Chris, one of the owners, and our guide for the duration, was a never-ending source of information about the geology, flora and fauna of the area. All the folks who cooked were great, making generous and delicious meals. We had a great time the first 3 days when there were other people at the lodge (it holds a max of 10 guests - a great, small number), and just as much fun when we were the only 2 guests for the last 4 days (nobody shutting the water down here!).
Talus is situated just outside the boundaries of the Kananaskis Provicial Parks, as well as Banff and Kootenay National Parks. There are virtually no trails, so guided hiking is the best option. Chris does a fantastic job taking people to varied and interesting locations, both easy and difficult to access, depending on the ability of the group.
For the first couple of days I went with the "fast" group for some more challenging hiking, and ended up doing some stuff (ridgewalking, exposed cliffs and ledges, walking on a glacier, etc.) that I never thought I would do. At one point, when we were on top of a ridge, we were able to see a plume of smoke rising from a proscribed fire in Kootenay National Park as it spread from just a small plume to covering much of the sky.
One of the other members of the fast group was a professional photographer named Brad Hill ( http://www.naturalart.ca/ ) who was looking for wildlife photo opportunities. When we crossed paths with a group of Ptarmigan I took the opportunity to observe Brad's method of patient "stalking" to get my own shots of one highly cooperative bird.
If I had to encapsulate my 2007 hiking experience into one word I would say vertiginous. There were lots of ups and downs (not a lot of flat ground anywhere - no rest for weary knees), but all the elevation made for some really rewarding vantage points. Of course the first step back could kill me.
We once again brought some good wine into the backcountry, only this time in 750ml bottles. Helicopter weight restrictions being what they are I only brought two bottles (though nobody EVER weighed our bags, so I should have brought more...), so I nursed each over two days. The first was
2005 Grossett Watervale Riesling (Clare Valley)
Dry but very fruity, with a touch of dissolved CO2 helping to accentuate the wine's natural acidity. Very refreshing while sipped on the lodge porch overlooking the stunning view of the surrounding peaks (but then Moxie would have been refreshing while sipped on the lodge porch overlooking the stunning view of the surrounding peaks), it paired quite well with our first night's chicken entree and second night pork. I have not explored Aussie Riesling too much to date, but this was a very encouraging bottle.
Our second full day at Talus brought us in contact with more of the area's cooperative wildlife:
Where our day 1 adventure had been all about rocks, ice and snow, day 2 was about meadows, forest and lakes. The contrast of being able to experience the best of both from the same lodge is one of the things I will remember best about Talus. While the wildflowers were largely past, there was still plenty of fall color, and the views were stunning.
And there was still more to come, including snow.
