A twisted backpacking journey

I weighed my pack before going and it was 45lbs and my dog's pack was 10lbs. I left the motel after an egg and bacon breakfast sandwich. The drive to the trailhead went through Kootenay National Park and then connected with Banff National Park. It was a gorgeous hike through the woods with several viewpoints along the way to the Ink Pots. Such a beautiful scenic walk through some meadows overlooking the Banff Sawback Mountain Range. There were a few steep portions, but since it was my first day, I had the energy!

I arrived at the campsite and set up at a site overlooking Johnson River. I enjoyed some time basking in the river. Time for dinner, but unfortunately my stove was missing a small screw. Luckily, I could balance the pot on top, so it wouldn't fall over. I enjoyed a vegetarian lasagna dish for dinner and then some trail mix. I met an amazing couple from Vancouver and two hikers from Canmore. Lots of stories were shared, and then off to bed.

I woke up at 6am to helicopters rescuing a camper that twisted his ankle. The helicopter landed right in the small kitchen area!

For breakfast, I had a quinoa, tofu and sweet potato meal. I didn't realize I ordered the vegan breakfast options, but hey its fuel.

I started the trail afterwards and there was several steep portions and WOW was my pack HEAVY. I took several breaks and then stopped to have lunch at a gorgeous lookout by the river. There was a phenomenal view of the mountains. I FINALLY arrived to camp and found a site that overlooked the mountains. JACKPOT! Afterwards, I made some cheesy pasta. I spent some time in the river playing with rocks and watching Luke try to chase after them. Then, I sat on a cozy rock and read This Accursed Land by Lennard Bickel. Later on, I walked Luke and then headed to bed.

Wow... did I ever wake up with a migraine. My head was pounding, I was nauseous and vomiting. YIKES. Good thing today was a short hike to the lake. Slowly; but surely my migraine started leaving my aching body. I did some yoga stretches, enjoyed the sunrise and got cozy with Luke. It was pretty chilly , so I headed back into the tent and decided I will pack up after lunch and then head for Luellen Lake.

I had an amazing broccoli and cheddar rice dish for lunch. Prior to leaving, I saw a young grizzly in the bush, I yelled loudly and it retreated... WHEW! It seemed like a curious bear and was not defensive or aggressive.

I made a wrong turn(was quite overgrown) and went halfway up a different trail. Once at camp, I found a nice site down by a cool entrance to the lake. I met an amazing family from Calgary, a hiker from Quebec and the Netherlands. There was lots of fun stories shared and we all had dinner together. I enjoyed some pasta with spring vegetables for dinner. It was a lighter meal than usual. My beautiful site overlooked two mountains. Luke enjoyed a nice swim and tomorrow will be a nice rest day to wash my clothes and ME ! Prior to going to bed, I noticed poor Luke had a welt under his eye and on his snout. Those evil bugs! I gave him some benadryl and hopefully after a few doses he will be feeling better.

I woke up around 7am, and Luke's snout and eye are no longer swollen. He seemed quite painful last night, but is back to himself today. I fed Luke and took him for a nice walk. Then, I washed all my clothes and planned to have a dip in the lake after breakfast.

A little mishap making breakfast, stove was not screwed tight enough to canister and caught on fire. I put the pot over the stove and all was well. I waited for it to cool down and then everything was okay the next try...

For breakfast today; I had tofu, potatoes, onions with a plant based sausage blend. I went for a nice swim and got all cleaned up. I feel so much better now. After the swim, I was brushing my hair and broke my hairbrush. The life of having thick hair; haha. Unfortunately, there was 2 rescues today around 1pm, Banff National Park's backcountry is NO JOKE. Now it's time to enjoy my book and relax with Luke. I will have an early day tomorrow as I will be attempting to hike past Badger Pass Junction to Pulsatilla Pass; then back to the campsite. This mountain pass has been highly recommended to me. I made dinner and enjoyed a bowl of potato and cheddar soup. YUM!

Later on, I sat around the kitchen area and met some campers from Canmore and Calgary. I heard the sounds of wolves or coyotes howling and Luke was so curious and he was sniffing alot. I am hoping to wake up around 6am, off to bed I go.

I woke up at 630am and headed out by 8am. I decided to skip breakfast and do the whole hike to Pulsatilla Pass, then head to camp after. YES... WITH MY GIGANTIC PACK. I was making good ground rather quickly. The hike was quite the bushwack, but luckily no grizzly sightings. We made it up to Pulsatilla Pass at noon. It was quite steep, a total amount of 2345m elevation once at the top. It was extremely tough with my pack. On the pass- I saw 2 pikas and they were chirping very loudly. Luke wanted to eat both of them. The pass showed views of Pulsatilla Mountain and Mount Avens; as well as the rest of Sawback Mountain Range in the distance. After a nice break, I headed to Badger Junction. Unfortunately, on the way down I twisted my ankle. I took some aleve and put a salonpas patch on. I arrived to camp around 130pm. There was lots of thunder and some rain at camp, but luckily I set up my tent already. This camp is the most backcountry yet with sites right in the middle of two mountain passes, water sources are further away; but it is gorgeous. My site has a perfect view of Badger Pass! I met a hiker from Vancouver Island who did Badger Pass and saw 6 mountain sheep.

