Canadian Rockies and Vancouver road trip gear

Thanks for the astro tips Jerry - will def give it a go! I don't have a remote shutter so will use a 10sec timer. Oh and yep will post pics here when back - hopefully get one or two that are worth posting!

larsbc - great list there. Kicking Horse is on my list as we head West. We are from London and love Chinese food so will def try to visit Chinatown ... though we're vegetarian so will do some research first. No issues re: parking as I'll drop the rental car as soon as we arrive in Vancouver and will be on foot. We're staying at the Blue Horizon on Robson so central to most things.

Cheers!

p,s FuzzyDice - tee hee - yep you're right! seems almost churlish to have asked. However, on the flip side look at all the top tips I've received here

My goodness! What a spectacular place Alberta is.

Many thanks for all the tips - we had an amazing time and I'm still pinching myself - was it real?
The scale of the place is astonishing ... so many stunning vistas and sunsets, wonderful wildlife, the cacophony of crashing water at the canyons and of course the ethereal blue of those lakes ... all will live with me for a long time.

As promised, I've posted some pics to an album here Canada - Rockies Roadtrip

and my personal three favourite shots being:

1) Sunset at Two Jack Lake

We had wandered around Lake Minnewanka initially looking for a nice spot but then decided to move over to nearby Two Jack Lake. The ND filter came into it's own but I couldn't eliminate all the ripples as the wind picked up.

2) The heart of Maligne Canyon

This heart shaped rock with the mist in the background was so beautiful. We got lucky with the timing of our visit here and this was taken around 10.30 am. When we came back two hours or so later the rock and heart shape was barely visible due to the harsher lighting at the time.

3) Sunrise at Moraine Lake

An insane 2.30 am start to get a parking spot but was so worth it. I was faffing around with the 18-55 but as it was so dark I couldn't determine focus and switched in with 12mm Samyang with infinity focus set manually.

The change in light was something else - from starlight to sunrise ... all magical. This was just before the sun came over to hit the peaks of the mountains and I loved the cotton wool clouds at this point.

Appreciate any tips, advice on pics posted to help me improve - thanks all!

tygertyger wrote:

My goodness! What a spectacular place Alberta is.

Many thanks for all the tips - we had an amazing time and I'm still pinching myself - was it real?
The scale of the place is astonishing ... so many stunning vistas and sunsets, wonderful wildlife, the cacophony of crashing water at the canyons and of course the ethereal blue of those lakes ... all will live with me for a long time.

As promised, I've posted some pics to an album here Canada - Rockies Roadtrip

and my personal three favourite shots being:

1) Sunset at Two Jack Lake

We had wandered around Lake Minnewanka initially looking for a nice spot but then decided to move over to nearby Two Jack Lake. The ND filter came into it's own but I couldn't eliminate all the ripples as the wind picked up.

2) The heart of Maligne Canyon

This heart shaped rock with the mist in the background was so beautiful. We got lucky with the timing of our visit here and this was taken around 10.30 am. When we came back two hours or so later the rock and heart shape was barely visible due to the harsher lighting at the time.

3) Sunrise at Moraine Lake

An insane 2.30 am start to get a parking spot but was so worth it. I was faffing around with the 18-55 but as it was so dark I couldn't determine focus and switched in with 12mm Samyang with infinity focus set manually.

The change in light was something else - from starlight to sunrise ... all magical. This was just before the sun came over to hit the peaks of the mountains and I loved the cotton wool clouds at this point.

Appreciate any tips, advice on pics posted to help me improve - thanks all!

Oh, you have no idea... Okay, well you have some idea as you were there.  😁
The worst thing about it is the ride between Calgary and BC.  That is one scary ride, looking over the edge of the mountains and no rails to even slightly inhibit your fall, should something go wrong.  
The rest is beautiful though, especially as you get into Alberta.

BobsYourUncle wrote:

Not being a native but having visited Canada, mostly in the Rockies and BC, probably 20 times in the last 30 years, these are solid gold recommendations. I can't add much more other than of all the times we've been in the Rockies we have come across very little wildlife.... and that was a very good thing because my wife and I spent many vacations on long hikes. We spotted evidence of bear activity, paw prints, broken brush, tree scratches, etc. One of the few bears we did see was on one of our early trips to Banff. After checking into the Tunnel Mountain Chalet in the evening we went to a convenience store and met a Canadian Park Ranger and asked about bears. His comment was, and this is true, "there are no bears in Banff." Okay, with that reassurance we bought some food and drove back to our chalet. Just as we got out of the car what greeted us was a massive black bear the size of a small compact car within probably 10 feet! We, including the bear, froze as we looked at each other. I immediately told my wife to get back into the car but the door was locked. Just then the bear luckily ran away. After a brief sigh of relief, we were elated. And we adopted our favorite slogan for every future trip...... "There are no bears in Banff!"

