#Kananaskis camping

[vintagecamping]

High on a hill overlooking the jade green Kananaskis dam and mountains.

Alberta, Canada

1954

[immersetravel]

Top 3 Backcountry Camping Trips for Beginners

There’s something about backcountry camping that is so different from frontcountry. Maybe it’s the sense of accomplishment from completing the trek in, or maybe the comadarie of the other backpackers on the trail. I think it is something about being alone in nature, far from the bustle of the city or the noise of cars and trucks. Regardless, it is a magical experience that I wish every camper…

[beyondtherhetoric]

#5DadsGoWild 2022 in Kananaskis Country

Were you following along with our #5DadsGoWild 2022 adventures in Kananaskis last weekend? Here's a summary with highlights, including a tour of our campsite.

As part of one of his recent “new words” videos over on Instagram, “Social Dad” James Smith shared the term “bromeopathic medicine.” The idea is that when you’re feeling a little down, hanging out with your “bros” can offer a therapeutic effect and help you feel better. It’s perhaps only fitting that the whole idea behind the annual #5DadsGoWild camping trip started with James in the first place.…

[jasper-dracona]

I went to a summer camp that was focused on horseback riding through the mountains of kananaskis when I was younger.

And what a beautiful experience that was. Gorgeous mountains and calming lakes, splashing around the base of a small waterfall with new friends. Sitting by that lake and having my mind go quiet all on it’s own for the first time in my life as I focus on the sound of the birds around me.

Clear skies and trail songs and simple but satisfying meals after long days in the sun. Even in the cold rain it’s incredible.

And the horses, incredible animals. So full of personality, and many of them so sweetly patient with us kids. Patient as we learned to get them to lift their hooves for picking, as we struggled to get their buckets of grain feed hooked up for them to eat before a ride. Patient as we learned how to hoist their big heavy saddles onto their backs, blankets and pads and all, when their shoulders lied above our own. I always revelled in that feeling of sheer strength and competence, to get that big construction of leather and metal all the way up there.

And I loved the smell of the barn, with all the saddles on their posts, the blankets placed on top to air out between rides. It smelled like effort and wood and leather and I loved it. When I couldn’t go take out the hay to the feeders with the others because I started to get hives from it, I volunteered to sweep the barn. I was in there for what felt like eternity, practically meditating. Quietly getting to know every odd nook and crevice of this rugged place, surrounded by that handsome air.

And the next day I went back into that barn with satisfaction, proudly hoisted up my horse’s saddle and marched over to his post, ready for another day on trail. But instead we did some movement exercises before we left, to work on control and critique the way we hold our reins.

They had us walk our horse forward into a small circle of pylons, turn them around in a tight circle and then walk back out and stop. This was harder than it sounds based on the other campers’ attempts, though all of them did really well on their second go around. But I calmly got up in the saddle, took the reins, and guided my horse in a tight circle without bumping a single pylon or having him step outside them. We nailed it. I kept it cool, but I was soooo… I was so proud of myself and my horse. I felt so skilled and confident in a way I never had before.

And the rugged jeans I wore and all the plaid I brought along. I was not the only one in plaid by far, but I did not wear as many tights as everyone else. And I loved to put on my boots, the ones with just enough heel for the stirrups. And I loved doing up the straps of the saddle as carefully but efficiently as I could.

I loved the mountain views and the beauty and joy of the freshwater, I loved feeling rugged, I loved feeling competent and worked, I loved the smell of the summer air and the sweat and leather and wood of the barn. I loved to get the dust out of my horse’s coat in the morning with that big thick brush with hard smooth strokes and a flick.

That camp made me feel more like a man than I knew. I wish I could’ve revelled in it the way I would now. I wish I had volunteered to chop the wood like I had wanted. But I did always carry the most logs back to our campfire, and filled with pride when I looked at the light red marks on my forearms from the scraping bark.

Now, if only I liked hats.

