"I grew up in Calgary and I
got used to seeing the fronts of the Rocky Mountains along the western horizon,
beckoning me." That's how I began my last story,
but then I proceeded to go on about the prairies. This time I want to talk
about the mountains. The mountains have always held a deep fascination
for me and I am preparing for a hiking trip-of -a-lifetime that will take me
across the Canadian Rocky Mountains, from east to west. Over the next year or
so I will share the preparations, obstacles, technologies utilized and the story
of my journey.
Childhood Dreams
My father
did something when I was five years old that changed the lives of everyone in
my family. He moved us from England to Canada and took a job in the oil
business. I have heard Calgary called a "prairie town" many times,
but to me that isn't what makes Calgary the city that it is. It is the close
proximity to the Rocky Mountains from which it derives its fame. Being
immigrants in a new land, both my parents were interested in exploring their
new surroundings and the mountains were both close-by and novel. 
We made
trips to nearby Banff and Canmore. Waterton Lakes National Park soon became one
of our favorites. I remember enjoying the many day hikes that we embarked on,
but I would find the low-level hikes to be a bit disappointing. The hoodoos near Canmore, the "paint
pots" in Kootenay National Park, Crandall Lake in Waterton and the
inevitable Johnston Canyon in Banff were all enjoyable walks, but I did
find them to be a bit of a yawn... It wasn't until we took a family trip to
Banff and beautiful Moraine Lake that I "got it".
I can
remember exactly when it was that I fell in love with the mountains. That day
we did a popular hike called "Larch Valley" which took us up into the
subalpine and alpine zones above the forested valley. The unusual alpine larches
were just some of the unfamiliar living things which inhabited this alien
landscape. The sounds of marmots whistling form the scree slopes and the pikas
scurrying about collecting vegetation, the sight of open meadows with rivulets
of water, small tarns among the limestone boulders reflecting the blue sky and the
sight of hanging glaciers across the valley all contributed to my growing sense
of euphoria at every turn. I could see the switchback trail climbing to a high
alpine pass (Sentinel Pass) and I wanted to push on, but my parents (perhaps
wisely) said that it was getting late in the day and that it was further than
it looked. I remember that feeling of disappointment, but when I became a young man I was able to
go further - across those passes and into the high windswept places of my
imagination. 
My childhood
dreams of the savannah of Africa, the rainforests of South America, the Gobi
desert and sailing the oceans were replaced by a new, more plausible dream - one
of the Rocky Mountains. This was a dream I could see every day. Whether I was
driving, going to school or building high rises in Calgary's downtown core, I
could look to the west and see those limestone peaks. I got to know all of
their names and where they were situated. I spent hours perusing topographic
maps and reading guides. I did as much hiking as I could afford , but it never
seemed enough. When I met my wife, we spent much of our free time exploring the
Rockies (mostly in nearby Kananaskis Country). We have enjoyed the beautiful
locations and many adventures that have happened along the way. This summer we
will return to both the Kananaskis and Waterton regions. For me, it will be
part of my preparations for a bigger adventure next summer.
I am definitely closer to the end
of my hiking career than the beginning, so I have resolved to make this one
last journey.
The plan is to complete a hike from the eastern front of our Canadian Rocky
Mountains, through the Front Ranges of Alberta and across the Great Divide.
Then I will cross the magnificent Main Ranges of British Columbia. The finish
will include a traverse of one of the less traveled Western Ranges and in to
the Rocky Mountain Trench, ending at the banks of the Columbia River. I have
the route planned, after many winter nights pouring over maps and playing with
Google Earth. I won't go into the details, but it comprises the absolute
minimum of front-country road bashes and contains several classic hikes.
Somebody mentioned that there is a bike path that I could take across the Rockies,
but that doesn't interest me in the least. It isn't about me or saying I made
the journey. it is about the journey itself and the places I hope to see. It is about the mountains.
