Jasper National Park

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July 1st 2010

Published: July 6th 2010

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Tangle creek falls

When: 1st-4th July
Where: Jasper National Park
Weather: 20C - 3C
Mileage: 1000km
Highlight: Largest glacier S of Alaska, camping/biking experience, wildlife viewings & general drive along Icefield Parkway

Jasper National Park

After our very first visit to Banff National Park, the immediate action performed was to reserve a campsite at Jasper for the July1st weekend.
Campgrounds fill up fast during long weekends & it is impossible to find a site on such days.
The weather painted different colors before our trip. But with our previous experiences, we always knew that no weather is permanent in the mountains.

Thursday, 1st July
CANADA DAY!
There was no sign of such a day as we left home. But I knew there would be later in the evening. There was a little something planned in Jasper but we were not sure if we would reach town in time.
We hit peak traffic on our way to Banff & detoured to Bow Valley Parkway up until Lake Louise. Once there, we did not know where all the traffic dissipated. From Lake Louise, all the way through Icefields Parkway(IP), there were practically about 50 cars in all(in both directions) though we saw a little more at

Lower canyon

Athabasca falls

the parking lots.
The drive to LL is nothing short of spectacular. But once we turned N onto IP the landscape became unimaginable. Definitely more mountains & more snow up these mountains. It is a tremendous feat to maintain this 2 lane 230km stretch with a 90km speed limit up & running in winter.
We passed by Bow Glacier(birth of the Bow river) and some more.
We made stops soon after the little one woke up, about 220km into the drive. Our major stop was at the Icefield Center which is the starting point for the very famous snowcoach tours.
Columbia Icefield is the largest Icefield south of Alaska. And we saw one of the largest glaciers, Athabasca Glacier. These snowmobile tours take you "ON" the glacier. Temperature read 9C & windy. Notably, Icefield Center is the highest point along the highway.

We saved the glacier tour for later but I went in to clarify something that was bothering me. With all the global warming, the glacier has lost a toe already. Now with these buses going on the glacier, won't it affect it even more?
But a friendly staff told me that the ice on the bus route melted

colorful Canada Day

slower than the other part of the glacier. Seems like they wash the tires after every ride so sand/mud does not get into the glacier & cause more melting. To top it al, since they were giving people once in a lifetime opportunity to be on such a glacier, they might actually be more interested & involved with the climatic changes affecting this & many other glaciers. The only thing that could go against this is the diesel it burns.
I am not sure if I bought the answer. I wish they could ban smoking in National Parks(at least) & that would be more beneficial.

Per their map, we stopped a little distance away at the Tangle creek falls. A spectacular stop!
A little longer & we were hiking down to the Sunwapta Falls. Not many people know about the existence of a trail down to 2 other waterfalls. Definitely recommend it.

It was almost evening by then. By the main highway, we noticed something white in the distance. On pulling over we saw about 10 mountain goats least concerned about our presence.
Just a short while later, Ganesh spotted a black bear crossing the road-the main

Elk

highway 93. It crossed by without having a second look & went into the bush.

Very happy with our sightings, we retired to Whistler campground, our spot for the next 3 days. As expected, the campground was full. We did not see that many cars up the road. From where did all these people come???

We decided to go check our the town of Jasper 2 km away. It was Canada Day after all. The town had a festive mood & we had fun people-watching. The fireworks were due at 11.15pm or so(sufficiently dark) but we retired around 10.45pm. We had places to go to the next day. Nice and warm inside our sacks, we heard the fireworks.

Friday, 2nd July
Late start! 15km due E are the beautiful Maligne Canyon. We came by to an almost full parking lot. From where did all these people come?
At the first sight of the canyon, a lot of people gave "wooooooow" and that included me as well. The canyon should a good 100ft or more & one cannot believe that such a small passage(tremendous however) of water could've carved such a beautiful canyon. The highlight however was

Maligne Canyon

the water chute at the first bridge. The rock surface was smooth due to ice.
It is somehow hard to believe that all this water would freeze in winter. You can get down the canyon for ice walks.

Our next stop was at Maligne Lake via the infamous Medicine Lake. Must Read.
We took the trail to Moose Lake. A short & very beautiful hike. But what made it memorable were 2 elderly people(definitely past 60). Casually I asked them, "Where are you coming from?"
"Oh! We just went in for a couple weeks. Today is Day 13".
Ganesh dared to ask their mileage. 239km. We needed no more! Truly humiliated(if not intimidated).
We were the first people they have met in 2 weeks.
They were to hitchhike a ride to their car at Medicine Lake.
I raised my most obvious question. "Any bears?"
"Nah. Just one by Jack Lake."
It got me thinking. As much as I would love to not see a bear, I always get concerned if people did not see one. It should mean that the bears are vanishing away soon. Or they just have more space to go around. I would so cling on

Tangle creek falls

to the latter.
Anyways Moose Lake was absolutely still & the space was vibrant. We even tried echoing around until I felt intruding.
On our way back, we were spotted by a lone deer near the parking lot.

