Glacier explorers

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Geo: 52.8736, -118.083

Lake Louise welcomed us to an overcast day but even the clouds could not dim the serene beauty of the lake. I did get up at 5.00 am to watch the light spill on the still waters and yes, even under dark skies, the lake shone back in beautiful shades of blue and green.

It was a 9 am departure and we greeted lots of familiar faces in the lobby of The Chateau. We are gathering names and are getting to recognise lots of the passengers and we have come to know the speedy passengers who get to the front of the line first for the front seats, the jocular ones who like a laugh and the trivia buffs who seem to hoard the crazy facts about the animals and vegetation. We enjoy spending time with them all - young and old.

The big attraction was running to find out who your bus driver was to be...again, we had driver Al with all of his lectures, background information and funny jokes. Today though, he told us a very personal story about his quest to know his dad. It was a fascinating tale of coincidence and triumph and he has published it online under the title "In My Father's Footsteps" and it will certainly be on our follow up list. In addition, the story is now a short film so we can watch for its success.

This was a full bus - every seat taken so we found ourselves in the back row with fellow Aussies Christine and Keith and the UK couple Robert and Kathy. It made for a fun filled, cheeky quip filled day so lots of laughs.

First stop of the day was to get an "almost" closeup view of our first glacier, Crowfoot which once resembled a...you guess it... a crowsfoot, with three large toe-like extensions. The glacier has since retreated and now had lost one entire toe. But there it was, a towering 120 metres of ice hanging on the end of the cliff like a giant ice-cream sandwich. This was our introduction to the Columbia Icefield.

The Columbia Icefield is the larges in the Canadian Rockies and is made up of six glaciers...our tour visited or observed four of them today.

The early morning lookout revealed the usual number of elk and deer but in the prime viewing spot of the open bush on the side of the road we spotted our first grizzly bear. Oh, he was intimidating and moved with effortless speed and strength. I think we snapped a thousand pics until Mac said "Put the camera down and look at him!" Wise words. And it was a whole new perspective. He was right. Our grizzly was a beautiful brown colour and his paws and legs were tinged with black. He was impressive.

And just 10 minutes later right on the side of the road again was a black bear. More furious photo-taking and plenty of time to watch and enjoy as this little fellow casually strolled along the roadside pausing at various bushes and chewing away at berries.

The rest of the trip was filled with sheep, deer and elk but none of the animals caused as much commotion as the bears.

The next stopover was to take another look at the Bow River, this time at its summit. This glacier fed lake in the heart of the Canadian Rockies was tucked off the road about 100 metres but the walk uphill was worth it because the first view was a stunning blue expanse of water. This blue and green reflection is unique to glacial lakes where the fine rubbed dust of the glacier ( referred to as rock flour) is refracted as light is absorbed like a prism and depending on the angle of viewing, the suspended dust appears as different hues of blue and green.

Everyone is on a time limit imposed by Driver Al so it was a quick dash out with the masses and then shoulder to shoulder to try and capture it with a picture.

A little more insight was gained into the contribution of the First Nations people to the historical development of Canada at the fanned out plain of the Saskatchewan River. The size of this plain, ringed by the Continental Divide and The Rockies certainly makes you feel dwarfed. It reminded us of the open shared plains we saw in Western China used by the Tibetan tribesman.

The sky had been threatening rain at every turn and we finally got to test out the rain gear at the waterfall at the Athabascar River. With coat on and hood up we got up close and personal with the falls and Mac was not only drenched in rain but wanted an extra shower from the plume of mist. The Athabascar Falls thunder through a narrow gorge created by the sheer force of the rushing water carrying sand and rock. Again, we are only getting a taster on this tour. We walked around the top of the falls but we could see endless tracks and paths that wove around the falls and down the river that could once again take at least a day to explore.

The string of national parks continues - we have traversed Banff National Park, Yoho National Park and Jasper National Park and all of these areas provide refuge for the native animals and Canada has prioritised the welfare of the animals over "the humans." We frequently see the Park Wardens on their rounds of the highway ensuring that the calving area of the elk are not disturbed or that people are not feeding the animals. And everything is completely litter free!

The highlight of the day was the round trip onto the surface of the Athabascar Glacier. The Ice Explorer is a 5 km round trip on the Columbia Icefield (325 square kilometres). The first part of the trip took us up by the impressive lateral moraine which towered above the $1.5 million dollar vehicle. We limbered slowly on giant wheels up the side of the moraine and then down what felt like a vertical drop to step out on the surface of the glacier.

The weather has been our friend. If the clouds enshroud the mountain all you can see is a limited 100 metres around you. For us, on a wet day, the sky magically revealed itself as the clouds parted and we would see back to the valley below and up the glacier path. By the time we had descended the glacier, the coulds were back and had wrapped the view back up! Even the Ice Explorer driver Mike commented on our "good fortune."

On the drive up, Mike had mentioned that people like to drink the fresh waters of the glaciers because they think it keeps them young. Mac of course drank gallons and came out looking and acting about 12!

The surface was slippery and it was baby steps in the Merrills that LEAKED but it was giant strides for the North Face Columbias! The sun was shining so it was brisk rather than cold....but in our 15 minutes there the wind did start to whip up and we were appreciative of the warm gear.....go Mindy's beanie and the new Lake Loiuse jacket!

All day we have been travelling ringed by The Rockies - you see them as high peaks all of the time both near and far. But when you are "on" them it doesn't seem as if you are very high. We got a really good idea of how massive the mountains are here when we left the glacier. When we looked back up the hill, the Ice Explorers looked like the dots of black ants.

The afternoon trip was a straight run to Jasper. Again, a small tourist town of 5 000 that grows to 20 000 in the winter. Tonight's accommodation is at The Fairmont at the Lake in log cabins. Each of the cabins is perched on the side of the lake and we started our stay in this three bedroom cabin with a coffee, relaxed on the balcony overlooking the lake watching the deer, geese and elk. The people walking by our cabin where watching Mac relaxing topless in his "bear" pj shorts! More wildlife no doubt!

There was fireplace a in the cabin stocked with freshly cut firewood and starters...but Mac chose "not to play" .... probably lucky for us.

Have to confess that with the late arrival and early departure we didn't have time to explore Jasper. The main township was over an hour's walk away so our pre-dinner walk was limited to a short stroll around the lake. There were provisions for horse riding, kayaking and fun pedal boats but a leisurely dinner in the Emerald Lounge won out.

As we strolled home after 9 pm there were golfers on the course enjoying their evening games in full sunlight. We tried a romantic little stop by the lake but Mac was attacked by swarms of oversized, hungry mozzies!

Unpacked and re packed ready for the early morning 6 am departure of The Rocky Mountaineer. We are heading back to the train. The whole "luggage" experience has been amazing on tour...it is in our room when we arrive and it is miraculously picked up when we leave. In most places, we don't even have to check out...just leave the keys inside, close the door behind us and enjoy the day.

A "beary" good day. No grizzles from us.

Tuesday
Temperature: 14
Pedometer: 7 787
Bear Sightings = 2

Total Bear Sightings = 11

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Comments

[lloyd]

icefield parkway great sightseeing road everything there lovin your trip