Waterfalls & Glaciers

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Standing by the raging waters of two powerful waterfalls is a transcending experience -- the spray shooting up cooling your face, the thunderous roar, and earth-moving rumble. Today we saw two magnificent waterfalls -- The Athabasca Falls and the Sunwapta Falls.

Standing by these falls, I was struck by the sheer amount of water!! The source of these falls is far up the mountains in the glaciers. Millions of tiny trickles of melt-water, together with rainfall combine to eventually become these raging torrents. We are so fortunate to live in a country blessed with such an abundance of water -- the source of all life.

So it’s 5:00 pm and very hot! -- 29 degrees celsius! What to do? Oh, what about going to one of those “cool” glaciers? You can walk to Angel Glacier on Mt. Edith Cavell. It’s not a difficult walk, but it is rather hot and mostly uphill (mountain). But, it is so worth it!! The small lake at the foot of glacier is dotted with fragments of blue-green ice. A large waterfall tumbles from the side of the mountain and the glacier sits against the mountain looking like a many-layered cake with white, blue and black bands running through it.

Having a photographer for a husband means I often have to find things to do and places to be while he does his “thing”. And, some locations are easier than others. While David went off to find a good shot of the lake, I tried to find some shade -- my hat was not enough in this frozen, sun-baked desert. I found a large rock and sat down on a smaller rock on the “shady side”, put my small jacket over my hat and awaited his return. Suddenly, there was a loud rumble! I looked up at the mountain and was delighted to see a cascade of snow falling from high up the mountain. I got that photo! Seems there is a reason why there are large signs posted to not venture too close to the foot of glacier, also seems a great number of people disregard these warnings. While sitting by my rock, I was entertained by a small chipmunk. I sat very still trying to get a photo of him. Eventually, David came back. He made a small chirping noise and the little chipmunk practically came right up to me! I guess, those same people who disregard warning signs also disregard, the rule about not feeding the animals.

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