Mt. Assiniboine - 50° 54' 27" N 115° 37' 08" W

Kate and I have a reputation as social aggregators and after this week, it would be harder to deny.

The Australian relatives have arrived - Gabby and Graham for another, longer summer visit and sister Wendy and her husband, Graeme, who have come for their first summer experience in Canada. Part of the premium tour package of the Canadian Rockies that we include is a favourite hideaway called the Naiset Huts at the foot of Mt. Assiniboine. We've been there before and for those jaded by throngs of summer tourists, it is a perfect panacea.

Considering that we had a few injured at the start of the three day visit to Naiset Huts, we decided to 'chopper in, rather than hike the 26 kilometres. The rellies were suitably impressed by both the ride in and the afternoon hike we did after arriving. The weather cooperated on the first day, presenting a few fluffy clouds to punctuate the blue sky and rugged peaks we were surrounded by. We lunched atop the Niblet, looking down at Sunburst and Magog Lakes.

Catching the chopper is the easy way to do it

Graeme is going to have to fold himself a bit to fit in the door!

A wood stove for heating - that's it!

First day - Off to tackle The Nublet.

View from Assinaboine Lodge

Western Anemones with Sunburst Peak in the background

Part of the charm of staying at the huts is that the cooking space is shared in a large common log structure. With us occupying just one of the eight huts, there were many other hiker/travellers to swap stories with. The first evening, we shared a table with a group of five young hikers that had come from Pennsylvania and were visiting Canada for a week. They had hiked in that day and planned to leave the same day we were.

Due to an illness in the group, two fo them ended up choppering out with us and then staying at our Canmore abode for three days.