Hello everyone!
Back with another short blog of my Banff National Park hiking expedition.
Before this expedition started I did a lot of research and edited my itinerary as usual,
I have been looking for a campsite that will give me a great sense of tranquility and
being able to relax with a great after finishing all my hikes around the park.
Out of all the campgrounds around the area or those that were close there it was Two Jack Lake.
Only located 15 minutes downtown of Banff and part of the Lake Minnewanka,
it was the perfect campground and exactly what I was looking for.
Two Jack Lake offers a total of 64 sites with 22 walk-ins campsites, showers with hot water,
fire pits and firewood, a big campground shelter for the cold nights, and all campsites
are relatively close to the parking lot which makes it a lot easier to walk back out.
However, the best feature that this campground can offer is the lake view!
My god! I don't think I have ever had such an astonishing and incredible scenery ever.
Just to be able to wake up to view of the mountains is something you don't take for granted.
The first time I was staying at Two Jack Lake the weather was pretty respectable and
I was actually enjoying the night cold inside my tent, however, what really started happening
is how rapidly the weather changes over there in the mountains, and how unpredictable it is as well.
The next day I was up and about to start hiking the trails on my list,
and to my surprise it started snowing pretty heavily throughout the entire day
which I found it pretty cool since I have never hike under a snowy trail.
Running off on the afternoon to my next campground I have noticed they were completed
booked for that day and since I didn't make a reservation they were not accepting walk-ins.
I had not other choice that to try out other close campgrounds, and guess what?
I found myself getting back to Two Jack Lake campground pretty late that afternoon.
This is when the weather got pretty heavy with a combination of snow and rain,
making it really difficult to drive in the road and get back into the campground.
If I thought the previous night was colder I have no idea what I was talking about,
I was about to experience what would probably the coldest night ever for me.
If I'm being realistic about how cold it was that night, I would say it was pretty damn cold,
the temperature dropped to -3°C and if you convert it to Fahrenheit it is 26°F.
At this time of the night I was expecting to spend the night under the snow and to freeze,
while eating my dinner at the campground shelter and I met a lovely couple from Oregon,
this couple were road-tripping most of the West Coast, and visiting Banff National Park for their 9th year anniversary and were hiker enthusiast coming to Canada every year to celebrate their anniversary.
During this time, we shared a few hiking stories and I found them to be pretty cool and friendly couple,
they were kind of enough to provide me with an extra sleeping bag they have found on their
campsite and since they were leaving the next day they didn't mind giving it to me.
Once it was time to get inside my tent the temperature was dropping very quickly,
and I had the necessity of wearing another set of clothes, so I wore my extra hiking pants
along with the jogger I was wearing, and three layers of clothing for my upper level body.
Anyways, it was a really rough and long night until I fallen asleep and had a good night rest.
Waking up the next morning was definitely worth it, the weather had calm down and it
was snowing very lightly which it was a beautiful snowy morning to take pictures.
There goes my experience camping under the snow and as I had always imagined it,
I knew it would have been tough and difficult to adapt to this type of weather
but after spending a few days in Banff National Park in learned to control it.
I cannot recommend enough this campground enough, this is definitely one that has it all
and it is a must stay at one of the best campground you could find in Banff National Park.
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