Opportunity

I think one of the most important life-lessons I’ve learned is that things seldom go to plan, and that that’s OK.

I spent a good chunk of this past August exploring the Canadian Rockies with a group of friends.

The second day of the trip, we had planned on doing a short hike to the Grassi Lakes, just a few miles from where we were staying in Canmore. Upon arrival at the approach to the trailhead, we saw some signs signaling that the trails had been closed due to bears. (This was a first for me.)

After some quick discussion, we decided that we would travel 45 minutes south down the highway, and check out a hike called Troll Falls.

The Troll Falls hike itself was easy, and we arrived at the payoff with no drama.

It was definitely cool, and a pretty isolated and intimate experience. The small crowd of people broke my immersion of the scene, but I was still happy with the hike.

However, after one talk with a local photographer we were off on an entirely different adventure.

There was a steep path that led up the left side of the falls, and we followed the stream back as far as we dared.

This led to another falls:

And another:

And, finally, another:

Not bad for a hike we hadn’t even planned on doing.

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On the drive back home, I snapped what I consider to be the best “phone picture” I’ve ever taken. This was taken, blind through the moonroof, as we rushed to beat the storm home.

Funny how things just tend to work out.