[mike-gdmbr-2024]

Day 4: Kananaskis Lake, AB -> Blue Lake, BC!

July 14, 2024

A milestone day! Dad did his first Great Divide crossing at Elk Pass, which is steep and has sections of mandatory hike-a-bike, and in doing so crossed out of Alberta and into British Columbia!

He must have been feeling good because he kept going — about 40 miles and 3k' of climbing in total on the day.

No photos today but he's made camp for the night with some folks from Auburn, California, just down the interstate from myself.

I think he's done well to set himself up nicely for a well deserved day in town tomorrow. He's 13 miles from Elkford, BC, the first town on the route and it's mostly downhill from his campsite.

[sharmmmy]

20240628 - Forget Me Not Pond - Kananaskis, AB

It's been a while, I wish I could go and see nature more often. I want to go on hikes and camping. It would be nice if I can start learning rock climbing as well. Been postponing to learn it due to maaaany reasons. Hopefully this year I can at least start learning it. And by the time I get my car, I would be confident and prepared on doing it.

I went with my younger brother and my co-worker. It was a quick trip after work. At first we thought it's just us because we haven't seen them. The weather's not so good either so we were thinking no one will come. Until we saw Sydney and her Vietnamese friend. It's so cool that Sydney still goes to these meetups even though she's preggy. We walked around and look for oht spot. When we found one, me and Josh went to roam around.

We crossed the waters to get in this spot. I took off my shoes and socks, Josh did as well. It is so freaking cold!! Walking on the rocks was painful as well but my feet dried so fast. We piled up some stones, it was hard because it keeps falling. I guess my balance is bad. When I saw Josh's it looks good but mine looks so bad hahaha

When we went back, others have arrived and setup the table. Each of us bought food to share. I have met new people but I barely talked to them. I don't remember their names aside from the Filos. Rose was the organizer and she came with her boyfriend, Kevin. Rose bought her paddleboard too! Joana and Lola her cute puppy. Then, 2 white girls.

Ohh, and I saw a deer!! Also, there's a lot of birds! Josh have enjoyed feeding them with bits of tacos. We were accompanied by a sneaky squirrel who's so comfy and joined us eating! Hahaha.

Me, Josh and 1 white girl were busy learning how to paddle. It should be easier for me because I skate but it was so scary! When it was my turn, I tried to stand and circled around the pond. I just looked down and clenched my feet in the paddleboard. I'm so worried that I might fall and I got dizzy when I lifted my head. The pond is so deep and I haven't put on the lifejacket! Crazy!!! The white girl asked me how did I do. I told her to just sit down hahaha cos it's less scary. We took turns and when I went back I just sit down and enjoyed paddling and the scenery.

It was fun and relaxing, but I wished I spent it with my family, friends and with Dylan.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

Mitch Sago

"The train trip to Hull was long and tiresome. The older of the two officers wondered if we should be handcuffed during the station stops along the way, but the idea was abandoned. At one point during the trip I shared a seat with an RAF officer who had been in training in the west and was returning to England. After I'd made a couple of trips to the washroom at the end of the car, he asked me if I was aware that one of the Mounties always followed me. I told him that I was and explained the situation. He was deeply shocked and said that in his country people like us were either in the armed forces or working in production. He could not, for the life of him, understand what was wrong with Canada where people like us were locked up and denied a chance to serve their country. 

We arrived at Hull jail some time near midnight. We were brought to the office of the camp commandant, who was waiting for us. He looked the typical officer of the British Imperial Army, in which he had served at one time. His uniform was impeccable, riding boots polished to a fault. He could have been a movie stereotype. He paced up and down for a moment as Tom and I watched in silence.

Finally he picked up the detention papers on his desk and asked Tom McEwen his name. When Tom told him, the commandant looked annoyed and asked for his real, Russian name. He found it hard to accept the fact that a Communist had a Scottish name. After Tom repeated his name a few times, the commandant told him that it really didn't matter since he would henceforth be known and addressed as H4.

