Beautiful Days in Jasper and Lake Louise

August 25-28

Jasper is a small, cute resort town with alpine-like architecture, lots of restaurants, hotels and shops and a railroad running in front of it. We went first to the visitor’s center, which is located in a historic building, and got information about the park.

Then we drove to Jasper Park Lodge and walked down to look at pretty Lac Beauvert.
Back in the trailer for lunch, I looked out the window and saw a pathetic-looking coyote calmly walking around the campground, inspecting all the campsites. Upon arrival you are emphatically instructed not to leave any food out while you’re gone or you will be evicted from the campground with no refund, so I doubt the coyote found anything to eat.

In the afternoon of this gloriously-beautiful day of sunshine and warmth, we drove to Maligne Canyon and hiked a magnificent, steep three-mile trail along a limestone gorge.  At every turn there was another amazing vista, with turquoise water gushing through a narrow gorge, waterfalls, a suspension bridge and five pedestrian bridges. I took a couple hundred photos, none of which did this place justice.

After that, we drove 25 miles to Maligne Lake, admiring the craggy peaks along the way. Along the shore of Medicine Lake, which is the color of green turquoise, I saw a small herd of the scarce Woodland Caribou. A little farther on, I saw a black bear walking along a side road.

A trail goes around Maligne Lake, but we only walked a little way. A very tame deer browsed next to the trail. When we got back to the trailer, David’s mother called and told us that hurricane Irene was going to land in Morehead City on Saturday morning, so everyone was getting ready.

In the morning we saw several elk passing through the campground. They’re so accustomed to people, they mostly ignore them. (Also, they’re not hunted in the park.)

This day we hiked the pretty Valley of the Five Lakes trail. It starts in a lodgepole pine forest, crosses Wabasso creek, continues through a grassy marsh and a flowery meadow and takes you to five small, pretty lakes, each of which is a different hue of blue-green because of differing depths.

In the afternoon we drove the 8-mile Edith Cavell Road to the top, with fabulous views of mountains. This road was narrow, steep and winding, more so than any other road we’ve been on. It was paved with clear lines, but most of the outer lines were on the edge of the pavement, with no shoulder at all. There was a lot of oncoming traffic. We saw a young man walking up it holding a skateboard. Presumably he skated down. We had seen him before on another steep, narrow road. He’d have to be phenomenal to survive these roads.

At the top we walked the .9-mile trail to the base of Edith Cavell and saw three glaciers: Edith Cavell, Angel and Ghost (a very small one clinging to the side of the mountain.) Edith Cavell was a British nurse who helped many Allied patients escape during WWI and was executed by the Germans. It was a fairly steep hike with loads of people but interesting. From the bottom you could see a tiny black dot moving slowly up the mountain on the iceface.

After this hike, we went to see the spectacular Athabasca Falls. From the parking lot you walk along paved paths, cross bridges and stop at viewpoints and overlooks for various vantage points. An idiot had climbed over the barrier fence and was poised on the cliffside taking photos where he could easily have slipped to his death.
We left early the following morning to get to Lake Louise in Banff National Park before the campground filled up for the day. (You can make a reservation, but it costs over $10.)  Lots of cars were stopped by the side of the road to view a herd of elk, including a bull with big antlers. We didn’t stop. Farther along another group of cars was stopped observing a black bear very close to the road. People were outside their cars, running across the highway for a better look.

We continued on to the Icefields Parkway, 140 miles through the Canadian Rockies with jaw-dropping views. Jagged peaks--some snow covered, some with glaciers, some with interesting formations, a couple looking like medieval castles--pierced the blue skies. You’re just going to have to see it for yourself.

Athabasca Glacier

We stopped at a few viewpoints, saw Sunwapta Falls and canyon and visited the Columbia Icefield Centre where we took a quick look at the interpretive displays. We didn’t feel like we had time to hike to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier, which we could see across the road from the center.

Lake Louise Fairmont - where we didn't stay

We got to the campground at 2:00. They had electric-only sites available. After setting up, we went to the “village”, which is primarily a small shopping center. We went to the visitor’s center then drove to Lake Louise, an emerald-green lake with a big Fairmont hotel on it, a glacier at the far end and lots of people paddling around in red canoes. Hoards of people ambled about. It felt like Disneyworld. The glacier roared a few times when calving.

We took the easy-rated Fairview Lookout trail that started flat for awhile then became steep and got steeper. If it had been any steeper, we would have needed crampons. It was by far the steepest trail we’d been on. Whose “easy” is that? Professional mountaineers? After a mile, you arrive at an observation deck where you can see the lake and the chateau but not the glacier.
Back at the campground David called his mother to see how she had weathered the hurricane. She said the power was out and that the shingles had blown off the roof. Otherwise all was well.
A train goes by very close to the campground fairly frequently, always blowing its loud horn, which terrifies the cats. They don’t want to go out because they don’t know what makes the noise.

On the next day, another warm, sunny, beautiful day (we can get used to this), we drove up the narrow road to Moraine Lake. The parking lot was crowded, but we found a place to park. It’s a pretty lake with a resort on it. We walked up to the Consolation Lakes trailhead but couldn’t go any farther because there was a big sign saying you had to hike in groups of at least four or you would be fined $500 because of grizzly bear activity. While we waited for some other hikers to show up, we chatted with a man sitting on a bench waiting for his wife and son to return from the hike. He worked for CNN in New York and deplored the state of politics in our country. He also said that CNN has a hard time competing with other networks that deliver news as entertainment to attract viewers. We thoroughly enjoyed talking with him and hearing his insights.

Then a group of four Italian woman showed up, and we asked them if we could tag along. It was just right for me because they hiked about the same pace as I. Only one of them spoke some English. The others didn’t seem to know any at all, so I dredged up the few Italian words I knew, and they understood my Italish. When we got to the end, there was a bunch of people sitting on huge rocks from long-ago avalanches. You could see the glacier but not the lake. We climbed over the rocks to see the lake, then decided to leave. The Italians were having lunch. One of them was feeding a little squirrel who had climbed onto her lap to eat out of her hand. Everyone else had left, so we returned alone. We were afraid a ranger might fine us (not of meeting a grizzly), but fortunately we didn’t encounter either on the hike back. We got back to the parking lot at 1:00. The place was mobbed. There were no empty parking spots at all. People were circling. When we drove down, cars were parked along the road for a long way.
We returned to the trailer to have lunch.

After that we drove about 15 miles to Silverton Falls. We hiked first to the bottom of the falls, which were just okay. Then we hiked up to the top of the falls, which was considerably more striking. On the way back to the campground we stopped to view the impressive Castle Rock and Morant’s Curve & Outlet Creek.
Back at the trailer, Neptune wanted out. He had a great time. The cats are still afraid of the big, loud, scary trains. But they’re starting to get used to them and don’t run and hide, especially when they can see the trains through the woods. It’s what they can’t see that scares them most.