a Finnish twist: October 2013

Valley of the 7 peaks....? (behind Moraine Lake)

Well, to say that this post has been a long time coming would be an understatement....I have been "planning" to post something since, well, the last time I have posted! Anyways...a lot to say, so I think I will break things down a bit - first a bit about my summer.

Hwy 2 and summer storms (most exciting drive ever!!)

Sunset, city and refineries...the Edmonton skyline

I spent most of this summer sitting in front of a computer feeling guilty about not working on my thesis with actual time working on my thesis falling second behind this. Also, planning a (my) wedding and trying to figure out a life plan (no plan so far) But, I also got out to do one or two adventures with friends and family in the Rockies, but it seems like I can hardly remember what happened now... it all seems like a blur of hot days, thunderstorms, quiet offices, and eating waaay too many fudgesicles!

Nope...not in the office anymore! Up Cirque Peak

Nukka - Our faithful companion (Karina's crazy creature)

Nukka's friends. He was very disappointed that we didn't let him
get any closer to get to know his friends a little better...

Headed toward cirque peak. The classic alpine "hippies on a stick" (Anemone occidentalis seed heads)

At some point in the summer (July??) I took my first adventure down to the Southern Rockies. I met Karina in Calgary and from there we drove to Field, BC where Mom, Dad and Stine were staying. We did a hike just down the Icefields Parkway (Cirque Peak). The morning was cool and there was clearly ice on some of the small lakes and streams, but the alpine meadows were still fantastic, despite some frost damage. It was a good summit on a clear day and we all made it back to the parking lot (the true destination of any adventure). The second day we did a hike behind Moraine Lake up to the BC-Alberta border along a valley. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the alpine valley while watching the long train of hikers in the pass above us get chased down a snow patch by a grizzly bear - seriously. They were not impressed, but it was really entertaining for us because we had never seen such a large group of people descend a mountain that quickly!

My family at their best!

...and now it's time for the next important
activity: eating

smallflowered anemone (Anemone parviflora)

single-flowered delight (Moneses uniflora)

Mountain campion (Silene uralensis). The last of the dwarf
herbs trying to survive in the mountain-top scree (loose rock)

Our next adventure didn't take place until early September...or was it August? Mom and Dad drove through Edmonton and down to Calgary. From Calgary, we did a quick trip down to Kanaskis and did a beautiful ridgewalk above Spray Lakes, right beside a peak named "The Fist." It does look sort of like a clenched hand from some angles, but I think it was just a group of climbers that wanted to come up with a comedic name and it stuck!

Spray lakes

Looking out towards "The Fist"

My final trip to the Rockies before leaving Canada was my mid-September bachelorette party! A group of friends and I got together and rented a cabin in Jasper for a weekend of drinking and debauchery!! ....actually, we just went hiking and relaxed...and almost burned our cabin down (campstove fail on my behalf - I turned the gas on more, instead of turing it off...fuel went everywhere and ignited...but we were outside on a cement surface so it was just embarrassing!!) Karina, Marley and I went for a little hike behind Miette Hotsprings, followed by a soak in the thermal pools - nice! The next day we wandered around Maligne Canyon (very epic and highly recommended), went swimming, had a picnic lunch and enjoyed a fantastic rooftop pizza dinner at sunset! We took the long way home down to Saskatchewan crossing and had some small off-roading adventures along the way. It was a really great weekend with friends - I am SO glad that so many people could make it out!

Bachelorette debauchery (das ist verboten!)

Maligne Canyon :)

Other than those 3 adventures, I did a little summer biathlon training - I learned a lot and shot a few things along the way! I really did try to finish writing my thesis. Some things are really close...other things are just confusing and messy! Butbut...I am really hoping that the next few weeks will see some major progress on that now that I have some other major things out of the way...such as a wedding...and moving to a new continent; which brings me to my next blog post...the wedding and my return to the North (no...Edmonton really isn't that far north)