Upper Hot Springs and Sulfur Mountain

Hello again!

Today was a pretty busy day again. Orientation starts tomorrow so I thought I’d get a bit of hiking and exploring in. I woke up pretty early for a Sunday (around 7) and it felt like Christmas morning. There are so many things I’m excited to do that I think I’ll feel like this every morning here.

I began today by wandering around the woods behind my residence building. I was really trying to find my way to the Upper Hot Springs without having to go into town and follow a road. Eventually I found a huge resort (the Rimrock) and from there, the Upper Hot Springs. There are hot springs all over Banff, even some at the Fairmont but the Upper Hot Springs are the largest and easiest to access. The first hot springs were discovered by railway workers in 1883. The workers tried to lay claim to the springs but were eventually bought out by the Canadian government for a very small price. The hot springs in Banff have made it one of the premier spa and resort towns in the world. I was there way before they opened the springs to the public but since it’s so close to my residence I might go by tonight for a quick dip, since they are open until 11pm. The mountain you see in the photo is Mount Rundle and the Rimrock is the building in the bottom right corner.

Near the Upper Hot Springs is the Sulfur Mountain Gondola. The gondola takes passengers to the top of Sulfur mountain where there are a couple restaurants and some really great views. Since I thought it would be like cheating to make it to the top of the mountain without having to hike, I decided to take the trail instead of the gondola. The hike is 5.5km and gets pretty challenging near the top. About halfway up, the trail becomes snow covered and icy, which made me thankful I was wearing a good pair of hiking boots. I’ve posted some shots of the trail and a really good one of the golf course I’ll be working on, taken from the trail. The small mountain in the picture of town is Tunnel Mountain, the larger mountain behind it, which isn't really visible is Cascade. Cascade is supposed to have a large population of mountain goats… I think I know which hike Adam and I will be doing if he comes out this summer.