<p>September 18, 2020 was a really long, very tiresome but rather rewarding day that is bound to be engraved on our memory with long lasting effect. </p><p><br></p><p>二0二0年九月十八号是感觉起来很长，很累又相当值得的一天。它将刻蚀在我们的记忆中，经久难忘。</p><p><br></p><p>LD and I woke up at 3:50AM, drove to pick up a crony of us a few blocks away from our dwelling, and headed for our destination. After driving more than 400km, we arrived at Banff town a few hours later. Fuelled with an energizing breakfast at McDonald’s on Banff avenue, we sprang to scramble up Mount Rundle and to clamber down - a nine hours slog. The day was concluded by another 400km’s drive, finally returning home at about 10:30pm.</p><p><br></p><p>我们早上4点不到起床，接上一位多年的老友，驱车400多公里前往班芙国家公园。我们在班芙路上的麦当劳吃完早餐，补充足够能量，以便完成爬上Rundle山并顺利下来。我们花费了九个小时的艰难努力，完成了这一目标，并驱车驾驶另一个400多公里于晚上十点半左右回到家。</p> <p>Mount Temple is situated in the immediate proximity of Banff Town. The nearby Bow Falls murmurs tirelessly an unending harmonious and soothing song of nature. The slender Spray River glides through the valley at its west side and eventually coalesces into the Bow River. On a sunny day with good visibility, one can have a zoomed-in view of the Bow River and High Way 1 winding through the Bow valley on the other side of Mount Rundle; one can enjoy a close-up view of the Sulphur Mountain and its summit lying parallel to the Rundle range. The famed Banff Gondola is clearly in sight; one can catch a glimpse of the whole Jack Lake and part of Lake Minnewanka. </p><p><br></p><p>站在Mount Rundle 上，许多标志性的风景名胜尽收眼底，比如： Bow 瀑布，弓河，琉璜山及其观光缆车, 班芙镇，远处的Canmore 等等。</p><p><br></p><p>All the above together with many other beautiful sceneries lend splendid charisma to Mountain Rundle, making it a great vista point that attract many tourists to venture into its summit areas. </p><p><br></p><p>这些使得很多人把它当作登临览景的首选之地。</p> <p>Before we decided to hike Mount Rundle, we researched a lot of online resources. WallpaperFlare is an excellent place that contains stunning pictures of Mount Rundle from different angles in different seasons under different weather conditions (<a href="https://www.wallpaperflare.com/banff-national-park-sunrise-mount-rundle-canadian-rockies-wallpaper-ushra" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mount Rundle Images</a>). 登山之前，我们做过许多研究。看到许多精美的摄影之作。取景方位，天气状况，季节各不相同，但都展现出Rundle 山的美仑与奇伟。</p> <p>Beauty and danger are usually unalienable twins. As a hiker said if you are a masochist who are gratified from physical suffering, then hike it; if you are working to speed up your knee replacement, then hike it. Maybe she is somewhat exaggerating, but her words do carry some truth. Another solo hiker wrote in her blog, “The steep descent sent me over 40 yards down a hill in less than a few minutes when a fallen tree brought me to a complete stop.” and to her shock, the fallen tree is on the edge of a steep cliff.</p><p><br></p><p>美与危险往往是难以分开的孪生姐妹！有的人讲，如果你有某种程度的受虐倾向，那么你就走这条路；如果你梦想早日换上膝盖，那么你就走这条路。虽然她多少有点夸张，但小路很难却是无可争议的。</p> <p>The summit appears to be a tantalizing target, however we can’t resist the temptation of the magnificent view it offers. We resolved to vouch for facts and evidence from our own very experience, even though we are not doggedly fixated on getting to the peak at any cost under any circumstances. Indeed we are flexible and humble enough to swallow our prides if we are overwhelmed by the fear of height and exposure over the course of scrambling up.</p><p><br></p><p>尽管山顶令人艳羡而又伸手难及，但是为了一睹美景，我们还是愿意为此一试。