Storyline: Westward Ho!
Jun 22 – Jun 24
This post is mainly a photo essay.
Driving through the Canadian Rocky Mountains is spectacular.
The snow that covered the mountain tops while we were at Lake Louise, stopped just before we had to cross to Jasper. The moody, constantly changing skies, the spectacular light shining on the peaks, when the cloud curtains lift are hard to describe.
Some say it is one of the most scenic drives in the world. When we drove the Parkway, it was! Perfect photography weather. From the passenger seat I snapped about 200 photos with my phone and it is hard to delete any. None of the photos shown here is altered in any way.
The first stop after we left Lake Louse was a short hike to the viewing platform of Peyto Lake. Aside from some snow- and ice-covered parts which remained after the previous day’s 20cm accumulation, the hike is easy.
Stunning views over the blue waters of the lake from the platform, which at around 9:15am was already full of people.
If we were to make it to Jasper and have some time to stop at Athabasca Glacier, we didn’t have time to hike down to the lake. We returned to the parking lot and continued our northbound journey.
It was shortly after noon when we parked across from the Columbia Icefields building. We were lucky to find a parking spot. It was on the glacier side. Later we’d walk to the building across the highway.
Again my friends, as mentioned in the previous post, things have changed. One cannot drive to the Athabasca Glacier. The glacier itself has retreated far into its base. Alex says 50 years ago it was almost to the parking lot and it was now about two km away. At the speed it melts, soon there won’t be any glacier left.
If one wanted to see the glacier up close, they had to line up and pay for a tour. You can have a combined tour – the glacier and the skyline walk or select one.
We walked up the hill for a while and Alex decided to hike to Sunwapta Lake. He returned on the gravel road not long after I walked down to Doranya.
Off for a coffee, nice views and a few more snapshots at the Columbia Icefield building. Rather crowded and it was only mid-June. I wonder what it’ll be like in July and August when kids are out of school.
Continued the spectacular drive to Jasper. Jasper campground was another story. It rained on and off most of the time we were there. No, that is not so different from Lake Louise.
But the campground wasn’t as secluded as that at Lake Louise. It was wide open, full services at many of the sites. Apparently, the Japanese Pine beetle had invaded the pine trees and they had to cut them down. They built the full-service sites and then planted new trees around. I won’t be around to see them creating shade at these sites.
And what are our chances to meet someone connected to our neighbourhood at the reception desk there? The last night, we had a few questions to ask and since there were not many people checking in we chatted with Natalie, the young lady at the desk. “Where are you from?”, “Ontario”, “I am from Ontario too. Where in Ontario?” “Markham, just north of Toronto”. “Really, do you know Thornhill? My grandparents live there.” “Do you know Roger and Jean on XX Street?” Hmmm, who doesn’t know Jean. The chatty Newfoundlander… “Yes, Roger just passed away in January”… And so, in Alberta, in Jasper National Park, we met the granddaughter of Jean & Roger. She had a summer job there. Small world is the cliché used in such case.
The elk surrounded us in the evenings and mornings. Fun to watch them that close. A few babies and youngsters among them. Cute as they are, one needs to give them a wide berth or risk being hurt. It’s not only bears one needs to avoid.
With rain on and off all the time, we did laundry in town and had dinner at The Raven Bistro, with half-priced happy hour drinks. Even a bottle of wine.
Currently the town of Jasper is the commercial centre for Jasper National Park, but it was first established as a fur trading post (about 35km north of today’s town). The town, created by early settlers and railway pioneers, and the park were named after one of the post’s managers Jasper Haws. Initially (in 1911) the hamlet carried the name of Fitzhugh, a Grand Trunk Pacific Railway vice president. But that was then. Today Jasper National Park is “a World Heritage site with over 2 million visitors passing through the park gates each year” (Municipality of Jasper – History of jasper (jasper-alberta.com)). We were just two of them visiting this past summer.
Next morning we’d head towards the not less picturesque Alaska Highway. Very different yet so spectacular. And there would have our first encounters with the wildfires, which later would force us to change our itinerary multiple times. Although the first smoky day was much earlier, entering Alberta and camping in the Gas City Campground, Medicine Hat. Sun was so red then and the haze on the highway noticeable. It was noticeable in Saskatchewan, near Swift Current, but we didn’t think much of it at the time.
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