Johnston Canyon – Banff National Park

Sharan informed me that we would have the car over the weekend. Since the office rental car was shared between 4 colleagues, we had to wait for our turn to take the car. I suggested that we go to Lake Winniwonka (yes, sounds like it’s from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, isn’t it?). Sharan’s colleague Mujir had suggested Johnston Canyon. We finally decided to take a call after we reach Banff. We initially wanted to go on Saturday – but with all the cooking, cleaning, groceries, etc – the plan didn’t materialize. So it was Sunday, 20th Sep’09.

It was drizzling all the way through making us wonder if we chose the wrong day. It would be a good drive if not anything we agreed. We stopped at Lac De Arc (lake) – the 1st “viewpoint” you see when you approach Rockies/Banff from Calgary. After a couple of quick shots, we left to our next destination – Banff National Park gates to buy a pass. We now have a year around pass – given that we were going so often and with all the promised visits from folks n friends, we thought might as well.

On reaching Banff village we headed to the information centre. The lady said it was beautiful day to hike up the Johnston Canyon. The sun was coming up after all. So we took a map and headed for some breakfast. Once we got done with that as well, we headed to Johnston Canyon. The drive up to the trail was a long one – amidst dense coniferous forests. The sky cleared up and the sun was out in all splendor. With the fall having set in and all shades of green to yellow colors splashed across the place, it was beautiful. One could teach shading and mixing colors to aspiring artists from just here I think.

We finally made it to Johnston Canyon parking lot. Surprised to see that there were lots of hikers there, we started our ascent. The trail itself was well laid with wooden/metal railings on and off. This is something a trekker from India isn’t used to. The trail had the mountain towering on 1 side and the river down the canyon on the other. So sometimes it was great to have the railings after all.

The hikers were accommodating – followed “right of way” even while walking/hiking. Received an occasional “hi there” or “hello” (they got to be Brits – who else would say that in today’s world? But it’s great).

We saw many cascades all along the way. The water was crystal clear – well after seeing all those ads on glacier fed mineral water bottled, we can now say it could be true. In some sections the water was deep blue and in other sections it was turquoise blue – effect of the stones beneath we were once told. But Johnston Canyon has 2 main waterfalls – upper and lower. You hike longer for the upper. It’s also the bigger one. You need to walk through a cave tunnel for the lower one – very exciting. The ice-cold water just sprays at you. It actually is a welcome feeling after the hike for unfit people like us. Though the trail promised, sadly we couldn’t spot any birds except A raven.

We decided not to climb further up to Ink Pots as it would get late. So we headed back to Banff Village for a late lunch (or early dinner). We decided to try the tex-mex restaurant. It was worth it. With yummy fruitless Sangria (yes you get fruitless sangria here), quesadillas and salsa dips, it was a perfect ending to a wonderful day. A good drive, a good hike and good food definitely makes a good Sunday.

More details are available at: http://www.banff.com/hiking/johnston_canyon.shtml

Link to our picture album:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/sredir?uname=akshatakaranth&target=ALBUM&id=5386734871504858417&authkey=Gv1sRgCI-V5KSFlKn9OA&invite=CNvXlscN&feat=email