From Jasper to Lake Louise on two wheels and two feet

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August 4th 2012

Published: November 7th 2012

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Backpackermatt

Homeward bound

Passing Herbert Lake on the way back into Lake Louise

Having arrived in Jasper after cycling all the way from Lake Louise over the preceding five days, I was on my way to the HI hostel on the lower slopes of Whistlers Mountain (just outside Jasper) when suddenly I came upon a black bear nibbling away on some bushes by the side of the road just below me - my third bear sighting in less than thirty-six hours! Not much else was achieved that afternoon however, as I lazed around the hostel taking advantage of my first opportunity in five days to have an actual shower and eat something other than pasta and sauce, before retiring to my 44-bed dorm room!

Determined to pack as much into my remaining two days in Jasper as possible, I was most disappointed to rise the following morning (saturday 28th July) only be greeted by a blanket of grey sky and constant rain. So much like the previous saturday (and the sunday before that - what is it with wet weekends in the Rockies?!?) I could do nothing but sit and wait for a break in the weather. Finally some time around five o'clock in the afternoon the clouds suddenly parted, and within minutes

Mirror still

Perfect reflections in Lake Annette

I was out the door and flying down the mountain (on my bicycle, not literally) to fit as much as possible into the five hours of daylight that I had left. And incredibly, by the time I made it up to the viewpoint at Old Fort Point - where a strangely shaped hill rises about a hundred metres above the Athabasca River, affording wonderful views of Jasper town and the entire surrounding area for very little effort - only half-an-hour later, there was hardly a cloud in the sky!

After checking out the view from Old Fort Point, I hopped back on my bicycle and followed one of the quiet, shady backroads (which like a number of other backroads on the edge of town is closed to motor traffic, making Jasper a remarkably bicycle-friendly town) to the stunning Lac Beauvert, whose crystal clear water, turquoise-coloured appearance and glass-like surface were nothing short of breathtaking. From there I continued on to Lake Annette where I was able to follow a trail all the way around the shoreline; before ending up at Lake Edith, where the mirror-like surface provided the perfect reflection of the surrounding mountains (particularly the imposing profile of

Picture perfect

Perfect reflections in Lake Edith

Mount Edith Cavell) under a full moon... and all under a cloudless sky.

Thankfully the nice weather continued on sunday (for most of the day at least) allowing me to hop on the bicycle nice and early to once again tear down the mountain towards town, where I actually ended up following the same route as the day before to start with - Old Fort Point, Lac Beauvert, Lake Annette, Lake Edith - with my trance-like state being interrupted only when an ignorant woman pulled up in the carpark beside Lac Beauvert and immediately let her un-leashed dogs out of the car... only to realize that there were two adult female elk grazing nearby when her dogs started trying to attack them. No amount of screaming on the woman's behalf could prevent her pets from reverting to their natural hunting mode; while a lack of antlers certainly didn't stop the two frightened elk from standing their ground and threatening to impale the dogs with their stamping hooves whenever the canines got too close. Really, some people are just too stupid to live.

Continuing on from Lake Edith, I managed to struggle my way up the gentle but prolonged

I've got the whole world in my hands

High above Jasper at Old Fort Point

climb to Maligne Canyon, where a number of hiking trails follow the course of the Maligne River as it tumbles and crashes it's way down through another impressively-carved slot canyon. However, unlike most of the other gorges in the Rockies (eg Stewart, Johnston and Mistaya Canyons) Maligne Canyon features a rather peculiar trick of nature, whereby the Maligne River - which flows above ground as an ordinary river from Maligne Lake 40kms to the south to Medicine Lake half that distance away - largely disappears from the surface and flows mostly underground between Medicine Lake and Maligne Canyon, before re-emerging from the rock and re-joining the main body of water as it plunges through the deepest, darkest depths of the gorge. At least that's what it says on the signs.

