Johnston Canyon, Banff National Park.
Arrival at the canyon.
Even before arriving at the canyon parking lot, a magnificent view of Castle Mountain awaits us, framed neatly between the trees. The mountain had its head in the clouds that morning, making for a rather special atmosphere. Once we arrived at the parking lot, hooo! It was so crowded. I didn't expect so many people to be there in winter, but the parking lot was full.
All that's left is to get ready for the hike: snow pants, even if it's not that cold, because I know that at some point I'm going to end up on the ground in the snow to get the angle I want. Winter boots, but above all crampons so as not to slip, unlike some I've seen in tennis shoes or even cowboy boots. It's slick underneath the cowboy boots, with no crampons, and it's quite a sight to see them slipping on the snow and trying to stay on the trail. A bottle of water and, most importantly, the camera bag. Lets go!
Until the first fall.
From the parking lot to the first waterfall, the trail consists mainly of iron footbridges anchored into the canyon wall. In some places, the wall even juts out over our heads, and we almost have to bend over to avoid bumping into it. Given this winter's warm temperatures, some spots are not frozen, allowing us to see the colorful creek bottom and the purity of the water flowing through the canyon.
After about a kilometer, we reach the first waterfall. The trail overlooks the area, giving us an incredible view of a bridge across the creek, a cave and the waterfall well embedded in the canyon. I then descend to the bridge and from there, we already have a superb view of the waterfall. Once we've crossed the bridge, we have to wait our turn to pass through a very small grotto that takes us directly in front of this waterfall. It's a very romantic spot, too bad I'm alone. Haha!
What!? A climbing wall!
Well, enough romance alone in front of this splendor, there's another waterfall to see. Once out of the tunnel, I tackle this rather steep slope. I'm definitely not in very good shape. There are about two kilometers to go before I reach the second waterfall. After a short distance on the metal footbridges, the trail enters the forest and offers us more slopes, but it's still not that difficult. Part of the trail is closed, too bad, I think it was going to the foot of the second waterfall. Another steep incline and we finally reach the waterfall, which is actually a huge wall of ice at this time of year.
A platform is erected above the canyon, giving us a bird's-eye view of the climbers putting on quite a show for the many tourists on hand. Every time a climber reaches the top of his line, the crowd erupts in applause. After lunch and a little rest while admiring the view, it's time to head back to my car.