</p> <p>The Canadian National parks provide detailed information about the trail as shown in the picture below. It is divided into 6 parts. 1 is the lower part of the trail; 2 is the cliff bands; 3 is the central gully; 4 is the forested ridge; 5 is the Dragon’s back which is the most dangerous and hardest parts; and 6 is the summit. The summit stands at 2949m above the sea level. The total elevation gain is 1738m. The round trip distance is about 15.1km. The whole trail is always relentless ascending.</p><p><br></p><p>这张详细的标示图由加拿大国家公园制作。它告诉了小路不同里程的特征及应注意事项。红色X处是曾经发生过致命事件的地方，应该坚决回避。</p> <p>The trail head begins at the side of a golf course, as shown below. This is most friendly part of the whole trail, flat and soft!</p><p><br></p><p>路的起点在高尔夫球场边上。在瀑布边上有停车场。这一段路很平很软，非常好！</p> <p>The second part is walking up in the treed area. The trail is well maintained and about one meter in width. The trail surface is uneven which we didn’t care much about it when our feet and legs are in fresh status.</p><p><br></p><p>第二段在森林中行走。一路缓慢上升！路还算很好！</p> <p>We passed through a few unimpressive gullies. 经过了几道雪水冲击形成的沟</p> <p>After hiking up endless switchbacks under the tree canopies, we finally reached the iconic central sully. This is a major milestone. </p><p><br></p><p>斗折蛇行，缓缓上升，终于走到标志性的中央大石沟。</p> <p>Continued to hike up the tree covered ridge. The trail becomes increasingly steeper but still gives us a safe feeling. </p><p><br></p><p>沿着树阴遮盖的山坡快速上升</p> <p>Out of the woods, and had a first glimpse of the Sun. The weather was beautiful, 12 Celsius degree at peak, felt no winds. Unfortunately, the Sun was obscured by the smoke of the forest fires in the United States, making the visibility terrible!</p> <p>The Dragon’s Back, the real test began. In the movie, a young female solo hiker was sitting on a boulder to catch her breath and to refill her depleted steam tank. Apparently, she underestimated the difficulties, and was under prepared. She wore no heavy duty trail shoes, carried no poles and brought no gloves. We had tremendous respect of her courage and perseverance for going to such a high place, but we did feel she should turn back. Wisely, she did so! </p><p><br></p><p>到了龙脊段。最难的考虑开始了！有个女孩好不容易走到此处，因为难度与准备不足，不得不回头。</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p> <p>grappled with rocks on the long Dragon’s back. A young man caught up with us somewhere around this place with broad smile. We thought he would continue and beat up handily to the top. To our surprise, he turned back!</p><p><br></p><p>继续艰难爬升。另一个小伙放弃了！</p> <p>Finally, we reached the summit area. As I mentioned before, the weather is flawless. However, the smoke of the wide spread forest fires in the south west board blotted the Sun and spoiled visibility! We could hardly see iconic sceneries far and down!</p><p><br></p><p>最终登顶。但因受森林火灾影响，远处低处风景模糊不清！遗憾！</p> <p>As the old saying goes, climbIng up a mountain is easy, descending is hard! For this hard scrambling up, what can we use to describe its descending? The descending took a tremendous toll on our knees and feet. The last mile felt like we circled the globe by foot, taking us years to finish. </p><p><br></p><p>俗话说上山容易下山难！下这座山真是难上加难！</p> <p>We got down to where we started and enjoyed the Bow Falls and the Bow River. The Sun was still lifeless! </p><p><br></p><p>最终下了山，回到了出发点。欣赏了一会儿瀑布与弓河。在河中洗了洗，清新爽快！</p> <p>My Smart Watch showed a total of 18.55km hiked, 8 hours 58 minutes taken, 1622m climbed, and 3273 calories consumed. What a day!</p><p><br></p><p>最终走了十八点五公里，爬了一千六百二十二米，耗时近九小时, 喝了一杯冰咖，驱车400多公里，回到家中！</p>