Fresh from spending an hour or two exploring the gorge, I hopped back on my bicycle and high-tailed it into town for lunch, before heading out the other side of town to what is known as the Pyramid bench - a low plateau at the base of Pyramid Mountain which is dotted with a number of mid-sized lakes surrounded by forest. Sadly though, as I cycled alongside the shore

Slot canyon

The rushing waters of Maligne Canyon

of Pyramid Lake on my way to check out Pyramid Island, I watched as police divers tried to locate the body of a man who had drowned not long before. A short hike through mud and slosh - and past a sign warning of the presence of wolves in the area - led me up to the secluded Katrine Lake, before I returned to the shores of Pyramid Lake and then backtracked my way to Patricia Lake, which presumably is named after my mum!?!

With a few hours of sunlight still left in the day - and the clouds that had come out of nowhere to dump a sudden shower of rain having dispersed as quickly as they had gathered - I continued with my mission to check out as many of the nearby lakes as possible, starting by following an old dirt fire road to Cabin Lake, before tackling some major off-road cycling on the way to Marjorie Lake (possibly named after my grandma?), Hibernia Lake and finally Caledonia Lake - during which time any pause to have a drink of water or take a photograph would be met by an instant swarm of ravenous mosquitos. Eventually though

Named after my mum

Patricia Lake, with Pyramid Mountain in the background

I emerged from the wilderness, headed into town for dinner (my third serving of fast food in as many days!) and then made my way back up to the hostel, stopping off along the way to enjoy the view of Mount Edith Cavell rearing up above a bend in the Athabasca River, with the full moon bathing everything in a soft glow.

With my return journey along the Icefields Parkway set to begin on monday - but with only thirty kilometres to go to my first overnight stop at Athabasca Falls - I had decided to first tackle the steep climb up to the 2400m+ summit of Whistlers Mountain (involving 1200 metres of ascent in just 7.5kms of hiking) which begins from immediately behind the hostel. Unfortunately the ever-changing mountain weather had reverted to it's form from two days previous, meaning that it was under sodden skies and in constant drizzle that I painstakingly made my way up the side of the mountain - rather than forking out thirty dollars to take the easy way out and get the aerial tramway up to the top - only to be greeted by even worse weather and a distinct lack of

Rushing river

The turbulent waters of the Astoria River

views upon my arrival at the top. With no chance of the weather improving anytime soon - and against my better judgment - I begrudgingly paid to take the cable car back down, before heading back to the hostel for one last meal and then loading up the bicycle for the long journey ahead.

With Highway 93A paralleling the Icefields Parkway on the opposite side of the Athabasca River valley for the first 30kms out of Jasper - only with far less traffic - I chose to take this alternative route to my overnight stop at Athabasca Falls, where the two roads meet up. Unfortunately this meant having to once again hop off and push my bicycle uphill (loaded up with five days worth of food hanging from the handlebars once again) as the road climbed up the side of the valley towards the turnoff to Mount Edith Cavell. Thankfully though the climb was worth the effort, as the views from the top were most impressive - especially where the road crosses high above the Astoria River, on it's turbulent journey down from the mountains above to the valley below.

After an exhilarating downhill stretch brought me back

Brown bear

Grizzly bear near the road on Highway 93A

to the valley floor, I had just passed the 'Meeting of the Waters' - where the Whirlpool River flows into the Athabasca River - when I came upon the tell-tale scene of three cars parked beside the road... a dead giveaway that there was a bear nearby. For the next fifteen minutes or more I watched as an adult grizzly bear ambled back and forth amongst the trees looking for the best bushes on which to munch, seemingly oblivious to the half-dozen-or-so people (on the main highway there would have been at least thirty carloads of people crowded around) who had gathered by the side of the road to watch.

And as if that wasn't enough of a wildlife experience for one afternoon, only twenty minutes or so after leaving the grizzly bear behind - and with the weather starting to look increasingly threatening - I was stopped by a passing motorist who alerted me to the presence of a black bear on the road a couple of kilometres further ahead. Determined to make the most of the opportunity to see a bear close-up, I pedalled my heart out whilst scanning the road ahead for any signs of movement,

Black bear

Another bear beside the road on Highway 93A

before finally spotting the bear rummaging around in the bushes right beside the road. As quietly and carefully as possible I inched my way along the opposite side of the road (my heart beating somewhat faster than usual!) until I was only metres away from the bear, who unsurprisingly seemed far more interested in the foliage beside the road than the stationary cyclist on the road... until suddenly it stopped feeding, raised it's head and stared straight at me!

