Paying the Fat Tax: Part 1

Photo courtesy of Sarah Burns

  

Paying the Fat Tax

There's no denying that I am not exactly in prime shape physically.  I know there are a lot of people who hate using the word "fat" but it is what it is. Pretending that it's anything else is exactly what got me into this situation in the first place.  I'm trying to make changes that hopefully result in a healthier lifestyle, but I still have a long road ahead of me. I thought I would share a few observations that I have made along the way from a larger perspective. 

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Valley of the Five Lakes, Jasper Alberta

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Valley of the Five Lakes, Jasper Alberta

LOCATION: Trail is located just South of Jasper, Alberta.  You can find the trailhead by following Highway 93 (towards Columbia Icefields/Banff) approximately 9km from town. 

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Moderate - I would give it about a 3/5 for difficulty. 

DISTANCE/TIME: The trail is 9km round trip, which took us around 3-4 hours to complete mainly due to us stopping to enjoy the view, taking pictures, and having lunch. 

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Bear!

The awesome thing about this picture is that I'm not using the zoom whatsoever.  I was literally this close to the bear!  I was in the safety of my husband's truck, so it was really cool to be able to see it so close (about 2 feet away).  The bear was completely unfazed by us and continued eating his dinner (some nice grass by the looks of it). 

We also saw a mama bear and her two tiny cubs on our way up to the hot springs, but they dashed into the woods before we could get a good look at them. 

Total bear count so far this year - 5.

Canyon Creek Trail

A little over month ago, my friend Sarah over at Stop Nothing But Time and I started walking together.  It started off with a quick loop around my neighbourhood, and has now progressed to a 5km+ walk on a trail near her house every morning (and even some evenings too). 

We got to talking about our mutual love for nature and the outdoors and together we decided to create a "Summer Bucket List" of hikes that we would like to complete.   Here's the first trail that we knocked off the list:

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