Moral of the story..... though we haven't seen much wildlife, you never know when a beast will pop up. Keep that cam handy!

And for Lettermanian... one of our great trips was on the east coast. In Cape Breton, we happened upon a Ceilidh. My wife used to be a competitive Highland Dancer and I volunteered her to do the sword dance. Even have it on an old DV tape.

So you can see, a guy from SoCal really likes Canada. Have a great trip. You are following Jerry Astro who, today is on his way from Jasper to Banff.

Bob

As a native of western Canada who has gone to the Banff/Jasper area more times than I can count, but always willing to go again at the drop of a hat, I wanted to share some tips on encountering bears...

First, as others have mentioned it is wise, when hiking, to carry pepper spray and to have bells attached to your clothing or backpack to make noises as you walk.

Second, it is important to know the difference between black bears and grizzly bears. A park ranger once gave us these tips on knowing the difference by the feces...

-Black bear feces contains berry seeds and smells slightly sweet.

-Grizzly bear feces contains little bells and smells like pepper.

Now you know!

koweb wrote:

BobsYourUncle wrote:

Not being a native but having visited Canada, mostly in the Rockies and BC, probably 20 times in the last 30 years, these are solid gold recommendations. I can't add much more other than of all the times we've been in the Rockies we have come across very little wildlife.... and that was a very good thing because my wife and I spent many vacations on long hikes. We spotted evidence of bear activity, paw prints, broken brush, tree scratches, etc. One of the few bears we did see was on one of our early trips to Banff. After checking into the Tunnel Mountain Chalet in the evening we went to a convenience store and met a Canadian Park Ranger and asked about bears. His comment was, and this is true, "there are no bears in Banff." Okay, with that reassurance we bought some food and drove back to our chalet. Just as we got out of the car what greeted us was a massive black bear the size of a small compact car within probably 10 feet! We, including the bear, froze as we looked at each other. I immediately told my wife to get back into the car but the door was locked. Just then the bear luckily ran away. After a brief sigh of relief, we were elated. And we adopted our favorite slogan for every future trip...... "There are no bears in Banff!"

Moral of the story..... though we haven't seen much wildlife, you never know when a beast will pop up. Keep that cam handy!

And for Lettermanian... one of our great trips was on the east coast. In Cape Breton, we happened upon a Ceilidh. My wife used to be a competitive Highland Dancer and I volunteered her to do the sword dance. Even have it on an old DV tape.

So you can see, a guy from SoCal really likes Canada. Have a great trip. You are following Jerry Astro who, today is on his way from Jasper to Banff.

Bob

As a native of western Canada who has gone to the Banff/Jasper area more times than I can count, but always willing to go again at the drop of a hat, I wanted to share some tips on encountering bears...

First, as others have mentioned it is wise, when hiking, to carry pepper spray and to have bells attached to your clothing or backpack to make noises as you walk.

Second, it is important to know the difference between black bears and grizzly bears. A park ranger once gave us these tips on knowing the difference by the feces...

-Black bear feces contains berry seeds and smells slightly sweet.

-Grizzly bear feces contains little bells and smells like pepper.

Now you know!

That's good.  In Mt. Revelstoke many many years ago I recall watching a Park Service info video about bears.  One "serious" suggestion was when hiking, do so with 5 or more people.  I thought it odd at the time but some studies "at the time" seemed to indicate parties of 5 or more didn't draw a bear's attention for an attack.

As far as your last comment I've always referred to the wearing of bells when hiking as a "dinner bell" for the bears.  🤣🤣

Bob

PS.... With every hike in the rockies my wife was the one wearing the bells and I carried the pepper spray (Bear spray).  AND I am told one of the best ways to avoid a bear attack is to make sure there is always someone with you who is the slower runner. 😁

BobsYourUncle wrote:

That's good. In Mt. Revelstoke many many years ago I recall watching a Park Service info video about bears. One "serious" suggestion was when hiking, do so with 5 or more people. I thought it odd at the time but some studies "at the time" seemed to indicate parties of 5 or more didn't draw a bear's attention for an attack.

As far as your last comment I've always referred to the wearing of bells when hiking as a "dinner bell" for the bears. 🤣🤣

Bob

PS.... With every hike in the rockies my wife was the one wearing the bells and I carried the pepper spray (Bear spray). AND I am told one of the best ways to avoid a bear attack is to make sure there is always someone with you who is the slower runner. 😁

Excellent advice, though finding a slower runner is probably the most challenging thing for me.  My best bet would probably be to travel with someone I'm less fond of who happens to be on crutches.  Realistically, however, these days, hikes in the Rockies would likely be better suited to those in better physical condition (which would probably be a decent percentage of people out there).

Happy to say that we had no bear encounters while recently traveling in the Canadian Rockies.