With my heart by now almost bursting out of my chest, I raised one of my feet to the pedals so that I could take off at any given moment if necessary, only for the bear to eventually lose interest in me and go back to rummaging through the roadside foliage. But though it may have lasted only a few seconds, the experience of locking eyes with a fully grown black bear from only a few metres away is not something I will soon forget! And while I would eventually have to leave my furry companion behind once the now-familiar swarm of mosquitos arrived to persecute me, I had probably spent at least fifteen minutes watching captivated as the bear

Endless Chain

Paralleling the Endless Chain ridge through the Athabasca River valley

casually sniffed about in the underbrush and overturned rocks to see if there were any edible treats underneath... and all without another person in sight. It was my fifth bear sighting in the past five days - after having only spotted one bear in my first two weeks in the Rockies - and without a doubt my most memorable encounter yet.

Things could have gotten even better the following day, as I passed the turnoff to Buck Lake and Osprey Lake only minutes after a mother bear and her two cubs had disappeared into the trees. My good fortune hadn't completely deserted me however, as I somehow managed to dodge the frequent rainclouds that seemed to be dumping rain on the road both in front of and behind me - but never above me - throughout the day, as I made my way up the Sunwapta River valley towards Beauty Creek.

Wednesday brought the dreaded return journey over Sunwapta Pass, though apart from the short, sharp climb past the impressive roadside cataract of Tangle Falls - which I wasn't even going to attempt to cycle up - I had far less trouble getting up and over the pass

Frozen in time

View of the Athabasca Glacier from opposite the Icefields Centre

than I had coming from the opposite direction the week before. And with the weather having cleared up somewhat by the time I reached the pass, I was able to get some nice pictures not only of the Athabasca Glacier as I passed the Columbia Icefield visitor centre, but also the Saskatchewan Glacier after stopping off to tackle the short but steep hiking trail up to Parker Ridge.

Further along I stopped once again to hike down to a viewpoint looking out towards the picturesque Bridal Veil Falls, as well as the much closer and infinitely more powerful Panther Falls. From there I made my way back down around the Big Bend, before holding on for deer life as I flew down the mountainside on my way down into the North Saskatchewan River valley - which I would follow the rest of the way to my next overnight stop at Rampart Creek. But no sooner had I dumped my bags at the hostel and filled my stomach with the usual pasta and sauce than I was back on the road and re-tracing my route five kilometres back up the road to the trailhead for the hike to Sunset Pass.

River of ice

View of the Saskatchewan Glacier from Parker Ridge

Unfortunately though, after following the trail without incident for the first few kilometres, I arrived at the shores of Norman Lake only for the trail to disappear completely! After spending the next half-an-hour trying in vain to pick up the trail (only later would I discover that I had taken a wrong turn long before reaching the lake, and had been following the wrong trail ever since!) I eventually had to give up altogether and instead settle for following an alternative trail to the nearby Sunset Lookout, where the view of both the North Saskatchewan River valley and the adjoining Alexandra River valley (not to mention the imposing bulk of Mount Amery in between) would have been even more impressive if not for the ominous storm clouds closing in from all directions.

Thursday would turn out to be my least enjoyable day in the Rockies, as I first had to contend with a flat rear tyre (which thankfully had gone down overnight, allowing me to enlist the help of the hostel manager at Rampart Creek - who luckily for me was an avid cyclist - to help me patch up the puncture before I left) and then cycle

Surreal sight

Looking back from the summit of Bow pass on day four

over sixty kilometres with more than six hundred metres of vertical ascent to get up and over Bow Pass... and all in the most horrendous weather that I had faced so far!

From ceaseless rain all the way up the Mistaya River valley to heavy sleet as I neared Bow Pass - during which I had to get off and walk my bicycle uphill for the best part of an hour - I had nothing to keep me going but the prospect of a hot meal and a warm bed for the night when I finally reached Mosquito Creek; which thankfully with nothing worth stopping for in the awful weather - apart from yet another black bear that could be seen sliding down a scree slope beside the road - I was able to do in just over four hours.

