Category: Hiking

Rewards…for the working and the waiting

Posted on by lindaskelton

The reward for a long trudge UP is a splendid view of Banff and surrounds from Sulphur Mountain’s summit… AND a free Gondola ride down!

  

The reward for getting out after work to put in some skiing miles is…

Fresh air, scenery, and endorphins!

And the reward for getting out of bed before the sun, is getting to watch the valley wake up:

With all this loveliness, why does my soul begin to hanker for spring to show in earnest?  Why do I tire of black and white beauty and want splendor of another sort? I don’t know.  I suspect it’s because we were made for more.  And one day it’s coming, but for now I walk nearby determined to find the picturesque in the now…

 and determined to be grateful.

I return with a budding branch from a burn pile, in hopes that it will yet show color.  We shall see. 

And I’ve bought a primrose this week to cheer us on in the great wait…

In the  meantime, welcome COLOR and beauty catch my eye in unexpected places…

 

 

[Mimi Robinson’s LOCAL COLOR watercolor book]

And I am thankful ( :

The wait will be worth it!

–LS

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy—And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory—For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

Jude 1:24 ESV; I Pet.5:4 ESV; Rom 8:18 KJV; Rom 8:19 ESV

A snowy tromp-about just for fun…

Posted on by lindaskelton

We had a happy tromp about at Bow Valley Provincial Park–perfect pastime for a Sunday afternoon…

The wind was fierce, the ice thick on Middle Lake, and the wild swans on the Bow River picturesque…

 

  

If we must have cold, let it also be picturesque!

This was also the week of our first official cross-country ski outing (not including the backyard warm-ups of last week!).  It was hard slogging up Morraine Lake Road in Lake Louise but the downhill return, with scenic stops to boot, made it all worthwhile!

And the new week dawned with a lovely sunrise…

His mercies are new every morning!

 –LS

God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.
For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength.

Job 37:5-6 KJV

 

As Autumn creeps over the landscape

Posted on by lindaskelton

We have largely neglected exploring K-country, as the region between us and the Calgary kids is called.  But one evening we took a little stroll and were pleasantly surprised with this view of the Kananaskis River–

I’ve been reading Wendell Berry’s nostalgic memoir of Jayber Crow, local barber of the fictitious town of Port William, Kentucky.  The presence and imagery of the river running through it figures largely in his story so these pictures seem just right for a bit of setting ( :  for an old man’s musings…

Now I have had most of the life I am going to have, and I can see what it has been. I can remember those early years when it seemed to me I was cut completely adrift, and times when, looking back at earlier times, it seemed I had been wandering in the dark woods of error. But now it looks to me as though I was following a path that was laid out for me, unbroken, and maybe even as straight as possible, from one end to the other, and I have this feeling, which never leaves me anymore, that I have been led. I will leave you to judge the truth of that for yourself…p.66

Some more of our ramblings that evening:

I’m fascinated at the variety of ways things go to seed!

I snapped this picture on another lovely evening stroll in town along the river…

One morning I said ‘yes’ to an invite to go walking.  My friend appeared at the door with a big backpack and I realized this was going to be more than a little stroll!  We checked out the Highline Trail just behind and above our house.  Fancy that, it’s been here all this time and I’ve never followed it for more than 10 minutes…  We followed it for 2 1/2 miles before turning back, disappointed that there had been no view, but glad for the chance to visit.

Our latest discovery is the trails that climb to Grotto summit on the other side of the highway–what’s known as the ‘sunny side’ because at this time of year the sun begins to neglect our side and leave us in the shadow of the mountains all day long for the rest of the winter, until spring comes round again ) :

We look across at the sun shining on these slopes and long to be there. So Sunday afternoon we finally got around to going over there to see what it is like!

The tallest tree in the center of this picture marks roughly the location of our home at the bottom of the Three Sisters.

And back home again… fading pinks invite the last of the season’s moths

 

and our resident squirrel perches on my new bike rack one morning, as though joining us for breakfast!

And those are our latest out and abouts in the Bow Valley. Next time, I hope to feature a road trip and some light glinting off a familiar ocean strait if we’re lucky enough to find sunshine on the Coast!

Till then,

LS

This is what the LORD says– your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea. Isaiah 48:17-18

[oh, and if you’d like to sample some more of Jayber Crow stop by my Quotes and Notes blog (https://dictationbydawn.wordpress.com) where I’m posting weekly snippets. This gentle soul is coming alive to a group of us who are reading and discussing together at Living our Days    (https://michelemorin.wordpress.com/) on Thursdays.]