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Published: July 18th 2005
Elk moving through the Wapiti campground.
This was the first of many elk sightings we had on July 15 and 16.Putting many days into one entry here, so this will be a long one. Will try to break it up for easier reading.
Jasper, July 15
We were really pleased with our decision to push through to Jasper on Thursday. Initially, it was largely motivated by our desire to get a campsite in the park, and we figured coming in on a Friday might make that difficult.
The first pleasing aspect about this decision was the amazing view of Mount Robson we were surprised with when rounding a corner eastbound on Highway 16. I’ve had this surprise a couple of times before, but it always seems to amaze me anew each time I encounter it. And this was spectacular even though the very top of the mountain was enshrouded in clouds!
From this point on it was one breathtaking sight after another as we proceeded further along into the Rockies. I wonder if people who live among these mountains experience them as viscerally as we do when we visit them? Does the novelty wear off after awhile? I suppose it must, though it’s hard to imagine. When I’m in the presence of this majesty, I find it
More elk.
You can see how completely at home these animals are, despite all the campers. so much easier to be centered, to release my own anxieties. I love how insignificant I feel in the face of these massive, ancient piles of stone.
We were delighted to find that there were vacancies in 7-8 of the Jasper campgrounds. I seemed to remember having stayed at Whistlers on one of my previous trips here, so we signed up for a site there.
Jasper is full of ghosts for me - good ghosts, I hasten to add. I first came here in 1974 with my was-band Jeff, almost 2-year-old daughter Sarah, and our friends Susan and Scott, who were on their honeymoon. We were in a 1974 VW campmobile, Susan and Scott were in a pickup with a topper. I’m embarrassed to confess that the first night we camped here, we thought it was safe to keep canned and dry food in tents, and stored some of our stuff in a tent to make more space in the sleeping vehicles. The next morning the tent had been ripped open, cans bitten through, and dry foods devoured. It was a pretty cheap lesson, since we were not sleeping in the tents. These days the park attendants are
Bull elk.
We finally saw our first bull in the late afternoon of the 16th. much more careful to make sure tourists understand the bear rules upon check-in. Probably in part because of stupid tricks like that one we pulled! We must have been in the park for 10-14 days; we hiked all over, carrying the ever patient Sarah on our backs: top of Whistlers, Edith Cavell, other hikes whose names I forget. Ten years later, I came back here with my companion, John, and both daughters, 11-year-old Sarah and 9-year-old Rebecca, and John and I watched with awe as the two girls scrambled along the mountain trails like young goats - we were completely unable to keep up with the pace they set, though we did a lot of hiking that year, too. In 1997 or 1998, Roberta and I came here by train for a long weekend in September or October; we rented a car and stayed in one of the hostels. We took the tram up to the top of Whistlers and watched a bit enviously while others hiked the same trails to the top that I had done with relative ease with a baby on my back in 1974. So this park marks the seasons of my life in a way
Morning, July 17.
The fog is still lying in the valley, but the mountaintops are clear, and illuminated by sunlight for the first time since we arrived in Jasper. that no other place does, because of having come back repeatedly with such long intervals in between. I’m sure one of the reasons I find this such a peaceful place is because of all its happy associations from past visits. This year is 31 years since my first visit here, and if I come back again in another 31 years, I will be 90! But I hope to be back here many times before that.
Friday morning we decided to explore the immediate vicinity. First we checked out the facilities at Whistlers campground, then we headed just down the road to check out Wapiti campground. We stopped to ask if we could drive through and the park attendant told us they didn’t usually permit this, but she suggested we take a look at a couple of loops, and gave us a map. The moment we turned into the road leading to the loops, we came to a complete halt - a small herd of elk (wapiti, in the local native American language, hence the name of this campground), including at least one new calf, was calming browsing through the 10-12 campsites in these two little circles. We circled through
Medicine Lake.
This lake disappears, to be replaced by a trickle of water, during the winter. The native people thought this was magical, hence the name of the lake. the sites very slowly, stopping frequently to take pictures. These animals clearly are completely at home here, and largely ignored us as long as we were quiet and deliberate in our progress through the sites. Last night when we registered at Whistlers, we signed up for four nights, thinking the park might fill up quite a bit over the weekend. Now, however, we wanted to be in Wapiti, so we switched our reservation to Wapiti and added a couple of extra nights. The one inconvenience is that the interpretive programs are all at Whistlers, but we can go there by car, if we can manage to keep Roberta awake until 9 pm. Well, I guess if she’s sleepy, she can just sleep in the back of the camper while I go watch the program!