We saw rain clouds due W & were soon greeted by showers. We pulled over where everyone else had & saw a huge elk(which one lady called a "Caribou"). Somehow S is fascinated by smaller animals that run around & make noise(like a squirrel) rather than a proud member of the deer family chewing away grass to glory. But there was a big commotion around this particular elk. At that point I was so glad I wasn't that lone elk. Imagine being surrounded by 25 people with some small gadget in hand that flashed a light every 5 seconds or so when you are busy having dinner.
Some of them were stupid enough to get as close as 10 ft of the Elk. There are warnings everywhere. Elks can be dangerous. And they are powerful.

Back at the campground, Ganesh was obsessed with a campfire session. So, we got the $8.80 fire permit for the day & used it

Mountain goat

away to glory. It gave us so much warmth that we were out much later than we usually are. At that point we made it clear to ourselves. We would not burn wood unless we really needed the warmth.

Saturday, 3rd July
S turns 27 months. She duly sang her Happy Birthday song & had her Black Forest with 5 cherries.😊
Made veggie quasedilla on the campfire & ate until the fullness reached the heart.
Since S fell asleep immediately on her car seat, we waited her out at Lake Edith. Once she was up, we biked around Lake Edith & then went over to Lake Annette. But Biking is prohibited around this lake for some reason. So, we biked the short path to Jasper Park Lodge & on learning about the terrain around Lake Beauvert, decided to try it. The narrow trail that runs around Lake Beauvert is 3.6km long. Feeling out of place among the well-dressed visitors of the lodge, we just had so much fun along the trail. The trail has so many roots. We were warned & I had so much fun finding my way around them. The weather was great & we spent

Maligne canyon falls

Bridge 1

it well outdoors. The lake area was busy. There were so many people who set out to the picnic area. But we drove to the town to have a closer view. We idled biking around town & S had fun too. Stopped by to visit Jasper, the bear.

Headed back to Whistlers for dinner. S spent a while at the playground. Had company with some elks wondering if they would pay us a closer visit. Then hit the sacks early.

Sunday, 4th July
Early start! I biked to the shower area & saw 2 elks on the way. On my way back it started drizzling & I had a good workout biking. S woke up in time. So, while Ganesh brought down the tent, I took S for her shower. S found her way back to the playground just behind the showers. With difficulty, I brought her back. It stopped raining & after preparing lunch, we hit the roads.
Our first stop was at Athabasca falls. This place is such a beauty. We spent a good 1 hr or more here. Took the trail down to the lower canyon. Waited around to see a raft tour depart

Maligne Lake

& then climbed up.
The IP follows a river(Saskatchewan/Sunwapta/Athabasca) all along. It was interesting to suddenly notice the Athabasca running in the opposite direction as it drains into the Arctic ocean. That's a first for us.

On our way back, I had no clue from where all these cars & camper vans came from. There was reckless driving, crazy overtakers et al. We stopped to give a ride to an elderly couple whose car seemed to have broken down. But then, it started working. We followed them until LL just so they needed any other help.
After an ice cream stop & a quick bye bye to the couple from Prince Edward Island, we were back home just in time before the sky fell down as rain.

IP is such a humbling highway & we will definitely go back later in the season to do justice to the area.

Obervation/Information
-CAMPING: Whistler campground has 786 sites. By far the largest campground we've ever known. In spite of that we had a pretty decent place(larger than most). On a normal weekend, you do not need reservations to get in here. The other campground Wapiti has close to

Lake Annette

400 sites & is open year round.
Depsite the decent weather, most of the campers were in RV's.
-Loved the small town feel that Jasper has. We had so much fun spending a while on Canada Day.
-Mt.Edith Cavell road is closed due to construction. They plan to open in in a month.
-Athabasca glacier is huge & gorgeous, but the tidewater glaciers of AK steal the cake.
-Jasper National park is so huge(largest of the Rockies) that I got a feeling that Jasper is a town amongst wilderness. We are not used to this size from a National Park.
-Driving the Icefield Parkway requires a park pass or a fee. Totally worth every penny.
-Most of the campgrounds we saw in the area were full.
-Viarail runs through Jasper & is believed to be one of the most scenic rides across the Rockies.
-Read about Athabasca river here. From the A glacier to Arctic Ocean, quite a journey! The river freezes in winter & in its peak is supposed to have an Ice blue color.
-There are a couple of hostels along the Icefield parkway. But they are in high demand & are always booked up in advance because