Back towards the end of August we completed a four day kayaking trip on Maligne Lake, Alberta.
Day one was our biggest day. We kayaked just over 21km to stay two nights at Coronet Creek Campground, at the far end of Maligne Lake. After an early start we stopped in at Four Mile Campground for a snack break and had an unusual encounter with a mule deer (see photo below). This deer followed me from the kayak all the way through the forest, to the toilet, then proceeded to do laps around me while I did my business. I'm guessing they are pretty accustomed to humans.
Day two was relaxing, we spent the morning having breakfast on the dock in the sun before joining a lovely family we had met the day before on a hike. Unfortunately the weather changed suddenly mid-hike (not unusual in the mountains) and we had to head back to camp where we sat around the fire relaxing all night.
The next day we packed up and moved to our next destination: Fisherman's Bay. As we were leaving camp we heard a great commotion coming and someone yelling "bear!". We heard it was heading toward the water so we jumped in our kayak and paddled the length of the beach and, sure enough, there he was: A beautiful grizzly bear! He walked along the shoreline eating berries and we paddled (from a safe distance) and watched him for a while before leaving him to his breakfast. What an experience!
That night we enjoyed dinner at Spirit Island.
Next morning we woke to the haunting sounds of loons. It was our last day on the water and we were lucky enough to have a nice tailwind to guide us back to land.
I honestly have to pinch myself sometimes. How did we get so lucky.