Adventure Long Weekend: Caving & Hiking (9/4/2010)

Saturday: Spelunking at Canmore Rat's Nest cave for about six hours, approximately four hours underground, including Rappelling and Laundry Chute!

Sunday: Drive to Lake Louise/Moraine Lake and hike to Wenkchemna Pass and visit Eiffel Lake en route (distance=20kms, elevation gain=725m).

Monday: Hike up the Grassi Lakes Trail (distance=3.9kms, elevation gain=165m) for a look at the waterfall above town before heading back to Edmonton. This is an easy and scenic hike and a very popular area for sport climbers. The trail leads to two small turquoise blue lakes.

• The caving event is organized with the Canmore Caverns company. Their tour guide are certified and experienced cavers with up to date back-country wilderness first aid certificate, and cave rescue training.
• THIS EVENT IS NOT FOR BEGINNERS. IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE CLUB EVENTS WITH A SIMILAR DIFFICULTY, YOU WILL BE CONTACTED ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AND LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. THE ORGANIZER RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT APPLICANTS WHO THEY FEEL ARE UNSUITABLE. PRE-CONDITIONING HIKES ARE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
• PERTICIPANTS WILL BE UNDERGROUND FOR ABOUT FOUR HOURS CRAWLING AND SQUEEZING THROUGH THE CAVE. IF YOU SUSPECT THAT YOU MAY BE CLAUSTROPHOBIC THEN IT MAY NOT BE A GOOD EVENT FOR YOU.
• Our hiking pace will be MODERATE (no slowpokes, no speed demons)
• In our hike to Wenkchemna Pass, we will travel 20kms, gaining 725m elevation. Given the distance and elevation, this hike is best suited to STRONG HIKERS ONLY.
• Group hiking in effect in the area due to bear activity. If you are unable to respect this guideline, refrain from signing up.
• The plan for Sunday is to enjoy the beautiful scenery, the great company and the photo opportunities while having FUN so bring your cheerful personalities along
• Sunday's hike is rated as outstanding in the book entitled "Don't Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies"
• Your coordinator has not been on this hike before, but he has the GPS track for this hike. Please be patient.
• This is a first-paid, first-get-on event. Payment is due immediately upon registration, or you will be moved to the waiting list. If you didn't pay and someone else on the waitlist did, they will get on before you! Any overbooking will be fully refunded.
• Refunds after the cut off are not possible, but you can find a replacement and work out the payment amongst yourselves.
• The maximum number of people for this trip is 10. There will be a pre-trip mandatory meeting to decide carpooling and other details. Date and time TBC.

Saturday - We will leave Edmonton early in the morning on Saturday, September 4th, 2010, and head to Canmore. At 12:45PM, we will meet our guides at SOBEYS, located at Railway Avenue and 10th Street in Canmore, Alberta. From this meeting place we follow the guides, in our own vehicles, for a 10 minute drive to the cave parking area at the base of Grotto Mountain.

After assembling the caving gear, participants head up to the cave on a rugged, mountain trail. The hike is 20-30 minutes through pine forest to a canyon leading to the cave entrance. Here you change into caving equipment - helmets, lights, coveralls, kneepads & gloves (all provided). You will receive a safety briefing prior to starting the tour. Your knowledgeable guide will take you on a natural history tour of Rat's Nest Cave, an exciting underground world - etched and sculptured over hundreds of thousands of years - through twisting passages and chambers of stalactites & stalagmites, animal bones and fossils then finally down to the tranquil pool in the grotto.

Rat's Nest Cave is a constant 5°C (41°F) all year. Why is that? Because caves reflect the mean annual temperature so no matter what the outside weather it's always pleasant inside the cave. Like most alpine caves, it is cool in summer, mild in winter.

Bring one or two small, wrapped energy snacks such as a granola bar, chocolate bar etc. for taking into the cave and bottled water for when you come out. We recommend either a compact digital or disposable camera with flash for taking photos. Anything you wear or take into the cave will get covered in fine mud, so avoid new fancy clothing or camera equipment. There are no facilities at the cave site so use the toilets in Canmore before you go.

Do not expect to carry anything into the cave. You will need to have both hands free at all times. Backpacks are provided for carrying gear to the cave.

Participants will be required to sign a waiver for the Canmore Caverns Company. Participants should ensure that their fitness is capable of withstanding strenuous activity such as climbing and crawling through dark, dirty, wet, cool and confined spaces. The tour does not include lunch/dinner and there will be no time to stop for food during the caving portion. The tour will take approximately 5-6 hours from start to finish.

After caving, we will head back to Canmore for dinner and a relaxed evening. We will be spending the night at The Hostel Bear in Canmore.

Sunday - Sunday morning we leave the hostel early and head to Lake Louise/Moraine Lake to anjoy a fantastic hike to Wenkchemna Pass. This hike is the ultimate art gallery. Ten supernal peaks are lavishly displayed so close across the valley you can almost hear your oohs and ahhs come echoing back.

This is the Valley of the Ten Peaks, best appreciated from the higher vantages of Larch Valley and Sentinel Pass, but the trail to Eiffel Lake, while lower, has the benefit of being even closer to the peaks, and the contouring trail allows you to devote full attention to them instead of boot placement or muscle strain.

En route to Wenkchemna Pass, Eiffel Lake is impressive enough to warrant destination status. It is spectacular in bright sunlight, shimmering from sapphire to cobalt. The lake is named after the peak above its northeast shore. But it is Neptuak Mtn, above the southwest shore, that hikers marvel at from the trail while gazing at the lake. Neptuak, which means nine in the Stoney Indian language, is the ninth peak in the celebrated ten. So, to fully appreciate all the peaks, hike at least as far as the lake. The Stoney word for ten? Wenkchemna.

After the hike, we will head back to Canmore for dinner and a relaxed time at our hostel.

Monday - Monday morning after breakfast, those nature lovers can join me on an easy hike (approximately 4kms) to the Grassi Lakes near Canmore. This is a popular hike and a very popular area for sport climbers. The trail leads to two small turquoise blue lakes.

After the hike, we will go for lunch and afterwards, we will depart Canmore and head back to Edmonton.