Canadian Rockies | Stoness Travel Blog

Mountain Driving

Mountains provide great scenery, and camping, but it’s necessary to drive up and down them with our RVs. Mountains keep us on our toes. Some mountains are more of a challenge than others, but any hilly road deserves respect. Those who are accustomed to steep hills and

Decsending Grand Mesa, Colorado — Descending Grand Mesa, Colorado

crooked roads know that there is a different set of rules in force than the one you use on the flatlands.

It takes power to climb. When you are buying a travel trailer, make sure that you’ve selected a tow vehicle that is

matched to the load. Be aware that sometimes vehicle dealers do not always know all the answers, or perhaps they just want to move a vehicle that’s sat too long on the lot. If you’re preparing to buy, then do research, research, research. Ask questions, and don’t accept partial unsatisfactory answers. And this goes both for tow vehicles, and trailers, or motorhomes.

You don’t want to be the one hauling a massive 5th wheel on the highway when your truck’s manual says that the load is too big. Yes, it may pull it, but the heavy RV is more than the frame, springing, tires, and brakes were designed to handle.

Make sure that you have a transmission cooler. A car or truck’s oil can get very hot under a constant heavy load such as a long climb. Not too long ago, I climbed to over 10,000 feet in 2^nd gear. It was a 16 mile grind, yet there was no overheating.

It’s always a shocker when you start to loose speed. Sometimes the road does not appear to be climbing very steeply, and you start to wonder if there is some problem. Be prepared to shift to a lower gear, then just climb the mountain and enjoy it. Look at the beauty of the place and learn to love the mountains. There may be sometimes 10-20 mile per hour curves, and if you are going up be

prepared for what follows, and that may be a steep climb. Just be prepared for the fact that you are not going to win any speed records. Be courteous to faster cars and on straight stretches move over to the right a little so the one behind can see past you. Most will pass. It will be easy for them, unless you are the type that speeds up and won’t let them past. And of course we know that no RVer would do that. It’s a black mark against our whole RVing family.

Many people are frightened of descending. When it’s time to come down, gear back. Drive down hills as if you have something to save other than time. You have, you know, your life, and that of your family’s. On some grades, even low gear will not hold you back. You are going to have to use your brakes. Avoid using them steadily. Let the speed build up a bit, and then slow it down with your brakes. This way you can get some cooling of the brakes in between applications.

If you a driving a motorhome with a car in tow, use a system like the Brake Buddy to apply the brakes in the car. A four thousand pound car can push you pretty good, not only on steep hills, but also when traffic conditions force you to stop quickly, and will certainly help your motorhome brakes heat up, and also wear more rapidly. Inspect your trailer brakes before beginning your vacation, and make sure they are pulling evenly. Now, go out and enjoy the trip.

Happy RVing!

For more than four decades James Stoness has travelled the roads of North America, photographing and writing about what he has seen. His travel articles and beautiful pictures have been published in several magazines and newspapers. He is also the author of five western novels. Visit him at StonessRvTravel.com

11 Reasons That Make Canada’s Rockies so Appealing

A visit to the Canadian Rockies is a dream for many people, here and abroad. But what is it that the Rockies have to offer that makes them so alluring? Is it only the striking scenery, or other attractions?

1- The Canadian Rockies are not particularly high as big mountains but they are spectacular. Mount Robson tops them all at 12,972 feet. Its massive rocky structure, bare, and glacier laden, stands more than 7,000 feet above the pass and thousands of people view the barren crags as they pass through British Columbia’s Mount Robson Provincial Park by train, or on the highway. Visitors arrive at the park to enjoy activity. Some wish to scale the steep mountain’s cliffs, some will hike the many trails to higher meadows and viewpoints. Many will relax in its shadow at a campground, or perhaps throw a fish line to a hungry fish lurking in some nearby waters. At this park you will not likely go home without having seen some of the many deer, or bears.

