Post Covid19? Camping Season begins...Well who would have thought two months ago that there was going to be a camping season. Well much to my surprise it appears that camping season is on. In Alberta Campground bookings opened up post pandemic on May 14th, 2020, I think much to the surprise of the Albertan Camping community. Of course, there was a very pent up demand for camping, and it certainly showed as the Reserve Alberta site crashed numerous times shortly after opening for booking. Within minutes and several crashes all of southern and central Alberta sites were booked solid. Through perseverance and plain stubbornness, I was able to secure three sites during this booking mayhem. They were not campgrounds that we had thought of going to and certainly we did not get any sites that we wanted, but at least we are getting out and will once again roll the rig out of the driveway and on to the open road.
Two of the three sites we initially booked will be places that we have gone to before, with one site being a new experience. So where are we going to start off the camping season you may ask? Well the first trip will be to Sibbald lake. A nice campground located in Kananaskis country and only less than an hour’s drive from Calgary. We have been here before back in 2013 during the great Calgary Flood, but at the time did not take any pictures of the campground so this trip will allow us to review and photograph and maybe video the experience this second time around.
Next, we will go to Little Elbow, again in Kananaskis country, south of Bragg creek on Hwy 66. This campground is again only an hour’s drive from Calgary, and is situated close to the Elbow River. I have done some day trips into this area in the past but have not camped here or at least can’t remember camping here. Finally, we will spend a week over the Canada Day holiday at Medicine lake (See our writeup) to wrap up the fist half of our camping season.
The back half of the 2020 season will see us on the road for 22 days travelling between back country campgrounds all in the name of isolation. We will do a loop going up the Cowboy trail (Hwy 22) into Clearwater country there we will travel down a forestry trunk road to Ram Falls and Peppers Lake. Here we will spend 8 days in the Wilderness enjoying our self-isolation at two campgrounds that we have never been to before. Once we have had enough, we will back track to Hwy 22 and head onwards to Rocky Mountain House to refuel, restock, and wash the RV. Once all of our civilization requirements have been taken care of, we will once again head out to the back country and head to Medicine lake once again for a 7 day stint. After our 7 days we will back track once again and head for Rocky Mountain House to again refuel, restock and probably wash the RV, before heading down the Thompson Hwy (Hwy 11) to Banff National Park. Hwy 11 will pop us out right at Saskatchewan crossing (see our write up), and from there it is only a short drive to our last destination Rampart creek (See our writeup), where we will spend 6 nights before heading back to Calgary. (Trip Map)
So far, I have booked half of this trip and I am hoping I will have as much good luck booking the back half as I have had booking the front half of this trip. I guess time will tell, but beggars in a pandemic can’t be choosy.
So, with camping on the horizon and campsites in our pocket, I have been busy getting the RV ready for its first trip. On the long weekend I flushed the water system and sanitized the water lines and fresh water tank. I also flushed out the hot water tank, and made sure everything tasted just right. By the end of the long weekend I had tested all major systems and everything is working as expected after its long winter sleep. Which as you can imagine made me very happy.
Our first trip is rapidly approaching and will be exactly two weeks away tomorrow. Time to start the pre-trip checklist and start packing he RV with the essentials. Can you say excited! After spending the last 10 weeks in self-Isolation I am ready to get out in the back yard and enjoy some freedom and fresh air!
Woo! Hoo!
Lorraine and I hope that you have been safe throughout this pandemic and that hopefully you will also get out camping. I certainly think we all deserve a break and what better way to enjoy a break than through camping. So, get those sites booked, get the rig ready and hit the open road once again but with a socially responsible attitude that includes a camper’s best friend social isolation. Remember just do trips from point A to B if you can. Avoid stopping in between locations unless you have to get supplies or fuel; and if you do, wear a mask to protect not only you, but those around you. Remember small towns do not have the healthcare resources that the bigger cities do, so we must do our part to protect them and the people who live there.
Well that is all for now and I hope that you are as excited as we are to have a camping season in 2020, certainly it will be one to remember!
Happy Trails
The Glampurs