Sorry about that. I didn't get around to posting any pictures, I was too busy moving out... and right now I'm in a public library and don't have my camera cable with me, so, again, no pictures.
I had a couple of days in Toronto, which I basically spent moving out of my room in our lovely appartment and trying to reorganize our British Columbia trip, since Dani decided that she would rather not go, and told me 2 days before I left for Edmonton. So I was a little pressed for time.
We managed to go out to a pub though the evening before I left - just my roommates, Julie, Aaron, Greg, Jan (a friend from Konstanz who just moved here) etc. - I really appreciated everyone who made it... especially since the TTC had been on strike until that day! So no buses, no streetcars, no subways. We actually took a cab back from the airport.
On april 29th I got on the Greyhound bus, and spent my next 2 days and 2 hours on there... travelling almost through all of Canada (East to West) - from Toronto, Ontario to Edmonton, Alberta. And let me tell you something: I don't sleep too well on Greyhound buses. It's very bumpy, and they keep stopping and turning on the lights. Also, the Prairies (Manitoba and Saskatchewan): flat. There's nothing else to say about that, really, and it gets boring after about 15minutes. Winnipeg seems to be a nice city, though, I think I'll stay there for a couple of days on my way back.
I met up with 17 other people from the MacMaster (that's another university in Ontario, they organized the trip) University's Outdoor Club, and we headed out to the Rocky Mountains for 2 weeks of camping, climbing, hiking, and TREMENDOUS FUN!!! We all had a really good time, the group of people was just amazing. I love them all, sincerely - although I wouldn't want to share a tent with Nick, and he DID almost kill us while driving ;)
The trip didn't go according to plan AT ALL, because there were highly unusual amounts of snow in the Rockies for that time of year, so we had to take it day by day and see how much snow we encountered and which hikes were doable. We got snowed in one night - meaning we arrived at a hostel, and there was no snow, we woke up 10 hours later and there was about 50cm of snow all around - and it didn't stop snowing all day! So we spent another day and night at the hostel, since there was no way we could get the minivans we were driving out onto the highway through that kiond of snow. So, lots of showering, snowball fights, and HOTTUB SESSIONS!!! In the snow - beautiful. Our last couple of days our base camp was in a rainshadow valley (the Kootenay Plains), which means the clouds go around the valley but not OVER, so there's barely any rain or snow. We also went climbing on day. I went up a good way until my knee wouldn't support my body weight anymore (it's been acting up a little, so I didn't do all the hikes on the trip and have been in some pain, but manageable), and that despite my considerable fear of heights! I was very proud of myself :)
I have to cut this a bit short, I'm running out of time on the library computer... let's see...
We saw a lot of wildlife: a black bear, moose, elk, deer, different kinds of birds, big horn sheep... and I saw a wolf, when I was hiking on my own! Very exciting. No cougars, though - which we were all thankful for, I think. It got pretty cold at night, too - about -4 degrees celsius a couple of nights.
And it turns out, you don't really notice how dirty you are when you're outside camping in the middle of nowhere and everyone else is just as filthy... it did feel a little weird though when we got back into Edmonton and civilization. Took me about 10 minutes to scrub off all the layers of grease and dust on my face!
On may 14th, I took the overnight bus to Vancouver, and have been in Vancouver ever since. Very beautiful here, especially with
the weather being sunny around 22 degrees and everything in bloom! I got a little sunburned yesterday, the intensity of the sun was a little unexpected.
Tomorrow morning, I will (once more) pick up a rental car, and Sara, Morgane (a French Exchange student at York University) will head North, over Vancouver Island, then up to the Yukon and (hopefully) we'll squeeze in a quick visit to Alaska. We will return the car to Vancouver on may 30th. Again, lots of camping and hiking ahead of me in those 2 weeks... and lots more wildlife, too! I think they have a lot more Grizzlies in the Yukon... no worries, we'll be careful. Maya (our trip leader in the Rockies) gave us an extensive bear talk, we know what to do to avoid being eaten! ;)
That's it, for the next 2 weeks at least! Again, sorry about the lack of pictures... maybe I can put some up beginning of june, when I'm in a hostel with internet access... we'll see.
Cheers,

stef