Freezing cold and soaking wet by the time I made it to my final overnight stop of the trip at Mosquito Creek, I had only just managed to dry myself off and warm myself up by the fire when I noticed that the sun had miraculously appeared; so I rapidly set about hanging all of my clothes out

Scenic viewpoint

Bow Lake and Crowfoot Mountain

to dry in the hope of being able to fit in another end-of-day hike to the nearby Molar Pass. True to form though, by the time I had finished hanging my clothes out to dry - with even the clothes in my bag having gotten wet while I was on the bike - the sun had not only disappeared, but the rain had also begun to fall yet again.

Not only did this put an end to any thoughts of going hiking, but it confirmed once and for all what I had recently come to notice about the Rocky Mountains: that while the weather may not change as quickly as it does elsewhere (such as in the UK, where I had spent the past two years constantly cursing the weather), it does change more completely than anywhere else I have ever been. On numerous occasions over the past week the sky had gone from being completely cloud-free to a blanket of grey and then back again (or vice versa) over the course of a single afternoon.

But the weather still had one more surprise in store for me before I left the Rockies, and this time it would

Walking through the wildflowers

Hiking along the trail to Helen Lake

be a good one: by the time I rose on friday morning the sun was out, and with only 27kms (mostly downhill) to go to Lake Louise I had more than enough time to tackle one last hike through the mountains - and it would turn out to be one of my best ones yet. Cycling nine kilometres back the way that I had come the day before, I first stopped off to have my best look yet at Bow Lake - which I would have to rate as my favourite sight along the entire length of the Icefields Parkway - before making my way to the trailhead for the hike to Helen Lake.

Setting off uphill through pine forest I was first treated to occasional elevated views of Bow Lake, Crowfoot Mountain and Crowfoot Glacier; before rounding a turn to suddenly find myself in a meadow carpeted with wildflowers, with the unmistakeable shape of Dolomite Peak rising high above looking like the back of a dragon. Onwards and upwards I wandered through a veritable sea of purple, red, yellow and white flowers, with peaks rising all around, until eventually I arrived at the picturesque amphitheatre of rock containing

Alpine oasis

Helen Lake

Helen Lake - a beautifully serene and secluded destination if ever there was one.

After pausing to bask in the sun and nibble on some trail mix, I then continued up the switch-backing trail behind the lake to the crest of a ridge (at approximately 2500m) that offered a magnificent 360-degree panorama taking in Dolomite Pass, Katherine Lake, Dolomite Peak and the entire valley beneath it; as well as the whole of the valley that I had just hiked through all the way up to Helen Lake itself, now glistening in the sun about a hundred metres below me. Only in Yoho NP and around Lake Louise had I been greeted by such awe-inspiring and far-reaching views, and the fact that these highlights had come at the start, in the middle and again at the end of my time in the Rocky Mountains was certainly not lost on me - nor the fact that each of these wonderful hikes had been blessed with perfect weather in which to enjoy them.

After soaking up as much of the scenery (and the tranquil atmosphere that goes with it) as possible atop the ridge behind Helen Lake, I contentedly made my

Where the wild things are

A cheeky marmot posing in front of Dolomite Peak

way back along the trail to where my bicycle lay in wait, before stopping off briefly back at Mosquito Creek to collect my belongings and hitting the road for the final time to knock off the final twenty-seven kilometres to Lake Louise. And as I cruised down another downhill stretch towards a stream crossing, the line-up of cars parked beside the road - and indeed the growing number of motorists gathered beside the roadside barrier - betrayed the presence of what could only have been another bear. But hey, I had already seen six bears in the past seven days - did I really need to see another one?!?

After a brief stop beside the peaceful waters of Herbert Lake - with the rugged mountains behind Lake Louise reflected perfectly in the surface of the lake - I was soon making my way back over the Trans Canada Highway and into the village of Lake Louise one last time, where I was able to shower for the first time in five days; have a meal other than pasta and sauce washed down with a nice, cold beer; and reflect on the twenty-five unforgettable days that I had been fortunate