Whilst hiking in Tonquin Valley in Jasper National Park, a trip we did twice over 8 days, we rounded a corner on an enclosed section of the path when all of a sudden we were face to face with a grizzly sow with two young cubs. The most dangerous and unpredictable animal in the Canadian Rockies.

With a backpack full of beef jerky, we readied our bear spray, spoke even louder than before, and avoided direct eye contact as it can be perceived as a sign of aggression.

As we were standing our ground, the momma bear began advancing toward us with cubs in tow. With nowhere to go, we walked backward for what seemed like an eternity until the mother led her cubs through the bush toward the Astoria River near the Amethyst Lakes.

With our hearts in our mouths, we continued on, much sweatier than before.

When a perfect weather window opened, we decided to camp on the first summit of the Pocaterra Ridge in the heart of Kananaskis Country. Whilst crossing the first avalanche path from the previous winter, the sky looked great. Clear and calm.

After a final surge, we were at the first summit, had set up camp, ate, and were in our sleeping bags, waiting for sunrise. Then came a slight breeze; a considerable gust, followed by a strong wind that eventually ended in intermittent hail storms with 125km/h blasts. Although our tent was pitched as well as it could be, we literally had to hold it up with our feet from the inside.

As the sun rose we decided to make a break for it as the hail had temporarily died down.

Whilst traversing down crunchy snowdrift, the light broke through the clouds, illuminating the eastern face of Mount Pocaterra. A moment totally worth the hardship of the night.

Our next year started with a 3-month trip to New Zealand, an East Coast adventure in Australia, early summer in the European Alps, and then fall and winter back in Canada. We shared our experiences on Bored Panda. You can check it out here.

We’ve been documenting our travels on our visually based website In A Faraway Land. It's dedicated to providing up-to-date travel information, road trip itineraries and hiking guides adorned with our photography.