Canada! (the big trip)

As many of you know, Josh and I have been planning a trip to Banff and Jasper National Park in Canada for a few years. This is the home to the mountain that my dad wanted to climb. I first decided to go before dad even got sick, imagining that he and I would climb Mt. Temple together. Then, as we discovered the cancer, I imagined that I would climb it with him after the successful chemo and would probably carry all the weight and help support him along the way (with Josh's help of course). As he got sicker and sicker, I foolishly imagined that I would practically carry him up the mountain and make Josh carry all the supplies. After he died, I realized that I still needed to climb this mountain and wanted to carry him up there so that he could do his last mountain and the only mountain he ever regretted not being able to climb. (time and weather did not allow the few times he went there)Dad's final wishes were to be spread out at his favorite place, the cabin. So, I asked the rest of the family to wait and allow me to bring the ashes up the mountain and invited them all to come with us. Last summer did not work out, as many of us took too much time off of work to take another vacation. Plus, this is a HUGE mountain and everyone needed at least a year to train. (Josh and I had been training, but no one else had)So, it was decided that we would climb the mountain the next summer on his birthday. (July 27th)
Many months of planning and reserving hotels and camping, and endless emails and phone calls later, we were all at Lake Louise, ready to climb the big mountain...