After giving the commandant my name (its foreign sound vindicated his backward theories), he advised that I would be known as H5. I was numb with fatigue and my first impulse was to tell him to shove it. Instead I told him I had a name and would continue to answer to it. He replied that I would behave according to the rules, or else. It was obvious that we were not going to see eye to eye on this, or any other, issue.

We were then escorted down the corridor to the heavy metal door of the prison inside. We heard voices lifted in song on the other side of the steel door. It was a song I had never heard before, and it moved me to tears. These were our friends and colleagues singing the Kananaskis song, a Canadian adaptation of the stirring song of the German prisoners of fascism-"The Peat Bog Soldiers." The commandant had given our boys permission to stay up and greet us upon our arrival. I remember the crowd of fellows gathered at the door as we entered, the greetings, hugs and handshakes, And I recall one of the boys shouting over the bedlam, "Geez, what took you so long?" It was an unforgettable moment.

The prison camp was a whole new world, gray and claustrophobic. Time was two-dimensional: inside and outside. Inside, each day was confined by stone and steel, barbed wire and bayonets. There was a sense of waste, of suspended animation. Outside, humanity fought for it's life and its future. All of us were garbed in POW uniforms with the red circle on the back of the jackets as insignia and target. We were marked men, prisoners of war, in uniforms decreed by international law. We had consistently opposed the enemies of our country, in return for which we had been imprisoned behind stone and barbed wire.

One of the great burdens of doing time in a concentration camp, in addition to the deep sense of injustice, was the indeterminate nature of the sentence. The question of "how long" had no answer. There was always hope that public opinion and protest would give that answer or that the war would end soon in victory for the allied cause. These were our only two doors to freedom.

Our overriding concern was with the war and the smashing of fascism. This was inseparable from our concern for freedom and our own participation in that struggle. We suffered with news of every setback and cheered with every victory on the battlefields of Europe, Asia and Africa. We urged our countless friends and supportive groups on the outside, by whatever means were open to us, to do all in their power to strengthen the war effort at home and abroad.

This spirit pervaded life in the prison camp. It was expressed in many ways, and in a variety of modest creative ventures. There were the beautiful poems by J.S. Wallace. Joe was already widely known as a great and talented labor poet. A number of his poems on the war against fascism were set to music by Ben Swankey and myself. While in prison he Wrote many others on the theme of man's inhumanity to man and on life in prison. Joe and I became close friends in Hull, and upon my release I took copies of most of his poems to try to arrange for their publication. I arranged for his first book, Night is Ended, to be published by Contemporary Publishers in Winnipeg. It was published in the fall of 1942, with a foreward by Margaret Fairley and an introduction by the poet E.J. Pratt.

The Flame of the Future Our country's young and our army's young.  But we hurl at our foes defiance! For we march as heirs of heroic years, And we march in a world alliance. For we march as heirs of heroic years, And we march in a world alliance. Our hopes are high and our hearts are high, As we march to the final battles! But if die we must, better deathless dust- Then the life-long death of chattels. A people in arms, we fight on as one, The flame of future inside us! While the glorious dead march on ahead, And the women we love beside us. While the glorious dead march on ahead, And the women we love beside us. Hull jail, 1942

A representative of the International Red Cross came to check conditions and to list materials and equipment we could use for recreational and cultural activities. There were many requests by our committee and individuals. I asked for an easel, paints, brushes, paper and canvas for art work, and for a supply of plaster of Paris for a project I had in mind. The commandant assigned the cells on the main deck as studios or workshops for those who needed space. I was one of four or five who accepted the offer.

My first project was to paint a number of posters for the war effort. I had no idea if they would ever be used or even see daylight, but I went ahead anyway. When the commandant saw me working on the first poster, "The Nutcracker," he became excited and asked if he could take it to Ottawa for the consideration of the wartime information people. I told him I would be happy to see it used, or even if it suggested an idea to one of their artists.

