Jasper

The drive from Banff to Jasper was quite interesting. We left on a cloudy morning and after a few hours along the Icefield Parkway it was snowing! I wasn’t expecting to see blowing snow but fortunately it was only at the higher elevation. Before long the road was dry again and the sun was shining. It was the classic Canadian scene – fall colours, snow-capped mountains, turquoise lakes and the rushing river. (At this point in our trip, the biggest animal we’ve seen is the moose.. still no bear, mountain goat or wolf…)

We drove by Columbia Icefield and it was sad to see that the glacier has receded so much. Both Jeff and I have been there when we were much younger and again about 5 years ago with the kids.. Sadly you’ll see more glacial erratic (rocks and stones that were transported by a glacier and then left behind after the glacier melted) than ice as the time goes by. Climate change is real.

In Jasper, we kicked into high gear again for hiking. We hiked to the summit of Bald Hills by Maligne Lake. It was a 2.5-hour uphill hike to a phenomenal 360 view of the area. At the summit we sat on the rocks and had our peanut butter and jam sandwich for lunch – best lunch stop ever!

The next day we hiked along the Malign river to the canyon. It was an easy hike and perhaps would be more exciting if the water level was higher. Someday I’ll like to return to the Malign Canyon in the wintertime as you can walk on the frozen canyon floor and waterfalls. Speaking of waterfalls, we also went to Athabasca Falls. When we arrived, we saw that there was a wedding photoshoot and the crew was also flying a drone. The couple had crossed the railings to get on the rocks, close to the rushing water. Definitely a quick way to lose a spouse.  

We also completed the “valley of the five lakes” hike, where in just over 4km you’ll hike past 5 crystal clear turquoise lakes. Next, we drove to the Mt Edith Cavell area to see the glaciers and hiked a little more. The Edith Cavell area is very interesting. You get to see the hanging glaciers over a tarn (glacial lake) where there are chunks of ice in the water. There is a warning not to go to the lake shore because of the risk of a flash flood due to ice calving, but you know people… they have to be cool (or more likely stupid) and risk their lives to see the ice up close. Again, climate change has affected the size of the glaciers… Sadly it’s a matter of time before glaciers disappear.

Tomorrow is our last day in Jasper. We will get another hike in and then end our stay with Jamaican food… there is a highly recommended Jamaican restaurant in Jasper and we love our spicy food! On Friday morning we will leave for Merritt and boondock again at the Walmart to break our journey. Overall this has been a relaxing and much needed break for both Jeff and myself. Looking forward to be back home…