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Tuesday saw a lovely sunny day and us setting out on our own for a 11.5km hike up Johnston Canyon Trail to see the waterfalls and on to the Inkpots. We knew this would be a popular spot, particularly the Lower Falls but we were a little bit unprepared for the crowded car park where cars spilled out onto the grass verges for quite a distance. The path is exceptionally well maintained and includes stretches of 'catwalk' that take you close to the falls along the cliff side, sometimes high up, sometimes at water level. The views of the falls were spectacular, so together with the path it was easy to see why it was so popular, although we did marvel at some of the footwear! We guess a Rockies version of the Lakes' Aira Force in terms of easy access to views of a waterfall and thus popularity.
The crowds begun to thin out by the Upper Falls, not all the flip-flop wearers braving it that far! Beyond the Upper Falls the trail was much quieter, steeper too on a rougher track and our legs complained a bit at what we were putting them through after the previous two days' walking. The effort was very well rewarded however by the fascinating sight that is the Inkpots. These are cold water springs that create small blue ponds (that suspended limestone again). We could see the water bubbling from the bottom of some of the pools where it made patterns in the silt. The water emerges at a constant, cool 4C. Alongside the pools is the river that flows down into Johston Canyon. It all was very peaceful with panoramic mountain views and we enjoyed a lovely rest cooling our feet in the river for a short while.
We hadn't got out early on the walk having felt the need for a bit of a rest day and it was late afternoon/early evening by the time of our descent which proved to be a much quieter and thus pleasanter time to look at the falls and the amazing rock formations in the canyon. As with the vast majority of the mountains in The Rockies the gorge is formed from folded and uplifted limestone. The river has worn a deep and twisting path that creates a fascinating series of falls and cascades. Along with the main water flow there are also numerous small Karst springs flowing out of the canyon walls: all in all a beautiful sight - as we hope you can see from some of the photos, most of which come from Jill's camera on this trip as Dave sadly had his camera on the wrong setting for most of the walk.
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