The work was slow. After I had completed two more posters and they were sent to Ottawa, I asked Major Greene. the commandant, if I could get photocopies of my work as keepsakes, regardless of what ultimately happened to the posters. He promised to try to arrange it, but nothing came of it. Only after I was released did I find out that two of the I also made poster-size sketches of my family from photographs and mailed them home. I made quite a few for my colleagues from their photos. After many weeks at the easel, I turned my attention to a project with plaster of Paris that became quite popular. I set out to make ash trays modelled on a caricature of Hitler's face. First I made a master copy, which had an elongated open mouth for ashes and cigarette butts; "Butts Here" was lettered on the chin. Ben Swankey and I devised a system of mass production and manufactured hundreds of the Hitler ash trays. Not only did my colleagues take a few to send outside, but hundreds were taken by officers and guards-even by a representative of the Red Cross.

There were two other projects in plaster of Paris that gave me many hours of pleasure, and also many headaches, and which helped occupy the time. I decided to make bookends from a reproduction of two hands that would give the impression of holding a row of books together. I selected a model with hands best suited for the purpose, and from which a plaster mold would be made. On the first attempt, we couldn't remove his hand, which was encased in a box of plaster. As we wrestled with the problem, dinner was announced. The model walked into the dining room with this clumsy box at the end of his arm. There were many good-natured jibes by those seated at the tables. When we got back to the problem at hand, some twelve sets had been made before the forms finally chipped and broke. We added a base and gilded the hands to complete the bookends. They looked attractive and we had many requests for more, but the one-armed diner incident discouraged other models.

The last plaster project was a bas relief mask of a facial profile. I decided to experiment on my own. I used highly refined sand as the base for the mould, and it worked. I mounted the copy on a polished wooden plaque and sent it home. I found out later that it was never displayed at home because my mother saw it as a death mask. I made another bas relief profile of John Navizivsky. He was good-humored about the whole thing, and quite cooperative. He also sent the finished product home to his wife. The detail was remarkable. Some years later, when I met the sculptor in Kiev who was preparing a bust to John's memory, I remember thinking how useful that bas relief might have been.

During this period, when arts and crafts were a feature of life in the prison, a number of fellows turned to woodcraft with surprising results. Painstaking weeks of work went into the production of tea trays and jewellery boxes, with intricate inlays of specially selected pieces of wood. Then came the stains, lacquers, and a high polish that gleamed like glass. Some of the army officers asked if they could buy the finished articles, with offers of $100 to $150 for a beautiful tray or jewellery box. My wife still has the jewellery box that Tom McEwen sent her as a gift.

The climate inside and outside the prison camp changed as time and the war moved forward. Not only did we feel that our release would soon be ordered, but so did the military officers and guards at Hull. Attitudes were changing. This could be seen in the way the guards on duty outside the small compound where prisoners could enjoy the sun would peacefully snooze with their rifles stuck in the ground on their bayonets. We'd wake them up when we saw an officer approaching. Public pressure was mounting for our release. People from every walk of life were demanding an end to the injustice. The first to be released, beginning in the early summer of 1942, were the critically ill. The authorities did not want any of the prisoners dying on their hands. But a number of the sick who were released died shortly after their return home.

A judicial commission was set up to effect the release of anti-fascist internees. The government had already made the political decision to free us. The commission would make it appear that we were released by due process of law. Our legal counsel, J.L. Cohen, advised us to appear before the commission and go through the motions of a formal hearing. This would be a different exercise from the one in Winnipeg a year earlier. That one was a whitewash to justify our internment; this was a formality that would authorize our release."

