Blogs from Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada, North America - page 10

We were excited to start our road trip and picked up our rental car first thing in the morning to head for Japser. Driving out of the city was fairly easy, but once we got to Highway No.5 we were cautioned of 'Extreamly Slippery Icy Roads,' and frequently saw these signs until very soon we saw many cars and even a few trucks that had slid off the road. Scary stuff, but we were careful and made it safely to Jasper. Once we arrived in Jasper we went for a drive through town and explored a little around the national park and had our first very close encounter with the wildlife- Three Caribou just on the side of the road. They were so calm and relaxed and weren't bothered by our car at all, ofcoarse we ... read more

DUE TO A DELAYED FLIGHT OUT OF ANCHORAGE, WE DIDN’T HIT REVY AND CHEVY UNTIL ABOUT 7PM BUT AS IT STAYS LIGHT UP THIS WAY TILL ABOUT 9-10PM, WE STILL HIT THE 3 HOUR DRIVE FOR WHISTLER. OUR THREE SUNNY DAYS IN WHISTLER, WE SPENT RESTING FROM THE ALASKA TRIP, CLEANING OUR CLOBBER FOR THE NEXT STAGE OF OUR JOURNEY AND SOAKING UP THE SUMMER ATMOSPHERE OF CANADA’S NO 1 SKI RESORT. WHISTLER WAS ABUZZ, PREPARING ITSELF FOR THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS AND IN THE MIDST OF THE WORLDS BIGGEST ANNUAL BIKING FESTIVAL -“CRANKWORX” EACH SUMMER, IT SEEMS THIS LITTLE ADVENTURER’S HIDEAWAY UP IN THE CANADIAN MTNS, ONLY 2 OR SO HOURS FROM VAN TRANSFORMS ITSELF FROM THE SKIERS PARADISE TO A MT BIKE AND HIKERS MECCA. THERE ARE MORE THAN 1,200 METRES OF VERTICAL AND ... read more

Today was a big day for us! We went on a glacier hike and then came back along the icefields parkway and checked out the waterfalls along the Sunwapta and Athabasca rivers. We woke up early (for us) and drove the 1.5hrs down the Icefield Parkway to the Columbia Icefield visitor center. From this point you can see the various glaciers coming east from the columbia icefield and it's also where the large buses (called Brewsters) leave to go up onto the glacier. We did not want to do the touristy thing so we booked a guided hike/climb up onto the Athabasca glacier. This glacier retreats 100s of feet every 10 years... the center is over a mile from the ice and it is sitting at the 1902 sign post (they have signs every 10 years ... read more

We’re off! It rained hard early this morning but we stayed nice and dry in the tent… so far it has held up very well. We got to camp around 7:30-8pm last night and set up the tent. I looked over to the next campsite and 3 large elk were wandering on through! We worked until about 9:30 getting the camp ready (rain tarp, got a fire going, etc.). The wood was supplied by the campground (no picking wood off the ground) and it sucked. The wood was very green and could not be lit due to the lack of tinder. Greg used the “scoutmaster helper” - white gas. We finally got settled in around 10 and finished off the leftover spaghetti. Our site is near the bathrooms which are very nice & clean. I couldn’t ... read more

Well this is our third day in Jasper National Park after yet again a crazy train delay. Yesterday we climbed Whisper Mountain which is literally behind our hostel. Its 8km up and 8km back down again (so roughly 10 miles) and we did it all! Took about 4 hours to get up and just under 2 to get back down. The views were amazing!! Then the 24th which was Sunday I went white water rafting. Was so beautiful as the river ran amongst all of the mountains and the trees. Still didn't see any bears though. Last night the guy who drives the hostel shuttle bus even took us out bear spotting and we still didn't see any. We did see a deer and a squeaky mountain mouse thing though. Also a beautiful lake and this ... read more