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Jasper Revisited
The Columbia Ice Field Highway, Jasper, Lake Louis and Banff are places to be revisited
Fifteen years later the town is much as it was. The tourist office and the railroad station are in the same place; as are the tracks. The shops have increased in number and the facilities offered seem to have been extended. Only few views are familiar. The truck arrived early thru morning rain and after a rained on breakfast of eggs and toast.
For a second night we had camped at the side of the road...this time on a logging trail. The fire was built in a sandy clearing where cut trees had already been burnt. The tents were pitched on the flatness of the road. Huge transports struggling up a mountain grade was the nightlong lullaby.
A short distance from the logging road was a rest stop designed for truckers as well as other drivers. The place had flush toilets, hot air dryers, and running water in the sinks.
The rest stop was situated at the foot of Terry Fox Mountain. A well planned info board gave details about Terry Fox and a lovely path led in
Info in stone
The last timeI was here one of the staff offered me her hiking boots becasue I only had Birkies to do the hike into the upper meadow.the direction of the mountain. There was no time to go the full length of the path. It was a great place to stop for the night.
When we went to use the rest stations in the morning the parking area of the rest stop was filled with big rigs and some RV travellers.
After breakfast and breaking camp we were off once again heading down what seemed like an endless highway, heading for Jasper National Park in Alberta Canada.
The hills seemed friendlier, the trees seemed greener, the lakes and rivers seemed more alive. Even without seeing a flag anywhere it felt like a different place. Others also commented on it and agreed.
If truth be known it was the changed aspect of the topography.
Where as in Alaska we saw plenty of mountain forest and sky the added element of ever present water gave the scenery that much of a different hue, perspective and flavour.
I have yet to see anything in Canada that compares to the starkness of A Pass on the Dalton Highway. The vastness of the Rift Valley in Kenya is the next great splendour to be in a comparative list.
Rocky Mountain Railroad
Still cannot afford this overpriced two day excursion into the old tunnels and over the wood trellises from times past. I expect to see magnificence when reaching South American countries but for now the roiling waters of the Fraser River, the pregnant banks of all the waterways seen along the highway, the freshness of the forest and the cool whiteness of winter snow against the azure blue of a mid-day sky made travelling from Fort George to Jasper a unique Canadian experience.
That we saw six bears in one day also helped impress the crowd!
Arriving at Jasper, there was a dash to internet and laundry facilities.
I headed for a sports shop looking for I can’t remember what but buying a small satchel for my toiletries by Jack Wolfskin and costing $35. ‘Washing Up’ will be made a bit easier. The little compartments are just right for small containers of lotion, body wash and toothpaste. The pouch holds floss, lip salve, and sanitizer. The zipped bag in the back holds the handi-wipes and very flat toilet paper roll. The whole thing zips up and when unzipped has a small hook that fits nicely on shower curtain rail. Perfect purchase!
I found “The Bear Paw Bakery” as recommended by one of those travel books, probably Lonely
Approaching Downtown
More cars, more shops, more people crowd the streets and sidewalks of Jasper. The place has changed a lot. Planet. Had coffee and muffin and bought a loaf of bread and a cookie for later. …… .
By afternoon we were in the Whistler Campground 3km outside of Jasper.
After some time spent at the Café with WiFi access the truck drove to Maligne Lake. It was frozen and its true turquoise colour was not visible. Illusive hues were detected when the sun momentarily sneaked out from behind the brooding clouds.
Another stop made around Jasper was a Gorge that had been greatly developed since the last time I visited the region. A groomed walkway with iron restraining balustrades followed the length of the walk. Over the edge rushing water and smooth weathered rock were evident to the delight of all photographers amateur, professional or wannabe
For the next day’s activity no one else in the group was interested in taking the tramway ride.
I was resolved to take the tramway up the next day.
After a quick breakfast I struck out thru the trees to cut down the distance between myself and the tramway ticket office. Attempt at finding
Blue Hue
Getting off the main drag the quiet part of Jasper shines thru. info about the shuttle was unsuccessful. The only alternative was a hike up the hill to the cable car that would lift me up to the scenic overview of Jasper.
After walking the flat part of the 4kms to the tram way I stuck out my thumb and a lovely couple from RedDeer gave me a lift to the Tramway Ride. With ticket in hand and a full load of people on the cable car we ascended the mountain ride.
