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yroad Katie McGonagle embarks on a rail adventure with Rocky Mountaineer


DESTINATIONS ROCKY MOUNTAINEER | CANADA


t travelweekly.co.uk


here was snow on the ground and a chill in the air as I stepped out of


Kananaskis Mountain Lodge for an early morning stroll along the scenic footpath that passes just behind the hotel.


Lost in thought, I missed the signpost for the Village Rim Trail and ended up in the hotel’s staff car park – not quite the view I’d been expecting – and contemplated turning back in favour of hot coffee and a spot by the fire. “It’s only five minutes away,” the concierge had told me. “And the view is beautiful.” So I retraced my footsteps to the trail, and just moments later I rounded a corner and the sweeping snow- covered landscape of Kananaskis Valley came into view. It was definitely worth persevering. Despite the unseasonable snowfall overnight, it was a bluebird morning – all bright blue skies and white, fluffy clouds draping themselves across the upper slopes of the mountains, snow-tipped pines lining the


hillsides that rushed down to the winding path of the Kananaskis River.


I set off along the deserted


trail, boundless valley views to one side and dark, inviting woods to the other, past a deer basking in a patch of sun and the occasional flash of movement between the trees.


With no other soul in sight, I couldn’t help but think of the Robert Frost poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening: “The only other sound’s the sweep of easy wind and downy flake.” Except I could add the gentle padding of my feet over powdery snow, the occasional rustle as a breeze swept a small flurry of flakes off the branches, and the deep, throaty caw and high-pitched chirp of birds calling to each other across the treetops. I probably should have been used to views like this after two days on board Rocky Mountaineer, often named the most scenic train journey in the world, but this kind of raw, untouched terrain never ²


22 AUGUST 2019


39


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