After our summer trip to the UK, Laura and I enjoyed a variety of hiking and running adventures in the Rocky Mountains.

We found some wildflowers on Mist Ridge, and the wildfire smoke wasn’t too bad this summer.

We also tried our hand at mountain biking at the Canmore Nordic Centre.

We did some long trail runs and cooled ourselves off in the mountain streams.

I spent some weekend time building new gates and sections of fence around our house.

In September the Harrissons paid us a visit. We got some very rainy weather, but things did also clear up and we had some lovely hikes and picnics outside.

Forget Me Not Pond in Kananaskis Country.

For my birthday we visited an Alpaca farm.

“The Boys” – 2 and 3 year old male alpacas.

Late September brought more mixed weather and the first traces of snow in the mountains.

At the very end of September we hiked behind Lake Louise to see the best of the larch season.

Redoubt Mountain rises to 2902m above sea level, south of Ptarmigan Lake.

Lake Zigadenus (named after a genus of flowering plants, I’m not sure if any can be found in the area).

Larches as far as the eye can see.

Camping at an oTENTik in Banff National Park. I’m grinning because the campsite unexpectedly had a power outlet, and we had an induction cooktop in the car that we used to make the morning porridge.

Looking out over Sherbrooke Lake to see the Cathedral Crags (3073m) of Cathedral Mountain (3189m).

In October we headed west to Kimberley BC and completed a 6hr orienteering race.

Apple orchards in Kelowna BC – perfect weather for Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.

Laura and I both completed the 21km Wandering Moose trail race. I surprised myself by being in excellent shape and won the whole race outright!

Laura had a hydration bladder malfunction and her race became more of a survival event (but she still ran very quickly and into the top 30).

On our way back home from Kelowna we camped at Kicking Horse Campground and hiked around Emerald Lake in the early morning. Stellar’s Jay pictured.

Marshy flats at the north end of Emerald Lake.

In November we did a mix of cross country skiing and a bit of walking in the mountains. Never pass up the opportunity to brew up a cup of tea.

In late November, things looked quite Christmassy in Calgary, unfortunately most of this snow melted in December.

Due to the lack of snow in Calgary we headed west again to Kimberley BC to spend part of the Christmas break cross country skiing.

Fantastic conditions to end the year with!