in Banff National Park which is in Alberta. The next place on the list was Lake Louise which looked a bit different from the day before. The frozen lake was thawing so it's not completely covered in white.

Lunch break was in the village center and I remember as we're about to leave I felt something like a drizzle, but it wasn't. It's like a really tiny snow ball which was different than the snow I've experienced thus far because they didn't melt when it landed on my hand. I need a lesson on snow and their types. Anyways, the last stop of the day was Johnston Canyon. A bit of disappointment here because I thought we would have time to visit both the lower and upper falls but we didn't. I made it to the lower falls, but the queue of people waiting to pass the tunnel to get closer to the viewpoint wasn't really moving when I was there, so I didn't do it :(

We were back in Banff quite early, I think around 4:30 PM. I thought since there's plenty of daylight left, why not go hike up Tunnel Mountain. Took a bus to the town center and it was quite a walk to the starting of the trail and I kept on checking the map to make sure I was going in the correct direction, but then I realized there's two Spanish speaking girls walking in front of me and I think they're going the same way and so I just followed them. They led the way to the lower trail. This trail actually ends in a road where you continue on up. Some people with cars were parking at this road so they didn't even have to do the lower trail. I'm just gonna say this hike wasn't easy though the Internet said it is. I had to stop a lot because I just couldn't. The two girls were way ahead of me that I didn't see them anymore and there's also a couple who passed me. There was quite a stretch where I was alone and that's kinda nice. For some reason, the thought of giving up never entered my head, but I did check the map often (thank God there's still signal) to see how far I was from the end. The trail was looking like this and I was thinking yeah, doing it on a snowing and wet day wouldn't be a good idea.

Towards the end of the trail, you get a view of Mount Rundle and the Bow River. The trail itself ends with the two red chairs. Actually there's some more rocky area you can explore here but I didn't linger long. I was feeling a drizzle but then it was the tiny snow balls again. On the top there were still some snow on the ground. Anyways, it took me longer than expected to get up there and it was time to go.

On my way back to the town, I saw these deers just munching grass near people's homes. They were so relaxed and minding their own business. I wonder where they stay, do they go up the mountain?

For dinner that day I chose ramen. Apparently the place is quite popular. When I arrived, there's a girl waiting and then her friend came and we chatted a bit. They were Canadians and very friendly. It was their second attempt on this ramen because the line was very long when they tried the other day. They're quite interested on learning that I live in Singapore but darn I am not a good promoter of Singapore. It's kinda bad because I have to admit Singapore gives a me a lot, truly life changing, but I guess the struggles here hold a lot space in my head and heart that they're what I think of when I think of Singapore. Anyways, ramen was good. I kinda forget which one I chose, but it was interesting that the chashu was chopped into smaller pieces. When I left, the queue for the ramen was really long, so I was glad that my wait wasn't that long. It was a good day, the weather was good, and it was very interesting to see mountains all around Banff.

:) eKa @ 9:10:00 PM •