A couple of weeks ago I went camping at Lake Louise. I’ve never been camping before and my boyfriend has only been camping once in his entire life. Hence, we knew nothing about how to set up a tent, make a fire, cook without a kitchen, or what to do if we saw a bear!
In some respects the beauty of the Canadian Rockies was a good enough reward for our budget-friendly accommodations… if you can call a tent an accommodation. I think we both wanted to see what an ‘authentic’ Canadian camping trip would be like so instead of eating at the small town restaurants that are scattered about the Rockies, we got our food supply from a grocery store in Calgary. It seemed like we were going to have ham sandwiches seasoned with Safeway brand mustard, and Nutella on cold bread for 4 days. After two weeks of gastronomic decadence in Vancouver, this was an abrupt turn of events. Good thing we also bought two cans of soup; the only issue was: could we even start a fire?
After a breath-taking drive into Banff, we managed to gracefully set up camp and learned that a fire was indeed possible. Because the weather was cool enough for us to store food in the trunk of our rental car, we spent a small fortune at the overpriced grocery store in Lake Louise. (Note: buy your supplies while you’re still in town!)
The first night quickly turned cold, below zero cold. We didn’t have a fire that night, and our clothes and sleeping bags were inadequate. I woke up with a sore back, I was cold all the way to the marrow of my bones, and my toes were replaced with ice cubes. Getting up to go to the washroom seemed as difficult as scaling a mountain. First thing that morning, we made a fire (it took us over half an hour!) and made some soup. Campbell’s chunky chicken noodle at the time tasted like childhood dreams coming true in a can.
After an afternoon hike around Lake Louise we hurried back to get a fire started before the weather turned cold again. Dinner that night was hotdog sandwiches. After consuming my quota of hotdogs, I thought to myself, “I’m never having a hot dog again.”
Unfortunately, on our final night, all we had left were hotdogs, two slices of ham, and instant noodles. It really was genius at the time. How would we make instant noodles taste better? With hot dogs of course! Where would we eat the instant noodles out of? In these empty soup cans!
On that last day we saw retreating glaciers, clear blue lakes, terrifying river rapids and bottomless canyons. We took some of trail paths that lead us to ever-changing natural wonders, but in the end I think we could have skipped the instant noodles with hot dogs.
Leaving Lake Louise, I said good bye to camping forever (or at least for a long while). It made me appreciate good food a little bit more, because the next morning, bacon and eggs at the Mountain Restaurant never tasted so delicious before.
Eating and Traveling through the Rockies
Sleep: Lake Louise Campground (Bear-Fenced)
Eat: Safeway Supermarket in Calgary, Lake Louise Groceries, Lake Louise Village, Mountain Restaurant, Lake Louise
Things to See and Do: Lake Louise has numerous beautiful hiking trails of varying length and difficulty. Emerald Lake and the Natural Bridge are definitely worth taking a stop at. Many of the lakes are great for canoeing since they’re very still, just don’t fall in as they are extremely cold! There are a few natural hot springs to choose from, but the Banff one is conveniently off of Highway 1; I highly recommend unwinding at one of the springs, especially if you’ve spent the last few days sleeping on hard ground.
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Glad to hear you liked the Rockies (although maybe not camp food!)
One of the ‘recipes’ Vivian and I created in April, during field work when we were cooking every meal on a stove, was refried bean soup. Refried beans (some water so it doesn’t burn on stoves that don’t simmer), salsa, lime juice, and an avocado (our last piece of fresh food!). Use corn chips to dig in!
Erin Jaggard also introduced me to cooking brownie mix from a box inside of hollowed out oranges, wrapped in foil and baked in the coals!
Hope all’s well for you!
Thanks Erin for your refried beans suggestion! In fact, I had the pleasure of eating beans in Boston! Apparently baked beans originated from Boston and are absolutely delicious there.
Unfortunately, I’ve been brought up on baked beans mixed with friend eggs when growing up. It was a family staple when we weren’t financially secure. But I have a great appreciation for them right now during English breakfast or for BBQ’s!
Not long after their plan failed they regrouped & got Carter to start the Community reinvestment act, which would force bad loans. That’s how long they have been plotting this crash, because their quick attempt while Carter was their puppet in power didn’t make it.