Sept 6 - Sept 13 - Canadian Rockies - Part 2

Good Morning Mountains!

The weather is improving - hopefully the wind and rain that passed through last night will clear things out. 

Toddling along on the Icefields Parkway, we stopped to hike in Athabasca Falls area.  It’s a powerful picturesque fall, which may have been more dramatic due to the very heavy rains the night before.

There are ‘potholes’, literally carved by the silt, sand and gravel trapped in the swirling eddies.

There are 14 species of native fish below the falls, and only one native fish (the bull trout) above the falls.  Nothing survived in the glacial ice, and as it receded, plants and animals spread up the valley.  The falls blocked fish migration, so it is not clear how the bull trout made their way above falls.

The trails and walkways are good, and sadly, lined with park benches inscribed with the names of people (mostly young daredevils) who tempted the edge too closely and fell. 

We arrive in Jasper late in the day, with promising weather forcasted for the next day.

Jasper is an unremarkable town, but the things to see in the immediate surrounding area are fantastic.

We spent a LONG time hiking over 4.5 miles down into, and BACK UP (UGH) Maligne Canyon.  It was well worth it!  

The Maligne canyon Karst rock system was produced by water flowing through, around and over the areas dissolving the soluble rock, such as limestone.  






There are springs, ponds, caves, and waterfalls.

We drove along along a string of mountains, lighted by the afternoon sun, arriving at Maligne Lake late in the day.  

This is a dream spot for anyone who loves mountains and water.

On the way back, a herd of goats obstructed the road.  How nice of them.

Again in our camp this evening, there was a visitor.

After finishing in Jasper (as far north as this trip plan allows), we doubled back and headed south on Icefields Parkway, stopping to see sites we skipped on the way up due to poor weather conditions.

Forty two years ago, we were in this area and went to Peyto lake.  We remembered it being difficult to access, only by a long hike.  Well … things have changed.  Now, there is a parking lot near the mountain crest, a short walk the rest of the way to a viewing platform.  All of this was new (and detracts from a sense of accomplishment that we had felt on our first visit), but the lake is still beautiful.  





After hiking around the area a ­bit, we found a trail that took us over to the original overlook where we stood 42 years ago, offering what we felt were better views, and a more ‘authentic’ experience.  That was a great treat.

Peyto Lake’s remarkable color comes from the glacial silt particles suspended in it’s water.  The lake is named after Bill Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper.  The lake is 1.7 x 0.5 miles. 

Still heading south, and taking tons of pictures out of the windows as we drove along, we are positively LOVING the blue sky day. 













Columbian Ice Fields – Round 2

The second time through Columbian Icefields was so different, and much better than the first time.  This is what we came to see!  It just took two different swings through to achieve the goal.










We are so lucky to have a second chance to be here.

In spite of all this beauty, Stinky is NOT impressed.  He just really liked the sunshine streaming in on the dashboard.




We arrived at Lake Louise late afternoon and THAT turned out to be a disappointment.  Why we thought it would be as good as 40 years ago, we don’t know.  The traffic is horrible (remember, we are here off-season).  The only parking (irrespective the vehicle) is an overflow parking lot (which doubled as our campground), with a jam packed shuttle bus up to the lake.  Due to the late afternoon arrival, the visibility and lighting were bad (hence no pics).  So, we planted ourselves at an outside patio table, soaked up the sunshine, had drinks and appetizers, chatted with people nearby, and planned the next day.  There is always a way to have a good time.  Busload after busload pours in for a one hour stops.  We were happy at our table watching the chaos.  There are way too many people.

We’re up the next morning at 7:00 a.m., to catch the 7:45 bus, for ‘first ones up’ trip to Morraine lake.  There is a small parking lot that fills up quickly (often full by 6:00 a.m), so the bus was the only way we were going to get there.  Like Lake Peyto, Morraine Lake is a glacially fed lake that reflects beautiful colors.  At an elevation of about 6200 feet, it covers about 120 acres.

The view of the lake from the top of the rock pile is one of the most photographed locations in Canada.  We were there on a mostly cloudy day … at least it wasn’t raining or on fire!  

The sun broke through a few times scooting across patches of fall foliage.  There are glaciers hanging up in the mountains surrounding the lake.  


We did not rent a canoe – at $95 an hour, it was a bit out of budget.  We walked around the lake on designated trails, and skipped the trails with the bear warnings.

Banff Part 2

Moving south again, we return to the same campground just outside Banff where we were several days earlier, and the same site, hoping to see the Caribou march through again in the evening, but he did make an encore.

As it turned out, we wanted to return to Banff as there were things we did not get to see the first time through and we had the time on our return.  It was good opportunity to do inside tours, because it was RAINING again. 

The Whyte museum offers regional cultural heritage exhibits.  It is the largest privately funded public museum in Canada.  The founders, Peter and Catherine Whyte were both academically trained fine artists who moved to Banff in 1930 and painted extensively, recording the raw wilderness and First Nations People. 

A special exhibit was devoted to early women explorers of the area.  Skirts??  Really??

The natural history museum is housed in a 1903 log building, the oldest surviving federal building in a Canadian National Park.  

The Victorian era collection of over 5000 botanical and zoological specimens includes vintage taxidermied bears, big-horn sheep, birds, bees and beetles.  We found the building with the lantern style top floor as interesting as the exhibits.

To attract wealthy tourists, the Canadian Pacific Railway built the luxurious Banff Springs Hotel in 1888.  That hotel burned in 1926, and was replaced with the hotel that stands today.  It's a beauty.

Night Night.  

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