Hiking in the Canadian Rockies

Yesterday, a co-worker stopped by for a quick chat and told me all about her upcoming holiday plans which include renting a cabin in Canmore, Alberta and doing a few day-hiking-trips.

...

And part of me said "WHAAT!?!? I could go hiking in mountains that are right next door!? I don't need to travel around the world to do that?!?"

And another, more sane part of me said "You are an idiot for not thinking of that sooner..."

...

I'm mostly ignoring that part of me, in case you were wondering.

Since then, I've done a bit of quick research, and found that in the Banff/Lake Louise area alone there are 16 easy to moderate hikes. I found a down-loadable PDF document that has details on them.

Incredible.

GrownupBackpackers.com

Have you heard this quote about life?

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don't need to escape from.”

Seth Godin

I'm not really sure who Seth Godin is, but I love the idea of a life from which you don't need a vacation. For me, that reality would include a high enough income to be able to live comfortably, travel extensively, and save easily for retirement.

All of that aside, a co-worker of mine and his wife are currently backpacking around Europe for 6 months. I'm loving following along on their blog: heels and cameras: a couples travel guide

And while I'm not at all sure how their experience ties into the quote about a life you don't need to escape from, they both make my mind spin giddily.

Making no promises, but I might be turning into a backpacker...

Photo by Adarsh Thakuri

As a note, the proper reaction to a statement like that coming from me is "WHAAT!?!?! You, backpacking??? On Purpose!?!?!?!"

Seriously. That's what is going through my head right now.

Despite the fact that I am absolutely NOT a backpacker, I am planning on a 7-day trek through the mountains of Peru as a birthday present to myself the year I turn 40. I'm also planning a return visit to Paris that year, but that is completely irrelevant to this post.

So in preparation for the trek to Machu Picchu, I'm looking into what the best boots will be, what camera it makes sense to take, what backpack would work best... and then I found an article on backpacker.com that is called "The Perfect Circle: Hiking the Annapurna Circuit" and I'm reading it thinking "That would be a great follow-up to both Machu Picchu and my tour of Iceland..."

And then, it lists all these other famous backpacking treks you can go on, and how they can almost compete with the Annapurna Circuit, and lo and behold, I have a list of hiking trips and multisport vacations I want to go on! Also, now that I know that such a thing exists, I think my plan for Iceland fits the "multisport" vacation definition.

1. Machu Picchu
2. Annapurna Circuit

• New Zealand - I'm not sure that this qualifies as a trek, but at the very least, I've added it to the list of places I want to go, and I envision my trip here being a little more like the tour I have planned of Iceland, where you do a little bit of everything, including backpacking.
• Grand Canyon (low on the priority list - I was just there this summer)
• Sweden’s Sarek National Park
• Tour Du Mont Blanc
• Spain’s Valencia region - also possibly more of a regional tour than a strictly backpacking trek
• Italy’s Alta Via 1
• England’s Pennine Way