Back in Edmonton

Haha, well, back in Edmonton after hiking in Waterton National Park. Beautiful park, lots of crisp clear lakes and thundering waterfalls to see. The first day we hiked to Bertha Lake, which was a steep 2 hour hike on a foggy day, and we met up with Lori and Phil (my godmother) on the trail. Ended up going a bit ahead to the lake in front of Mom and Dad, then they missed me and went around the lake. We ended up yelling at each other from across the lake. :P Nice little hike, if a bit steep.

Next day we went to Crypt Lake. Started out kind of chilly, but the fog burned off by 11. Haha, we left kind of late from Cardston, and took 12 minutes to drive a 1/2 hour drive! ^^;; Well, to get to the trail head, you have to take a ferry across the lake, and it's quite pretty in the morning as the sun rises across Lake Waterton.

Once at the trailhead, we started up a series of switchbacks in the forest, kind of rainforesty (moist and lots of vegetation). As you get up in altitude the vegetation clears up a bit. The flowers along the side were quite cute (Indian paintbrush, wild purple daisies and bellflowers, some alpine lavender and lots of others I didn't recognize). About 2.4 km in there's a detour to Twin Falls, but we decided to go on the way back (more on that later). The vegetation then disappears completely as you emerge out of the forest onto the talus slopes, kind of like gravel mixed with brush. There's a small waterfall (more like rapids) you have to cross, then a steep series of switchbacks all the way to nearly the top of the mountain. Grassy patches would be growing sideways from the cliffs! Some cedar and pine trees growing sideways as well. Very hot, as it's called Hell's Roaring Valley/Canyon. This is due to the heat, and the sound of the distant Burnt Rock Falls, a thin stream that drops nearly 50 feet off the lip of a cliff of reddish rock. This section was about 3 km (felt like it anyways).

A little further on you can see Crypt Falls in the distance, so you know there's not that much farther to go. After passing by the falls and a little green lake (well, little from that high up), you go back into the forest and a little further on find the Crypt Lake campground. This has been closed due to bears being attracted by garbage left behind by campers. We sat and ate lunch before heading on to the last 800 metres. Crossing a small glacial stream, we go back onto the rocky face of the mountain (more talus slopes, yay), and there was a teeny tiny path with loose rock everywhere. Think of a typical sidewalk, and then imagine that instead of the road, there was a steep drop. That was the last 800 metres. :P There was a 10 foot ladder you had to climb to get to a tunnel, and 20 metres of crouching-crawling through it until you emerged on the other side. After that, there was an even narrower path (sometimes only enough for one foot to fit on) where a cable was attached to the mountain for extra support. Don't look down!! Eventually it widened up and you left the cliffs for a wooded glen of pine and aspen. The trail led down to an intersection where you could go visit the underground source of Crypt Falls, which tumbles over 100 feet down the side of the cliffs, or turn left and walk the final 80 feet to the ultimate goal, Crypt Lake.

You don't really expect a lake on top of a mountain, so Crypt Lake kind of sneaks up on you. The last 10 feet is through trees, and then you emerge onto the rocky shores of the bluest, clearest lake you've ever seen. It's surrounded on three sides by steep mountains, and the eastern shore (opposite to the entrance) is on the Canada-US border. The mountain range is enough of a border guard though. The waters are kind of blue at the shoreline, then merge into green further out; at spots you can almost see a rainbow-like shimmer. There are glacial ice shelves every so often and it's really odd to see snow in the hottest part of the day. I waded out into the lake to cool my feet and the water was COLD. Tried skipping rocks and got one to go 10 times. :) Lots of people just resting and sunbathing.

On the way back, was really stupid and tried to make it for the 4 o'clock ferry. Went ahead of Mom and Dad, kind of half-ran half-walked down the mountain. The rocky slopes were okay, I took more care there, but in the forest I figured it was easier so let loose a bit. Bad idea. I hit a rock with my left foot and it stayed while my knee went forward and to the right. Took a tumble, landed on my right side and got scraped up pretty well. The left knee hurt, but I figured it for a twist so dressed my wounds on the other side and continued to hobble on. Lots of people who I passed and passed me by on the trail before M&D caught up offered to help, but there wasn't much they could do I thought. Deerflies and blackflies were attracted by the blood, so a miserable swarm gathered as I continued on. Mom and Dad caught up with me about 1/2 hour later, where Dad taped up the left knee and they lent me their walking sticks for support. It took us another hour or so to get back to the trailhead, around 4:45 (We made it up in 4:20, and down in 3:05). Dad figured there was blood in the joint due to the massive swelling, but I still held on to the belief that it was just sprained. Got onto the 5:30 ferry back and left immediately for the motel in Cardston, where wounds were dressed and the knee was taped up more firmly (thank God for Physios!).

The next day, went to the Cardston walk-in clinic and they referred me to the hospital for X-rays, a full-leg splint, crutches, and strong anti-inflammatories. Well, the X-rays showed that I had fractured the top-front corner of my tibia (tibial plateau for the medical minded)! Luckily it wasn't displaced, so there was no need for a cast. Still don't know if ligaments/tendons are damaged, as there's too much swelling. Well, 6-8 weeks to heal the bone and longer than that for the ligaments if they're torn, maybe 6 months. Crap.

We drove back to Edmonton that day, passing through Lethbridge on the way to see the Japanese gardens (very meditation-inducing), and got back around midnight. That was Tuesday August 3rd. The day after, M&D started a 2 day cleaning streak and completely stocked me up with a month's worth of food, re-organized my living space, and helped me run around the University. They left today and all in all it doesn't seem too bad, I'm well prepared for the next month or so. Crutches are a pain, but at least I'm mobile. Need to find someone to drive me (or call a cab) to the hospital on Monday, where I'll find out if I need surgery (or at least arthroscopy).

Well, getting tired (full-leg splint makes it so I need to elevate my leg to get the circulation going up again) so will sign off here.

cheers, Ange