- William Repka & Kathleen Repka, Dangerous Patriots: Canada's Unknown Prisoners of War. Vancouver: New Star Books, 1982. p. 189-194

[vintagecamping]

On the road to the Rocky Mountain Forest Reserve in the Kananaskis Valley

Alberta, Canada

1954

[immersetravel]

Luxury Backcountry Camping at Big Elbow Campground

Luxury and backcountry are not two words that usually go together, but when camping at the Big Elbow Backcountry site in Kananaskis this summer, it definitely felt luxurious. Backcountry camping takes “roughing it” to another level, with running water, electricity, and civilization out of sight and out of mind. And while Big Elbow does not have these day-to-day luxuries of the city or a serviced…

[college-girl199328]

How a former ski hill in southern Alberta has become an important key to climate study

Virtually every snowflake that falls on Fortress Mountain in the Kananaskis region is recorded and watched. The Centre for Hydrology's Coldwater Laboratory is made up of stations with instruments placed on the ridges, glaciers, valleys, and creeks in the Alberta Rockies.

Data collected and crunched are forming new and more reliable climate prediction models for flood, drought, and water supply forecasting. Nowadays, they are based on physics instead of observations.

This information is becoming increasingly important, Pomeroy said, as a changing climate changes the norm in the mountains. The formulas they develop are complex but have proven robust, he said.

Pomeroy checks in on the lab's stations as much as some of us scroll through Twitter. In the morning, he wants to know what's happening at Bonsai, Fortress Ledge, and Canadian Ridge.

The bones of this former ski hill, Pomeroy said, make the perfect partnership for climate research. Key staff still work on Fortress, taking care of avalanche control and maintaining the road leading to the old-day lodge.

Without those two things, Pomeroy said, researchers wouldn't be able to make it up to their stations that host various experiments. Taking care of these stations is hard work done by research technician Kieran Lehan, who manages 35 hydrometric stations not just on Fortress Mountain but in other parts of Kananaskis and the Icefields Parkway.

Stations and sensors can be difficult to keep operational in rugged terrain and freezing temperatures. A day of checking out all of the stations on Fortress means hopping on a Skidoo with a sled, bringing a bagged lunch from home, and packing some snowshoes in case of deep snow.

There's a lot of ground to cover, and often it's a windy and cold job. If temperatures dip low enough, some stations need to be swapped out. And that's a heavy lift: a camping cooler full of car batteries to be dragged to the site and buried in deep snow as a backup if wind and solar power fail.

Data isn't just collected from the ground. Madison Harasyn is a research technician who pilots drones with various sensors, including light detection and ranging sensors.

Pomeroy has a laundry list of ongoing experiments and research tied to the equipment you see around. The discoveries researchers with the Center for Hydrology and experts from other institutions have made here.

Discoveries like how Kananaskis' tree line is creeping up the Alpine. Trees hold snow in place, but the snow that shrouds the tops of trees and is caught in branches often evaporates into the atmosphere, never making it down the streams as meltwater.

And to keep track of it, look for a tree in the forest that isn't like the others. It has been chopped from its roots and suspended in the air by some metal scaffolding, a pulley, and some wire.

Lehan climbed the system last fall by climbing the tower with a harness. Pointing cameras in various directions so that the site can be watched remotely, he said this helps in case there's something funny going on with the data.

The tree is weighted at 15-minute intervals, and nearby horse watering troughs catch the snow blown from treetops, incorporating that measurement as well.

He said they've learned how avalanches transport snow into lower elevations where nice, slow-melting reservoirs are created. He'll mention one lake in the winter. In the spring, he said, it is full of water that isn't fed by a stream but by groundwater stored inside the mountain.

Discoveries mean more understanding and data to plug into the complex formulas the Coldwater lab develops to create forecasting models and governments.

He said scientists can manage complex calculations quickly.

[stoneycampgrounds-blog]

The Way to Receive the Optimal/optimally Camp-site Feasible For the Loved Ones

Selecting an ideal softball is quite valuable for your own camping expertise. In the event you place camp up while in the inappropriate site your whole trip may turnout to be much about survival compared to comfort and linking with these weather. Planning is equally essential to your camper along with the newcomer alike if picking the gazebo and also a camp site.