Then we went into Jasper itself to check out the Internet cafes. Best deal is the library, but they don’t let you use your own computer. Roberta did her email from there, though. Kath found a good place that would let her use her own computer, and got somewhat caught up on email.
Coming back into Wapiti around 5:00, we encountered many more elk,
Coronet Glacier.
Viewed from the Maligne Lake boat tour. this time lying in the grass near the entrance to our circle. There were at least three calves there, and perhaps 6-7 adult females. I guess the males either haven’t got any antlers yet this time of year, or they are hanging out somewhere else.
Now Roberta has settled in for a little snooze, while I write this and read through all the email I downloaded. No more Internet until at least Monday. Hope there aren’t any alligators in there!
July 16 - Loads of wildlife
Today was Parks Day, so there were lots of things going on in Jasper town site. We went there as soon as we’d had breakfast and broken camp. Lots of Parks Canada employees had set up information booths on the lawn of the information center, and many of them had their own kids with them. The weather was on again-off again - occasionally the sun broke through, but more often it was overcast, and sometimes it sprinkled. It’s really quite astonishing how much wet weather we have managed to experience over these past three weeks! So far, we’ve had only about 3 days of unequivocal sunshine. Not complaining, just noticing.
We hung around long enough to see a rescue dog demonstration, but we watched with half an eye, because by that time we had bought hot dogs and hamburgers at the BBQ stand and sat down at a picnic table across from a 60-ish Scottish couple who were simply a delight to talk with. Their holiday included (or will include by the time they are done) the Calgary Stampede, a two-day journey to Vancouver on the Rocky Mountaineer, a stay at Chateau Lake Louise, and an Alaska cruise! They seem to be having a marvelous time, and we were glad to offer them ideas of things to see in Vancouver and Victoria during the 4-5 days they will have on the Wet Coast before they return home.
Then we headed up to Miette Hot Springs and had a soak in the pool. These are the hottest springs in the Rockies. The drive up was perhaps even better than the soak. The road was narrow, winding, with quite an altitude gain, but it was in good condition, and Vanita handled it with no problem. The scenery was breath taking. At one point we stopped at a lookout that felt like
we were sitting right at the root of the mountain - a huge sheer rock cliff at the top, capped with what looked like a single line of pines, and skirted with alpine meadows. Once we got to the hot springs, we got a slightly different view of this mountain and realized the single line of pines was really just the edge of a huge pine forest which covered the more gently sloping back side of the cliff. The soak was pretty good, too, though we decided not to stay in too long. The pools are in full sun, and being so high up the UV is really strong - we didn’t want sunburn on top of all the mosquito bites! We met another nice couple in the pool, this time from Washington DC. They are also headed to Vancouver for a few days, so they picked our brains about the best sights to see on a short visit. They are staying in the West End, so we told them about our favorite sushi restaurant (Ichibankan) because they are traveling with another couple who love sushi. After our soak, we had an ice cream on the terrace of the café,
where 4 young deer (a doe and three bucks) grazed with complete unconcern within touching distance. It would have made a terrific photo, but of course we didn’t have the camera, as we’d just come out of the pool.
On our way back to Jasper, we saw a bear cross the road, about half a kilometer in front of us. It was big and brown, and I wondered if it might be a grizzly, but it disappeared into the bush by the time we got close we didn’t get a good enough look to be sure. At one of the interpretive programs we’ve attended, they said grizzlies tend to occupy higher ground than the black bears, so I suppose it was just a large, brown-colored black bear. Then just outside Jasper we got a look at two huge bull elk - the first males we have seen. The herd of cows and calves continues to meander around Wapiti and Whistlers campgrounds. We got another good look at that herd tonight on our way back from the interpretive program - including three young calves who were teetering on the rocky slope of the ditch alongside the road between the two
Moonrise over Mount Robson.
As seen from Jasper town site. July 17, 2005. campgrounds, looking as if they wanted to explore it, but their mothers were on higher ground munching grass, and they didn’t want to get too far away from those protective mamas.