The Tramway starts operating at 9:30 in the morning, costs $24 and goes up over 2000 ft with just one tower keeping the cables taut. The Tramway was built 43 years ago. The engineering and equipment is of German origin.… Saarbruecken to be exact. The cables were replaced a few years ago. At the top snow still lay on the deck surrounding the Treeline Restaurant. The much desired cup of coffee …. no fancy latte or espresso! … cost $2 ...no refills. The hamburger without fries was advertised at $10.95. You would have to be really hungry … no … STARVING! … to be buying a snack up there.
After a few photo opportunity shots it was
Thick White Bike
One person working to reduce the carbon footprint. time to leave the top. By this time I had discovered the schedule of the shuttle back to Jasper.
The shuttle stopped at the Youth Hostel which is still located way too far out of town. One of the attractions of being so far out of town is that most of the tourists roaming the streets can be avoided when so desired. The shuttle cost $3 for the one-way trip.
On the 28th of May we headed down the Columbia Ice Field Highway. The mountains were covered in snow. The sun was not shining brilliantly. The view of the strata and colours of the hills was not as magnificent as it could have been. At the Athabasca Glacier a new huge reception building has been erected. Lots of steps need to be climbed to get to the ticket office. A ride to the glaciers on a big comfy bus costs $30 and is well worth the price.
Everything is much more geared to the numbers that are visiting the location. The number and design of the drive-on-ice glacier busses has increased and ‘improved’. The driver offered more information about the area. The stopping place has been
Gorge
Visited the Gorge ... much more developed and with longer paths to view more of the phenomenon. grated and markers are all around to restrict where one can tread.
After about an hour’s tour, back at the reception centre, gift-shop articles proliferate, food choice prices astound and toilets are thankfully numerous and clean. When looking towards the Glaciers a mountain where the Continental Divide directs the waters to three oceans, can be seen.
Canada has the waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans lapping, crashing and freezing at its shores. From the Columbia Ice Field waters run to all three Oceans. Why is there no blue on the Canada flag? Maple trees do not grow in all the provinces!!
After this small, short view of millions of years of history the run was on to get to Lake Louis. Jill would be returning to England for her daughter’s wedding and a different type of holiday with her mother. She would need to catch the 7:00 AM bus to Calgary from the Lake Louis Mall.
Lake Louis Mall was reach. All the stores were closed. We drove to the camp ground. Seven AM comes quickly and I had plans!!
Prince Rupert to Lake Louise … a previous version I am too lazy to
edit and so have pasted it at the end to hear the story from another day and another mood….
Coming out of Alaska after Ketchikan was another long ferry ride with similar views and one small black dot that was supposedly a whale. Even the people with binoculars did not see much more.
The Road from Prince Rupert to Prince George was again a continuation of wooded hills and snow capped peaks, BUT they were Canadian and therefore more beautiful to my eyes. It is the combination of sky, snow green Sitka spruce, spring green aspen and rushing Fraser River that made the whole spectacular.
In 1972 the Fraser River flooded. This year the spring runoff is reaching record heights again. As we drove we noticed the river waters were so high that some trees and shrubs seemed to be growing out of the water. In some places fields were covered in feet of water, now the news is warning people in Prince George, Smithers and Hope. These are places we have passed thru that are now mentioned in news stories. The lower Fraser should be swelling and exceeding its shores by the weekend.
We
made two wild camping stops. one outside Prince George and one close to Banff. The one close to Banff was on an access road to an area that had been clear-cut and exposed down to the sand. Some of the trees had been burnt and others had been left in a great pyre shaped mound ready for the match.
We built a fire on the sand and pitched our tents on the road. At the end of the road was a rest station with hot water and flush toilets. All this stood in the shadow of Mount Terry Fox. In the morning after being rained upon we ate a wet breakfast of fried eggs and soggy toast.
The scenery continued to be spectacular: white mountain peak, variations in green along the hillsides, roiling turquoise waters, and steep curved grey asphalt highway.
We arrived in Jasper early and had some time to do laundry, phone home, get a coffee and muffin at the famous Bear Paw Bakery, go shopping for shoe laces and hit the internet.
After a cappuccino, and some WiFi time it was back on the truck and on the way to Lake Louise.
Maligne Lake
The Lake is still frozen so the beauty of its turquoise water cannot be captured.
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