For dinner I had chicken pot pie; what a full-filling meal after my long day. After dinner, we explored the camp some more and got some amazing photos. Off to bed I go after some more reading of my book.

Last night was the craziest thunderstorm I have ever been in. The tent was shaking, rain was crashing down and the whole tent lit up when there was lightning. Luke was pretty scared, so we cuddled up together. Luckily the tent held up and we stayed dry. There was several trees that went down at camp, but luckily no one was injured. One tree fell the opposite way of one camper's tent pad... SO CRAZY. For breakfast, I enjoyed a potato, tofu, onion and plant based sausage meal. Off we go to Johnston Creek at noon. Along the way, I met two guys from Ontario! I arrived to Johnston Creek at 230pm, and there was lots of fallen trees along the way and at camp. I picked the same site as last time, since it has a nice shady area for Luke. Now it's time to set up and put my food away. As I was setting up, I met a nice family from Czech Republic. Time to relax, do some stretching and bask in the river now! I found a cool island in the river to wade out to and I relaxed there with Luke for a little bit. It was so nice to dunk my legs in the water; my feet were killing me! I have so many bug bites it is insane, I don't think the "12hr protection" is meant for backcountry. Afterwards, I did some yoga stretches to hopefully relieve this back and neck pain. Unfortunately, when I was doing one of my stretches, I got a splinter in my right hand pinky finger from the wooden frame surrounding the tent pad. It hurt pretty bad, so I attempted to squeeze it out. No luck doing that, so I made a small incision with my knife 1/2mm in depth and 1mm in diameter. Then, I was able to extract the splinter out this way and only have a small wound present. I cleaned it afterwards and placed a bandaid with some polysporin. Now it's time to make some cheese pasta for dinner as it is 730pm. I did some light reading and went for a swim after dinner. Time for bed at 10pm.

Unfortunately, I woke up at 330am to go to the washroom and struggled to go back to bed. Hopefully I can get some rest soon! Back to bed I went at 430am. I woke up at 930am and I better get moving now!! I am all packed at 1130am, and off we go to Larry's Camp. I skipped breakfast today, since I am saving the lighter juice for dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning if I can. Unfortunately, my lighter is running out of fluid and my matches are all wet. I probably should have brought an extra lighter, but I was trying to save space.

We made it to camp by 230pm. I had to take 2 breaks along the way. It was a grueling, very hot hike to get here. My body aches and my feet feel like they are on fire. Now it's time to set up and go for a much needed swim. My site has a nice lookout through the trees of the mountains and river. When I was putting my food away at the bear lockers, I met a nice group from West Vancouver, Coquitlam and Edmonton. Everyone loved Luke... (OBVIOUSLY). Afterwards, I had the best swim of my entire life and felt so amazing. What a fantastic day so far. Now, I am trying to air out my tent, bag and clothes as everything reeks SO BAD. Now it's time to take more cool photos, read my book and have some leftover pasta from last night. If I am still hungry, I will see if the lighter has some juice to make my vegetarian mexican rice dish. I must have been a zombie with my night shift brain when I ordered my meals, since everything was either vegetarian or vegan and I only had ONE meat based meal. I can't wait to get a chicken/beef burger when I am back on the road again!!! After my pasta and some more basking in the river, I headed back to the tent site afterwards. Later in the evening, Luke was very alert and in a guard position. I heard chuffing sounds... and at this point it could be a black or grizzly bear. I always have my bear spray with me; so I felt okay. A black bear came right by camp down one of the deer trails. It had to be 50 feet from me. I made sure to look closely as grizzlies can be black as well. Luckily, no hump was seen and the bear didn't seem to bother or notice us. The bear went off to the river area and off into the distance. Such a close call... yet again.

I went back to the tent pad to read my book; and YAY I finished my book at 11pm. Off to bed I go.

Last night around 1130pm, Luke started panting very heavily. I thought at first he just needed some water. His mucous membranes were moist and he did not have a dehydrated skin tent present. Immediately, I thought maybe he was in pain, but there was no wounds present and he didn't pull back when I manipulated his joints. I noticed that his body, ears and paws were very hot to the touch. We went out to the river and I immersed him in water. This did not seem like a fever caused by an illness to me as he showed no signs of that. I figured he could have had mild signs of heat stroke; since it was a very hot day. There is no way to truly tell. Yes, he was drinking lots throughout the day; but I also was very warm as well and felt off as well. After he cooled off, he seemed fine. I dried him off and we went to bed. Luckily, I didn't run into any animals when we went to river.

I woke up around 6am myself and was vomiting quite excessively. I feel like I got hot by a truck, so I decided to lay down some more. Luke seems fine and no concerns this morning.

I've been taking it slow this morning, because my migraine is really bad. The stomach pain coming along with this; is quite unreal. Unfortunately, I need to get moving, so hopefully the aleve starts working and I feel better soon. 13.8km to go...

Today was a fantastic hike and Johnson Canyon was a great site to see. Arrived at my car around 130pm. What an amazing trip. I am so happy and relieved. We did it!!!!

Total trip- 65.1km with 2345m elevation gain in 7 days and 1 rest day

This trip tested me greatly and I feel so much stronger and grateful to be alive. So many things went wrong, but that didn't matter and I just kept on going. I will say farewell to Banff National Park, but see you soon...