For the last 2 weeks I had carried around a can of “Bear Spray” with me and had relied on it in case of a close encounter with one of the larger local predators, without really knowing if it would work if being used and how long the reach would be. As I could not …
Author Archives: The Blue Vet
Num-Ti-Jah Lodge and the Bow Glacier Falls Trail
On our way back South from Jasper to Canmore along the Icefield Parkway we had booked one night at the iconic Num-Ti-Jah (meaning “Pinemarten” in the language of the Stone tribe which used to live here) Lodge on the shores of the Bow Lake. This self built and by now pretty dated wooden structure was …
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Jasper Veterinary Clinic
Janet Jones, owner of the Jasper Veterinary Clinic was another kind local colleague who allowed me to visit her clinic and to say hello to her and to her friendly team. The Jasper vets are treating both small animals and horses and the clinic has a branch 120 km away (!) in Valmount on the …
Walking the Skyline Trial and more encounters with dangerous animals
Another epic hike in the Canadian Rockies is the Skyline Trail between Maligne Lake and Signal Mountain on the outskirts of Jasper. The highest point on the trail is the “The Notch” with over 2500 m altitude and it is normally a three day hike with two nights spend on one of the official campgrounds. …
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Running with a bear (in your mind ?…..)
After spending most of the day behind the wheel driving along the magnificent Icefield Parkway between Lake Luise and Jasper, we managed to check in at a hotel near Sunwapta Falls. The water of this spectacular waterfall feeds into the Athabasca River which then flows thousands of miles North into the Arctic Sea. To put …
Whaleback and Iceline Trail
If you want to avoid the crowds of Banff and Lake Louise while traveling the Canadian Rockies, you might consider joining the smaller crowds in nearby Yoho National Park. The Whaleback and Iceline Trail is a great two day hike that offers a bit of everything the Rocky Mountains have to offer – high mountains, …
World class cross country skiing – if you don‘t get eaten by a bear…..
As some of you might know – crosscountry skiing and biathlon are some of my passions. In North America you will struggle finding better training facilities than the beautifully located Nordic Skiing Centre in Canmore. The Centre is home to the Canadian crosscountry skiing and the Biathlon teams with outstanding training and competition facilities. When …
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A visit at the Canmore Veterinary Hospital
Quite a change of scenery……. after leaving the urban jungle of downtown Toronto, I woke up to this view: Checking in at the clubhouse of the Canadian Alpine Club in Canmore in Alberta and changing- very much to my wife’s dismay – from a junior suite to a couple of mattresses in the loft with …
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Cannabinoids
One aspect that I wanted to explore further on my travels were the potential benefits of cannabinoids, which are products derived from the cannabis plant, for my patients. Over the last couple of years we have been approached by an increasing number of pet owners, who wanted to use these components on their pets, which …
Not just mental work
An early start this morning: At 6.30 am some of my European colleagues a I took part in the annual 5k WSAVA Fun(d) Run along the shore of Lake Ontario in aid of AFSCAN a charity supporting small animal practitioners in Sub-Saharan Africa. Quite tiring but great to see that our profession is getting more …
The Blue Vet Diary 