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Hiking in Paradise ValleySo on August 16th, at about 10:00PM, our neighbours asked us if we wanted to go over for a 'camp-out' in their back yard. Seeing as it was so nice out, I decided to go. Let me tell you, sleeping out in the open with just your sleeping bag and pillow is an amazing experience. Even with all the light pollution in Calgary, the stars are brilliant, and the moon is a beautiful white orb. The clouds slowly drift by, highlighted by the moon behind it, accented with red from the streetlamps below.From there, we woke up around 8, and were told we were going hiking right away. Hour and a half later, we're in the parking lot for the Paradise Valley trail. From there, it's 6.7km to Lake Annete (or is it Anette?), where we stopped for lunch. Another 4km brought us to the Giant Steps, an amazingly beautiful series of waterfalls (below)

So that was 4 hours of hiking. At this point, some clouds started to move in, bringing a half hour rain storm. Pretty refreshing actually. Unfortunately, the trail we were expecting to take (which would take us on a loop of the valley, rather than back-tracking) was closed, so we had to take the longer route of going all the way back where we came from. All in all, it was a 21km hike, taking us about 6 hours I think. Then it was into Banff for some dinner at Earls (Chicken clubhouse sandwich, no tomato) and then ice cream at Cows (Gooey Mooey and Don Cherry). Hour and a half later, we're back in Calgary.

And so now, if anyone is interested, I want to do that hike again sometime. But this time, it's going to be a photography hike. I want to take a girl up, and take pictures of her in a really nice, big dress (a.la. wedding or something). Don't ask me why, but I just think that they would pair up so well. Double the beauty in a single shot. That and just some nice portraiture on the mountain. Nothing makes for a better profile pic (in my opinion) than a background of the rugged Rocky Mountains.

Peace, and good night :)

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