Recently I rediscovered an old SD camera card, and pictures from a trip a few years ago to Alberta, Canada.

My husband (then, boyfriend) and I were travelling individually—him from Ottawa, and me from London, England—after doing long-distance for over a year, to go to my best friend’s wedding in Calgary. Because we’d both travelled so far, our plan was to stay for a full week, staying mostly in the city—but the highlight of our trip was taking a short road to Banff National Park.

One thing about my bestie: she’s what I would consider the textbook definition of an outdoorsy person. I’m talking taking weeks of holiday to rock climb mountains, camping during the summer, and doing those trails where you hike from hut to hut to hut. I never want to yuck anyone’s yum, but I am not an outdoorsy person. Lounging by the pool, exploring a city, walking on the beach—all of these are acceptable to me. Fending for myself in the wilderness? Fighting off mosquitoes? Hiking uphill for hours at a time in the hot sun? Using a “toilet” that’s really just a hole in the ground? Not my ideal vacation.

But when in Rome…

We started our trip by driving out to Banff National Park, getting bagels on the way for sustenance. You need a park pass to enter (which luckily, our hosts had!) and to actually get to the trail, it’s a series of gondolas and ski lifts to make it to the top.

As someone who doesn’t do well with heights, this wasn’t the calmest time, but I managed! The trail is a ski slope in the winter, and a walking/biking trail in the summer, so there’s a clear path to get from one mode of transport to another.

Once you’re at the top, you meet with a park employee (I want to say “ranger” but I don’t know if that’s an official title) who explains the rules of the trail. There’s a huge emphasis on “leave no trace”, which is different from messaging I’d gotten in prior nature lectures. I’d heard of “better than before”, where you try to leave no trace and make the space better than you found it (like picking up trash that isn’t yours in a campground or park). But at these altitudes, the weather doesn’t allow for things to grow every season; if you make a footprint in the marsh, it’ll be there in 20 years. It will get frozen over and the ice will melt, but the grass you’ve killed won’t be able to grow because there’s so little sun that hits the top of the mountain. Our friends explained this is why it was so important that we stay on the trails marked, and not wander into the meadows; because if everyone did that, there would be no meadow left.

We took some pics from a viewing platform, and then we set out to what I can honestly say might have been the hardest hike I’ve had. Our friends were taking it easy on us, of course; the route they chose was meant to be beginner friendly. That didn’t make me any better at it, but I appreciated the effort!

The hike ended up taking us several hours, and we hiked up and down the trail about 8km. We walked, talked, laughed, saw wild animals, crossed streams, had amazing views. And even though I wasn’t an outdoorsy person (and I’m still not!) I really enjoyed the hike.

I stressed a bit, especially at the end (getting back to the gondola was an uphill hike, and after hours of hiking I was very winded!) and at times when I needed to rest but remembered I wasn’t allowed to stray from the path. But connecting with nature was amazing, and I’d never seen such stunning mountains before. It made me think that maybe hikes like this were something I was capable of, even without seasoned hikers with me—and it definitely gave me a newfound respect for leaving no trace when in the wilderness.

If you’re in the area and considering visiting Banff, I’d suggest you go for it—the memories of the vast Alberta landscape will last a lifetime!

Also I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you my bestie’s husband was an awesome host and took us to a bunch of cool Calgary restaurants. His Substack can be found here if you want to find cool places to eat in Calgary!