Burgess Shale Hike

Hi Don. Haven't gone on those hikes. If you are headed to that part of the Rockies, I am jealous. I'm from Calgary originally and hiked and climbed in the Rockies, mostly the Alberta portion. The area around Mt. Stephen and Mt. Burgess is stunning. Are you planning a holiday in the Rockies?

Dave

 but just as wonderful noitnem ot suoremun oot era sekih yad ehT Hi Dave,

We live part time in Vernon BC - Mrs D is out there at present and I am comming out early September. My daughter and Son-in-Law live in Vernon and his parents live in Canmore so we have spent lots of time in the Rockies. I agree with you, this is a most beautiful part of the world - and I have lived and worked worldwide !!

We have done week-long bak  ckpacking hikes each year for the past 12 years or so including Berg Lake and the Snowbird Pass behind Mt Robson, The Rock Wall, Sunshine to Assiniboine and Wonder Pass, White Goat Widerness, The Skyline and of course Lake O'Hara (quite a few viists).

Err, aswell as speaking English and French, do the Canucks also converse in Finnish ?

What does "noitnem ot suoremun oot era sekih yad ehT mean?

I used to live and work in Jasper but didn't like the peaks and valleys around there as much as I like Banff and Yoho. Had a cabin at Lac Des Arcs near the Kananaskis. I miss the Rockies so much.

Have a great time again in Vernon!

All the best,

Dave

Maybe "Come on you Toronto Mapleleafs" ? ........ in Finnish.

The day hikes are too numerous to mention - how does get flipped back to front like that?

Maybe it's middle-eastern, and read from right to left?

Dave

Yes, something went wrong whilst typing my reply to Hawk. Perhaps Hoopless could answer what went wrong ?

Huwge managed to translate - the letters all came out backwards and as Hawk noted, the words read right to left as in Arabic !!

The day hikes we have done are too numerous to mention, but just as wonderful as the backpacks. The Banff Kanaskis and Waterton areas are superb but then most of the Rockies, BC, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho are picturesque.

However, we have never visited the Burgess Shales and I wondered if the educational  day hikes were any good - the area is restricted to organised trips so either $70 with Parks Canada or $120 with the Geoscience group. Probably not entirely suitable for Creationists................

Cheers

Don

I know a set of twins that spoke like this to converse without other people knowing what they are talking about. In the UK it's called "Back slang". They still do it sometimes.

Sounds fascinating to me.  Given that that's the only way to get into that area, I'd do it!

Earlier this summer we got into Oldupai Gorge and visited a tiny museum that has actual fossils (homo habilis bones) discovered by the Louis and Mary Leakey expeditions.  These were the actual fossils, not plaster casts.  I found that rather astonishing.

Bart,

I'm very tempted. Geosciences, anthropology and archeology have always held my interest. These fossils seem to be as old as they come - myself excluded.

The Laekeys held my interest back in the late 60's early 70's with their discoveries in the Olduvai Gorge. Australopithicus Africanus and the idea that modern humans evolved in Africa rather than China or Java. I bet you had a fascinating experience.

Cheers

Don

Don, I climbed Mt. Joffre in the French Military Range (continental divide). It was fascinating to come across so many fossils in the approach, and weird to think that all of this was sea bottom once.

Dave

Don the Smithsonian Institution (the 'national museums of the US' for those not knowing) owns a large collection of Burgess shale.  They don't often have much of it on display, but my wife and I saw a little of it when we were there a couple of years ago.

To show what a nerd I am, our home wi fi network is named "Wiwaxia."

Yes -- Tanzania was fascinating.  I highly recommend it!

Dave,

I know what you mean. The earth has undergone a multitude of transformations and I think we are only just begining to garner their timing and sequencing. The Burgess Shales seem to hold details of some of the earliest forms of animal life (as opposed to vegitation life).  I think we are talking 400 million years ?

The dinasaur beds at Drumheller to the east of Calgary are also interesting, especially when you take one of the guided walks and get to pick up fossilised bones. Must be c.100 million years ago ?

More recent anthropology comes to life in the White Goat Wilderness area (just north of the Saskachewan Crossing) where after a couple of days hiking we found First Nation art painted onto rocks. Probably less than 10,000 years.

All within a 100 mile radius,, including Mt Joffre

Cheers

Don

Having hiked up to Wiwaxy Gap and the Hubert Ledges to Lake Oeasa, I am now wondering if the name of this part of Yoho is derived from Wiwaxia ? Nver crossed my mind before now.

Cheers

Don

As a kid I got to wander the badlands of Drumheller and 'play' with the fossils. God's country.

And I was always fascinated by the Petroglyphs I would come across, very often in narrow canyons.

I was so fortunate to live fifty minutes away from Banff. I rediscovered my love for the mountains when I started mountain biking in the 1980's and that led to mountaineering and backpacking.

Have a great time out there!

Dave