Yoho & Banff

Having said a fond farewell to Lake Louise it was time to move on to Banff. This was done by way of visiting Yoho National Park. This got its name from the Cree word “yoho” meaning excellent, superb, or wonderful. It certainly was that.

We crossed the Continental Divide into British Columbia and Yoho National Park. Our first stop was at the Spiral Tunnels. These were constructed based on a Swiss model to reduce the gradient on the Trans-Canada Railway and actually tunnel through two distinct rock formations (Cathedral Mountain & Mount Ogden) twice each creating a switch-back affair – I will be able to see these from the rails in a few days when I go to Kamloops. The original gradient was 4.5% because Canadian Pacific Railways were under extreme pressure to finish the line – this, by the way, was more than twice the allowed limit of 2%, but they got special dispensation just to get the thing finished. However, this couldn’t last because they would need at least three locomotives to get up the gradient (this was steam days remember) and had loads of runaway trains coming down it – for obvious reasons. It was another reason they set up a hotel in Banff, so they could off-load the passengers to eat, etc. as they couldn’t run extra carriages for dining cars. Anyway it was quite a feat of engineering and the tunnels required constant maintenance especially in the winter. This was because steam from the engines would freeze in the tunnels and form huge stalactites which would damage passing trains – yes they got that big! Anyhow, from the viewing platform – where there is a very informative display (as you might have guessed) – they just look like holes in a cliff with rails coming out of them, which is exactly what they are! (More Yank bashing: “Gee you mean all we’re looking at is a hole in the rock.” Yes sir that is what a tunnel is!)

Moving on, we travelled alongside the Kicking Horse River – it got its name rather literally when one of the survey teams was trying to get his horse to cross the river. It objected and kicked the man in the chest (I can’t remember his name). We got to Emerald Lake which really it isn’t, it is more aquamarine but we won’t quibble over it. Not only is it beautiful but famous – for fossils. The name of the man escapes me (it has been a few days and I’ve slept at least once) but he found some fossils whilst digging about in the mountains alongside Emerald Lake and the Something Shale (if I had Internet access I would have filled in the name) was found to contain hundreds of different fossilised species and is still regarded as one of the most important archaeological finds today. We finished up taking a look at Natural Bridge which is exactly what it is. It is also a very good example of how nature – especially the force of water – works. The glaciers, which break up rock themselves, produce huge quantities of melt water which obviously flows downhill. This brings with it all the loose stuff from the moraines and turns into a natural flow of grinding paste. Any soft rock gets eroded quicker than the harder rock which in turn forms an easier flow through the hole it’s made – hence more grinding paste can come through it. Eventually the tunnel will collapse and form a gorge. Anyway elementary geology is over for the day – although when one can actually see it happening, and its results, it is rather interesting.
And so to Banff which gets its name from Banffshire in Scotland. This was because several of the railway workers living in the tented village created by Canadian Pacific came from Banffshire, so they shortened it and the name stuck.

I checked into my hotel, freshened up a bit and went in search of dinner. Having wandered through downtown Banff, which is being re-paved & resurfaced at the moment, I found The Keg a lovely little steakhouse as I felt in the mood for dead animal cooked to perfection. This is what I got, and very nice it was too. Whilst waiting for my starter the waitress brought me “some bread” which was wildly inaccurate as it was a small loaf! I kid you not; I could place both my hands (side by side) on it and it still protruded on both sides. I did the best I could but couldn’t eat all of it. Meal finished I returned to my hotel at a leisurely pace and had a very good night’s sleep – with no fire alarms.

Tomorrow we have an explore Banff tour.