Johnston Canyon - Banff

We are now nearing the end of our Canada leg and are leaving the Rockies to head back to Vancouver for 10 days before we leave for Asia. Banff is an amazing town, with deer wandering the streets and hanging out in the backyards of the residents. There are also plenty of elk in the meadows surrounding the town centre - it is very serene. Banff has a "no work - no home" rule so that unless you work Banff you cannot own property in Banff. It keeps the town small but it is still very hyped with all of the tourists. Perhaps the most apt description of Banff we heard is that it is a "quaint little drinking town with a ski-ing problem." Our last day trip was a ice-walk through Johnston Canyon with cleats. I was a little skeptical given the 'hiking nature' of the trip but it turned out to be a scenic melting pot of frozen rivers, frozen waterfalls and snow covered forest. Things started to get a little nervy when conversation turned to the spring conditions and possibility of seeing hungry bears waking up from hibernation but luckily we did not turn into lunch.