Last year we made a giant loop of some of Canada’s best National Parks and got a brief taste of each. We loved it so much that we did it again this year, for the same week, with a slightly different itinerary. This time we went further north, spending the majority of our time in Jasper National Park, with plenty of stops on the way there and back.
I am not a Pacific Northwest or Washington native, but I moved here for the mountains and have done a fair bit of exploring with well over 100 hikes ranging form easy to a couple of Washington’s volcanoes. These are my picks for the best!
First off, this is absolutely not the way to see these parks! That said, this was an amazing trip and an incredible way to spend a week. We live within driving distance (although quite a long drive) so we decided to make a big loop to get a taste of each. People come from all over the world to visit Banff and a good number visit Jasper, but very few give them all a shot. Now we can’t wait to go back! This was our one week tasting journey.
This one day itinerary has a great mix of activities and sights. The Icefield Parkway has infinite options and enough variety to suit most nature lovers. From hardcore climbing and mountaineering to stunning roadside lookouts and gentle turquoise lake paddling, it has it all! Everything on this itinerary is also dog friendly too!
With our Grand Canyon trip I did a decent amount of reading but also had the impression that I have been to enough of this part of the country and enough National Parks that I knew what I was doing. I was wrong! Here is my list of lessons learned and things you should know if you are planning a trip, with a bit of our adventure mixed in.
Of the couple hundred miles we hiked in 2020 only 10 of those miles were without our pup. Washington is home to three incredible National Parks and several other recreation areas that prohibit dogs, but there is so much more! These are some of my top picks for dog friendly hikes without sacrificing the views.
The right supplies and gear can make all the difference between an enjoyable outing, a miserable slog, or even a dangerous situation. I’m one of those people who always agonizes over what I forgot so I feel better when I have a list.
This trek combined agrarian culture and rugged wild beauty with the comfort of a bed and a hot meal at every stop. It is one of those places where you never know when you might find a chicken under the dining room table, have a child eat off your plate, or see a man carrying a grown woman in a basket supported by his forehead.
A little over a year ago much of this area was ravaged by fire, but now the rains have come and life has returned full force in a dramatic way. While these areas are often baked brown, we had the privilege to witness the hills in green and golden splendor. Walking through the hills surrounded by wildflowers that were often taller than us and watching butterflies flit about was magical.
The Salkantay Trek is an amazing way to get to Machu Picchu. This trek takes you from the majesty of glacial snow capped mountains to the tropics within a few days and the view of Machu Picchu at sunrise is unforgettable.