 Measure 1:

 Does your own homework. You'll find a lot of on-line resources that let one to achieve that. Establish exactly what type you prefer to keep at. C-all Kananaskis campgrounds and have concerns. Assess costs, location and amenities. Various households have various requirements and requirements. Can you would like your website in order to be near bathroom amenities, drinking water centers and swimming pool, and so forth? Might it be near to your drinking water source which brings a great deal of insects? What's the wi fi relationship? Could there be actually a wi fi relationship? Is there any plenty of bushes? Have you been an hazard or another sort of creature? What diversion can be found? Would be your manicured neighbors silent? Might it be feasible to shift location in the event that you aren't joyful or your own demands aren't achieved? What size is your website? It's better to produce a set of queries, preferences and needs. Read notes also permit time for you to select which campground would be your most appropriate for you.

 Measure Two:

 early bird receives the optimal/optimally camp site. Reserve your own internet site early. As ancient as achievable. Campgrounds may refill pretty quickly, especially within the summertime. Advanced level bookings which can be manufactured as soon as you will probably give you an benefit to having the optimal/optimally site potential. If you're camping throughout winter , a sluggish year or also the campground is still really on a first come first serve basis simply take a stroll throughout the campground, then picking out the good thing that talks for your requirements loudest. Even better, create it a game for your own family members. Children really like to go involved and help .

 Measure 3:

 Arrive early. Even when you get a booked distance that you ought to earn certain you access for your website since you possibly can. In case your internet site ends up may perhaps not be precisely that which you anticipate many luxuries make it possible for one to locate a camp site that's ideal fitted to the own needs provided that they're still empty. In the event you access into a internet site overdue then you will possibly perhaps not possess this alternative. Additionally it's a great notion to prepare camp and receive yourself a wonderful sense of the own surroundings. Consistently require the campground sponsor if there's just a in depth map of this campground readily available.

 Final Notes & Guidelines:

 You are certain to receive good in selecting the optimal/optimally camping web page for time. Exercise and expertise may provide you a exclusive seasoning which it only suitable for your family members.

 Respect wild life and also cure your hosts using gratitude and honor. Never alter your own campsite by detatching any type of vegetation, plants or rocks.

 For those who are in possession of a huge set you may desire to look at friends , should they're readily available. You might constantly make new bookings for longer this you camp site directly close together and on occasion maybe the full location.

[from-macros-to-infinity]

[crochet-rocket]

Hazy sunsets

[splendidlyimperfect]

wanderlust

these are the places you will find me hiding these are the places I will always go ~down in the valley • the head and the heart

[vintagecamping]

Camping high on a hill overlooking the jade green Kananaskis dam and the Rocky Mountains all around. Alberta 1954 

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Two German Prisoners Escape From Western Canada Camp,” The Globe and Mail. February 12, 1941. Page 03. ---- Calgary, Feb. 11 (CP). - Two German prisoners-of-war escaped from a Prairie internment camp at 4 p.m. (7 p.m., E.D.T.) today, military authorities here announced.

Military officials said that the men are Ottomar Grunwalk, 28, and Waldemar Gerhand Arthur Bruggermann.

Officials urged residents of the camp district to watch for the men and not to give assistance or lifts in motor cars to any strangers.

The men were in a working party near the camp and it was not known immediately whether they wore prisoner-of-war uniforms.

They were described as follows:

Ottomar Grunwald, 5 feet 11 inches, age 29, 170 pounds, fresh complexion, blond hair, grey-blue eyes, scar on left forehead, farm laborer by occupation, speaks English.

Waldemar Gerhand Arthur Bruggermann, 5 feet 9 inches, 180 pounds, dark complexion, dark brown hair, greenish eyes, no distinguishing marks; former occupation, sailor; speaks very little English.

If the men are in prisoner-of-war uniform they will be clothed in blue denim trouers with red inserts and a red circle on the back of the blue denim jacket; a red and blue cap.