2-   Just next door to the east is Jasper National Park. One of the more secluded attractions here is Maligne Lake. This 22 kilometre long lake is edged by tall white capped mountains, a fact attested to by the many people who have taken a ride in the available tour boat. Others take their own water craft and enjoy the silence of being alone, and may stop at one of the campgrounds… a long trip with weather to look out for.
3-   The Banff-Jasper Icefield Parkway’s 230 kilometres is a five star spectacular. Winding between high snow clad mountains, and occasionally rising up and over a pass, this highway has some of the best scenery on the continent.
4-   Still in Jasper NP is the outstanding Athabasca Falls which drops 23 metres into a narrow gorge. The entire flow of the Athabasca River disappears into the ravine with a tremendous roar. Canada’s early explorer, David Thompson, tried navigating the Athabasca River hoping to find a route to the Pacific Ocean way back in 1810.
5-   Continue south along the Endless Chain Ridge, a long sedimentary ridge that has swung from the horizontal, upward, as if hinged along one side.
6-   The Columbia Icefield has become a necessary stop. The Icefields are the remnants of the great icesheet that once covered this part of Canada. Ten thousand years of a warming climate have removed thousands of metres of ice leaving us with what is now visible. When earlier explorers came here the icefield reached across the valley where the road is now. You can expect the that the ice will retreat more quickly now. Over 10,000 years the suns’s energy was used to melt vast quantities of ice. Now many thousand cubic kilometres of ice are gone, and the sun’s energy will now be used to heat the earth and the air. Sounds like a good reason for the earth warming. If you take a ride in the large people movers you get a chance to ride out on the ice in safety.
7-   Along the Parkway expect to see many basins containing small lakes, often a beautiful turquoise colour, reflecting the image of a nearby mountain. Peyto Lake has a short hiking trail that takes you to a perfect viewpoint.

8-   Now the jewel of the Rockies. Banff Townsite is the main attraction for thousands of visitors to the Rockies. This small town is wedged between the mountains, yet contains fine lodging, good food, and numerous trinket shops. You may also find a few elk just loafing about. Good camping above the town, too.
9-   The often photographed Banff Springs Hotel is a great place to visit, and stay.
10-   Lake Moraine and the Valley of the Ten Peaks can provide one of the best places to visit for mountain scenery, and great hiking up to Larch Valley and nearby Wenkchemna Pass. The lower area is now too crowded but is still beautiful, but you can get away by yourself by taking one of the hikes.
11-   Is there anyone who does not know about Lake Louise? It’s the fabulous blue/green lake backdropped by a massive mountain. Again, so many people go here in season that you should likely try to avoid it, and save it for off seasons.
This is a short list of the many attractions in the Canadian Rocky Mountain region. If you drive the Icefield Parkway, I suggest you turn around and do it from the other direction. The scenery will look totally different to you. Twice the enjoyment for you.

For more details and maps download my Scenic Trails book, CANADA: Beyond the Far Horizons.
For more than four decades James Stoness has travelled the roads of North America, photographing and writing about what he has seen. His travel articles and beautiful pictures have been published in several magazines and newspapers. He is also the author of five western novels. Visit his website at: www.stonesstravelguides.com

Experience the Canadian Rockies With Via Rail

The mountains of Jasper National Park attract visitors from all around the world. In fact you will meet dozens of rental motorhomes in the mountains of Western Canada, mostly driven by Europeans.

Jasper's Mountain Scenery — Jasper’s Mountain Scenery

Recently Sylvia and I drove our motorhome from Ontario to British Columbia, and stayed a while in Jasper NP. We camped at a Jasper Campground and planned something different. We decided to take a Via Train from Jasper to Vancouver. My wife has always wondered about taking the Via Train across Canada, and this was just a sample piece of such a long trip.

Jasper's Heritage Station — Jasper’s Heritage Station

Visitors to Jasper remark on the presence of many trains. You don’t have to be a rail fan to appreciate some of the very long freight trains that pass through. They also take an interest in the beautiful passenger terminal. The Jasper Heritage Railway Station, built in 1926, is enhanced by the stone wall created from round rocks, possibly stream bed rocks. The roof is steeply slanted and broken up with dormers. The steepness should help reduce snow load in heavy snow winters. Inside the wooden interior you will find the information desk and rows of seats where you can wait for your train to arrive.

There is the flutter of excitement when the long, sleek silver cars glide to a stop in front of the station. With the grey mountains as a backdrop, it’s a precursor of the quality of scenery yet to come.

Soon the station has quietly dissolved into the distance and as we head west we are watching the green cloaked mountains rise rapidly from the railway until their snowcapped peaks stand starkly remote against a deep blue sky. Nearer to the edge of track white birch stands are mixed with the dark green evergreens of the forest.
It’s nice to be able to watch the scenery for a change, and not the traffic while someone else does the driving. As we carve our way through the cuts in solid rock we hear the squeal of the wheels scrubbing on the rails on the curves. If you are lucky to get a seat in the dome car at the rear of the train you have a perfect view into the distance.

We found the service perfect. The crew worked hard to be sure that everyone was comfortable. Too soon, it seemed, night fell across the mountains and we crawled into our bunks. In the morning the scenery had changed for the worse. The

mountains were not close anymore and there was a long run into Vancouver showing back yards and industrial areas.
It was a great trip, in spite of the Vancouver ending. Hope to do it again, someday, going the other way.