Gorgeous Waterfalls in Banff

Memories in Banff, Alberta Recreating Our Moments 31.3 (Aug 22, 2023)

A Misty day, a rainy day.

On day 3, when we were leaving home, it was drizzling and we were worried the weather would disturb our day. As usual, the lazy duo left home at around 9 am. This time, it was not that we were lazy, but had some stuff to do before we left. And Anupa arranged both breaky and lunch today.

As you know by now, we are driving from Calgary to Banff every day of this trip. Same today. Just like every day, we enjoyed today’s ride too, and we got to our destination by around 11 am.

1. Johnston Lake Falls

It was Johnston Lake Falls. After some struggle, we found a parking spot in the second lot.

Johnston Canyon has 3 trails; one to the lower falls, next to the upper falls and finally to the ink pots.

We started taking the trail and it showed about 600m to the lower falls. I wouldn’t say this waterfall is not busy. Many take this trail and many families too. This doesn’t fall into the difficult hike category. It took about half an hour to get to the lower falls but I guess we must have taken longer because of Anupa’s “fast pace”, maybe, not sure.

The best thing about this hike was that the trail leading to it was equally gorgeous. What I felt was, that I needed better English to explain these places, because they were that beautiful. We enjoyed the trail and stopped at a few places to capture the scenic views comprised of mountains, trees and water, all in one. Yeah, you read it right. Quite literally, it is all in one.

Is it even a surprise why people come in bunches to see these beautiful falls??

There was a queue near the falls viewpoint and we checked to see what it was about. It led to a small cave-like place where you could go inside to get an even closer view of the falls, similar to what you get at Niagara.

We decided to check that and ended up at staying for least more than 30 minutes here because it was a very slow-moving queue. Finally, we got there and left soon, without spending much time there.

We continued our hike to the Upper Falls. As the name says it was an upper trailing path only. And Anupa was as slow as a tortoise. It must have taken a good half an hour to one hour to get there. There were many hikers here too.

We appreciate the fact that people come here irrespective of their state; small kids who hike on daddy’s shoulders, doggies who hike very obediently and people who are injured at the moment and walk with support. We are quite new to seeing this as this is not common in Sri Lanka, especially when travelling with pets. Our pets are not good at handling the public. (I speak from a dog family’s experience.)

The hike up continued to be a beauty too. With Sachin’s wide-angle lens in place, we spent a few moments capturing different angles. I’m so happy that we decided to rent that lens for him. He first said no need for it as it was expensive, but I was adamant that we should, and there’s even no point in the trip if you don't have a good lens to capture these landscaping views which extend beyond what a normal lens could frame.

There was a queue here as well and the funny thing was that we couldn’t see what the queue was leading to. But we assumed that must be the waterfalls falling from the other side. As we guessed right, it was the one.

You know what, Anupa’s Instax was giving trouble today with low battery. So with all the mandatory shots we take when we get to a destination and the Instax shot being one of them, we were changing batteries and somehow captured one. Indeed a Happy Kid !!

We left the viewpoint giving a chance to others to come and enjoy the view. We quickly came down and it was already past 2/3 pm.

2. Silverton Falls

Next up was the Silverton Falls. We first came to the place that Google Maps directed us to. But that road was closed, a usual occurrence during this trip. Google Maps can’t know all the closures that these guys decide to have.

So I quickly checked the Google Map reviews of the location to see if someone had commented on a view, instead finding out that the trail gets narrower and steeper. While I was doing that Sachin found the entrance to the falls and we started the trail. It was only about a 900m walk, so wasn’t that bad.

But as we started walking, we realized that it was only us there. And it felt very silent. Sachin was super scared and rushed me throughout to walk faster. I think he was on the verge of turning back, but I told him there were no bear signs at the entrance as opposed to everywhere else we went earlier, so this should be okay. But I agree, I wasn’t at my easiest as well.

We walked fast, and we met a couple coming back and they said it’s worth the hike but be careful that it’s getting narrower ahead. Up to that point, I was wondering why we saw comments as such and we thought it was about the little bit of narrow road that it has. But to see no, there are places where it looked washed off and very steep. I wouldn’t say they are the scariest but yeah you have to be super careful passing these places, most of these had danger warnings as well.

As we approached the falls, we momentarily felt as though we had the waterfall to ourselves. Finally, we experienced such a moment in Alberta. Shortly after, a fellow hiker came and helped us with a photo as well.

You can see very far from this viewpoint, and we could see the city as well as the roads. However, you can’t see the Rockies from here; I’m not sure if it’s because of the mist, but probably not.

New Travel Buddy

We were craving lunch, so we returned and stopped at a small gas station that Sachin had seen earlier. We enjoyed the burgers we had prepared at home.

The ride back home continued. We stopped to get groceries and again ended up spending $100. 🤐🤐

We arrived home around 6:30 PM, intending to have a BBQ today. However, the rain prevented us from doing so. Sachin promised me that he would somehow arrange a BBQ for me before we left. I was really looking forward to having one with him.

We had the Sushi we got for dinner with some vegan fingers and sausages and hit the bed by around 11 p.m. as we had a long day planned.

I almost forgot. After we returned from Johnston Canyon, we stopped at the café and gift shop. I was trying to find something for my nangi aka sister, but we decided to look for something better. While I was browsing, I found an excellent book. When I turned back, I saw what Sachin had got for me. Surprise! He had chosen a plushie unique to Canada, something he had always wanted to get for me. And here is my new travel buddy. We spent the next hour Googling to make sure he’s a mountain goat. So say hi to “Johnston Canyon Boo”.

Sachin was scolding me throughout saying that I didn’t trust his planning and wanted to add more falls to the plan but we already had some in the itinerary. Yeah, I agree. Today was a day full for me. I’m realising waterfall hunting is what I like most in travelling. But I was telling Sachin it would be great if a helicopter could land me right at the falls as the hikes are not easy. Once today, Sachin was rushing me to walk faster, and I ended up screaming that this is the best I can do if not I would have walked faster. Lol.

Ok, now I have to help the big man with the wheel as he’s a bit sleepy and will come back with our today’s Alberta adventure soon.

If you’re into Sachin’s photography (and who isn’t, right?), he’s gone ahead and set up his online shop to sell prints. It would mean a lot to him if you could show some love and support. Cheers!

Shop for prints — https://society6.com/sachi9/designs Photography website — https://photography.sachinamarasinghe.com Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/sachin_amarasinghe

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