Twin Falls Chalet

One of the things I was most looking forward to on this trip was the chance to meet interesting new people. Friday I met one of the most interesting women I have ever known.

I arrived at Kicking Horse Campground in YoHo National Park Thursday night. It was the first night in a week of camping that I actually paid for a campsite, but the hot shower was well worth the fee!

Before I left for Canada, John loaned me a couple books on hikes i

n the area. One hike in YoHo and 2 hikes at Lake Louise end up at tea houses. This sounded like fun to me, so Friday I headed up to the Twin Falls Chalet where the guidebook promised afternoon t

ea was served. It's about a 5 mile hike to the Chalet, and a mile or so into the hike I met Fran.

She was heading up the trail loaded down with an old school external frame pack. As she was clearly an older woman by herself heading up the hill, I offered a word of encouragement as I passed by. We struck up a conversation, and she asked me where I was heading. When I told her I was hiking to the tea house, she said it was closed. We I questioned how she came about this information, she told me she knew it was closed because she is the owner and she was in the process of bringing up supplies!

I was immediately intrigued by this tiny woman. She told me she has been running the Twin Fall

s Chalet for 48 years, and backpacking supplies up and down the mountain all that time! Since I was going her way I offered to shoulder her burden for her. We switched packs and I carried h

er load up to the Chalet.

When I asked Fran her age, she told me she is 70ish. She runs the Chalet more or less by herself. She has a work crew come in the spring to help bring some supplies and split wood (wood is used for both heating and cooking at Twin Falls), and she has a local guy help her from time to time during the 8 weeks she is open. The Twin Falls Chalet is not affiliated with the Canadian Forest Service at all. Fran calls it her "labor of love".

I was rewarded for my efforts in carrying up supplies with lemonade and a sandwich when we reached Twin Falls. But my biggest reward was meeting Fran. I am so inspired by women like her! She shows me that you never have to give up your passion for doing what you love.

Turns out, Fran is a bit of a local legend. No surprise there. One lady came by the Chalet while we were visiting and said she had been wanting to meet Fran for years. I guess Fran and her Chalet have been featured in a PBS special and several books. Of course Fran is very humble, she just smiles and says, "yes that was me in the PBS special". She acts as if most 70ish people have a 5 mile hike with a backpack into their work! I don't think your average 30ish person would envy that task. Although I think it would be a fantastic job!

The next day I hiked to both tea houses above Lake Louise. One is at Lake Agnes and the other is called the Inn of the Six Glaciers. Even with big chunks of glacier calving off and crashing down the mountain at the second tea house it just couldn't compare with Fran and her Chalet.

I've been blessed to be able to take this amazing trip this summer and see some incredibly beautiful places. But it is the beautiful people I have been meeting along the way that have made this a truly memorable experience!