mountains | Stoness Travel Blog

The Ever Striking Blue Ridge Parkway

If you enjoy mountain driving you will be in your element driving the Blue Ridge Parkway from Virginia through North Carolina. The parkway is essentially a mountain crest highway joining peak to peak through the long Appalachian chain of mountains. This means there will be a lot of climbing up the side of one mountain, and descending the other side for over 469 miles.

However, if the weather is good, it will be 469 miles of forests during the climbs, and tremendous panoramic views from the mountain tops. Mostly it will be necessary to use the lay-bys to see the valley sights. Years ago the forests had been cut and it was easy to see across the countryside below as you drove. Now the trees are maturing and are too high to see over.

The road is generally in good shape, but some sections are grown in to the point where you have to keep away from the edges or suffer scratches from limbs. It is necessary to watch for branches above as well or endanger your air conditioner if you have a high RV. There is a section of road at the southern end that has three tunnels too low for many RV’s.
There are several excellent campgrounds without hookups so it’s a good opportunity to try out your RV’s self containment features. One drawback is the use of noisy generators. Although there are new quiet generators on the market, many people insist of using the cheaper, noisy variety, thus ruining the camping experience for those around them.
In the spring miles and miles of beautiful rhododendrons line the route and these along with the other spring flowers make it a terrific drive. In the fall the leaves and mountain ash berries provide another colourful time to make the trip.

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

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

8 Solid Reasons to Ride the Rocky Mountaineeer

I don’t require many reasons to go for a ride on a train. However, I think that these are some very good reasons to hop onto the Rocky Mountaineer, sit back and enjoy some of the finest scenic views, while being treated royally by the staff.

1- This privately owned luxury train has thrilled over two million guests since 1990. Travellers pass the Western Canada Rocky mountains which contain some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.

2- First Passage to the West stops in Banff, Canada’s wonderful town right in the heart of the towering monarchs that make up the Canadian Rockies. It then quietly slips over the pass and down through the world legendary Spiral Tunnels, a fantastic spiral that will see the train follow a figure eight partially inside the mountains as the tracks fight for

elevation, while at the same time avoiding a steep grade. Because of the history of the CPR effort to build the first track, I found this a great chance to be right where the action had taken place. From there on it’s just mile after mile of great mountain views, dashing rivers, and avalanche sheds.

3- The Journey Through the Clouds route can see you in Jasper, hub town of Jasper National Park. As you travel west you climb up along eye catching blue lakes, little whistle stops, and past enormous Mt. Robson, which is the highest peak around that part of the Rockies. We pass by the ramparts and waterfalls of Wells Grey Provincial Park eventually follow the edge of the Fraser River. As you approach Hells Gate you get ready for a spectacle. The canyon walls come closer together squeezing the river into a turbulent torrent. Original explorer, Simon Fraser, wrote of the difficulty his crew had in finding a portage, and following it around the impassable section of river. You can imagine how

hard this would have been when you view the amount of blasting required to create the railway. In fact about 100 years after Simon Fraser’s passage, a railway company blasted the side of the canyon into the water virtually blocking it to the passage of the Pacific Salmon. It took the building of fish ladders to allow the salmon to bypass the worst of the rubble, yet generations of salmon were doomed to never be born.

4- The Rainforest to Gold Rush tour goes north from Vancouver with absolutely great views of the Pacific Ocean as you pass along the backyards of some really nice homes. This is a little different bit of mountain scenery, with ocean on one side and the mountains soaring upward on the other. Soon it reaches the ski centre, Whistler, known the world over for great snow and long runs. It climbs over the coastal range and descends to reach

Quesnel. Then it circles in a big loop around forested mountains before heading to Jasper, in Jasper National Park, passing by Mount Robson.

5- Rocky Mountaineer provides packages of tours, some taking several days so you can travel slowly, and see places like Banff, at your leisure.

6- You can combine a rail tour with a fantastic luxury cruise to Alaska. If you are looking for an escape from the office, you can book into one of their more extensive trips, approximately two weeks, that will take you from the heart of the Canadian Rockies, to Seattle by rail, and north to Alaska by ship.

7- There are three levels of service, but I highly recommend the GoldLeaf Service which

puts you on top of the world in the Dome car, with unsurpassed views of the passing scenery. Later, you will slip down the stairs to the lower level, where you will sit down to beautifully prepared meals and dine in luxury!

8- The company can help you with arrangements for rental cars, extra hotel nights, and flight arrangements from your home town.