We hung out in Jasper town, did a bit of laundry, then agreed we both felt too tired to cook, so we had a small but very delicious meal in a pub - Thai chicken wings, garlic toast, and crab cakes, all tapas, which we shared. Then for dessert we had some lovely chocolate I’d bought the day before - a concoction called a Glacier and another sort of cherry cluster. This evening was the first time since we’ve been here that the tops of most of the mountains around Jasper have been visible, and we spent a lot of time just sitting and enjoying the beauty of this scenery.
July 17, sunshine, no wildlife, but some wild life
Today was my birthday. I must confess I do love to be made to feel special on my birthday, and Roberta seems to enjoy doing that very thing, so is terrific synergy, which makes for great birthdays. The day dawned with some promising blue sky, so almost as soon as we were awake, we decided breakfast out was the first celebration of the day. We went into Jasper town, and asked a park attendant to recommend a good place for breakfast. She said her favorite was the Soft Rock Café, and it proved to be an excellent choice. We sat at a table on the sidewalk, where we had an excellent view of the mountains, and we shared decaf americanos and a scrumptious concoction of eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, ham, chicken, bacon, and sausage, tossed together and covered with melted cheese. Then we headed towards Maligne Lake.
On the way we stopped for a quick drive around the grounds of Jasper Park Lodge, and a viewing of the two lakes (Edith and Annette), which are up the same road. There are lots of great picnic spots around these two lakes - something to remember for another day.
The road up to Maligne Lake is about 40 km long, and winds first past Medicine Lake - this is the lake, which disappears in the winter. It is already getting a bit low, most notably at the far end, which was pretty much mud flats today. Then another few kilometers to Maligne Lake. There is quite a complex of tourist services here nowadays - boat tours, white water rafting, and guided fishing expeditions. Though I’ve been to Maligne Lake at least twice before, I’ve never done anything truly touristy here. So my next birthday treat was a short hike, followed by a boat tour of the lake. This proved to be a really excellent excursion, because the scenery visible from this boat tour is really spectacular - much better than anything we’ve yet seen. The tour goes about 14 km up the 20 km long lake, to a place called Spirit Island. On the way, it passes through some narrows, after which the color of the lake changes from deep green to the bright emerald green so characteristic of Rocky Mountain lakes. We had excellent views of a several glaciers, and a stream that runs above ground all the way down the mountain, but then goes underground before it enters the lake, so it just seems to disappear.
When we returned to the head of the lake, we had a light lunch (soup and dessert) in the cafeteria there - delicious beef stew for Roberta and chili for Katherine. Then we were sleepy, so we came back to camp and slept for an hour or so. Because more revelry was already planned for that evening!
We had tickets for a special performance called
Faces of Fire, “a theatrical journey into the heart of wildfire,” presented by a 3-person cast from Mountain World Heritage Interpretive Theatre. They perform twice a week in Jasper and twice in Banff, and we had heard the show was excellent. It was originally our plan to have dinner first and then attend the show, but by the time we wakened from our nap, it was nearly 7 pm! Just about that same moment, my brother Jeff called to wish me a happy birthday - what a nice surprise when we are so out of our normal routine this July. We just had time for a shower before heading back to Jasper town site for the play. It was indeed extremely well done and we enjoyed it very much.
The final event of my birthday celebration was dinner at a Karouso’s Steakhouse on the main drag in Jasper. We split a pepper steak, and a piece of chocolate cake - very yummy. This is definitely a restaurant we’d recommend and would return to ourselves.
By the time we left the restaurant, it was 10:45, and there was still a touch of light in the sky. We strolled down to the park in front of the information center, and sat on a bench and watched the sky grow darker, until at last it got too chilly to sit out in light jackets and slacks, and we headed back for the campsite. We never saw any wildlife at all today, but in our own quiet, “women of a certain age” way, we experienced a bit of wild life on this beautiful, warm, and (finally!) sunny day in Jasper. It was such a pleasure to see the beauty of the mountains in full sunlight today, after several days of seeing them at best shaded by clouds, and at worst, completely covered in cloud. Now back in camp, our tummies are too full for us to sleep right away, so I’m am writing the blog (which we will probably post tomorrow), while Roberta plays a few hands of Las Vegas solitaire. There are stars in the sky tonight, and while it was quite warm today, I think it will be cool for sleeping tonight as the heat leaves the ground. It’s quiet and peaceful here in the park.
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Audrey
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Happy Birthday, Katherine
happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you!!!