I got on the train in Vancouver and after a long night trying to sleep in uncomfortable train seats i had a fairly decent first day of travel. I took lots of pictures and going through the rockies was really cool. I met a brazilian backpacker named Leo on the train and we talked for a while. My first hostel experience was really great. I was suprised that I was one of the only canadians in the hostel. The first night I was sitting at a table in the commonroom with people from switzerland, germany, France, Holand, Spain and australia. A truely multicultural experience and the backpackers are all very friendly. I ended up making plans to drive a little ways out of town to do some hiking with the guy from australia and the guy from holand. The hiking around Jasper was great with beautiful views of snowcapped mountains and glacial lakes. We ended up hiking up 2 different mountains with a total of 22 kms. I was absolutely exausted but it was worth the spectacular views