Bear-ly Believable

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We’re now in the town of Revelstoke, having been to Edmonton, the Jasper National Park, and Wells Grey Provincial Park.

Last Thursday, after our epic journey across the Alberta Prairies, we finally made it to Edmonton. We decided to start our visit with a trip to the Edmonton Mall, which is allegedly the largest shopping centre in the world (at least that’s what it says in the guidebook, and who are we to argue?). Whether it is the largest or not, it certainly is big. Inside the mall there is a theme-park (rollercoasters, waltzers, ghost train, etc) along with a huge swimming pool (wave machine, artificial beach, water-slides, etc), a multiplex cinema, nightclub, and a life-size model of the Santa Maria (as you do)) along with an area where they, somewhat improbably, have Sea Lion displays. (We spent about 10 mins watching the display before deciding that Sea Lions probably shouldn’t be kept in a shopping centre and encouraged to perform tricks in exchange for fish, and so we moved on).

Friday we went into downtown Edmonton, on what must have been the hottest day that we’ve experienced so far this year. At times it was bordering on unpleasant to be out in the sun. So after wandering around the town, doing the (free!) tour of the Alberta Provincial Parliament building (oddly, all their ceremonies are virtually identical to the Houses of Parliament, including having a Black Rod), and walking along the river front, we treated ourselves to a pitcher of lager and sat in a beer garden, along with what seemed like half the workforce of downtown Edmonton. I quite like Edmonton. It’s like an odd mix of Calgary (lots of tall office buildings), Cologne (nice riverside walk) and Barcelona (lots of fountains & parks), with a bit of Quebec City thrown in for good measure.

Saturday, we headed south to the town of Red Deer (perfectly pleasant, but it definitely sounds nicer than it is). Another quick wander round the town, but this time dodging the rain showers. Sunday we ventured west, to the town of Rocky Mountain House. We went to the Visitors Centre and picked up a walking tour of the town. Which had a competition in it - you had to note down particular letters from the historic plaques around the downtown area, which you then had to combine (in a specified order) to make a phrase. So I dutifully completed the competition (Mr Smith was somewhat less than enthusiastic), returned to the VC and claimed my prize. After receiving a somewhat withering look from the lady in charge I decided that perhaps the competition was intended for people around 30 years younger than me. But I still have a commemorative coin of the town of Rocky Mountain House, and that’s all that really matters!

Overnight just outside Rocky Mountain House at Crimson Lake Provincial Park, Monday we headed west again towards the Rockies themselves. we stopped off for a great walk up a canyon to the Crescent Falls (although on the way back to the van, in the pouring rain and soaked through, we did wonder if we should have just driven the 3km to the falls rather than walking it). Further west, we went up to Siffleur Falls - so named because of the noise that the local marmots make - they whistle and Siffleur is apparently french for “whistler”. (Lynne - If that’s complete rubbish, then I blame the information board in the car park!)

Travelling into the National Park, we headed slightly south to spend the night at Waterfowl Lakes. Tuesday morning, we got up relatively early and trekked 4.2km up the mountain to Cirque Lake. About half way there, we noticed that what had started as rain was looking an awful lot like snow - yes, that’s right, snow. On 13th July. But despite the path being wet & muddy, we pushed on. And I’m glad we did as despite the snow (perhaps because of it), the view at the top was one of the best we have ever seen. The photographs just don’t do it justice. The snow covered mountains appearing out of the clouds seemed almost otherworldly - or maybe we just had altitude sickness, by then - who knows?

Carrying on further north, the gentle snow of the morning’s walk turned into a blizzard. Yes, it was still 13th July. We stopped at Parker Ridge, planning to trek up to the glacier viewpoint at the top. And we did at least try. But having got about ¾ of the way up, in a bitterly cold wind, unable to see much more than 10 metres ahead of us we decided that perhaps climbing higher up a mountain, in the clouds, to look at the view wasn’t necessarily our best laid plan. So we returned to the car park and drove to the Sunwapta Falls, and then further on to Honeymoon Lake, where we spent a somewhat snowy, rainy & cold night.

Wednesday morning, we left Honeymoon Lake, and headed north towards Jasper, stopping off at the Athabasca Falls on the way. Needing to dry out the van (as we have now discovered that it’s not entirely leak free when it rains a lot!) we checked in to a campsite just outside Jasper relatively early. We plugged in the electric heater, and cycled the 3km into the town. After treating ourselves to a much needed cake & a coffee (Bear Paw Bakery - fantastic place!) we did the 9km Mina Lakes walk, which starts from the middle of town. When we got back to the campsite, the local Elk herd was grazing on the grass just behind our pitch. Obviously an opportunity too good to resist, I spent a very pleasant half hour watching and photographing them as they went about their daily business.

Thursday, we set off relatively early to Maligne Lake (apparently it’s pronounced ‘Ma - LEAN’ as it was named by a Swiss explorer. I got told off by the campsite host for calling it ‘Ma - LINE’). Another great walk up Bald Hill, for some fantastic views of Maligne Lake, Mona Lake & the surrounding valleys. The great thing about the snow-fall is that not only did it make the surrounding countryside look even more impressive, but it also seems to have put off all but the most serious hikers, and the idiots (I’ll leave you to decide which group we fit into!). So, on the entire three hour walk to the top of the hill and back down again, we saw only three other people.

Quick lunchbreak, and then walked from Maligne Lake to Mona Lake (via Lorraine Lake) - two other people this time! Then we drove back down the valley to Jasper stopping briefly at Medicine Lake and Maligne Canyon on the way.

Friday, we was feeling pretty tired after all that walking on Thursday, so we headed up to the Miette Hot Springs north east of Jasper for a lazy morning sitting in the pool, interspersed with a bit of sunbathing when the sun came out. After a bit of lunch we headed up towards the source of the springs, but decided against doing the full trek up to Sulphur Mountain. Despite the relaxation in the hot springs, our little legs definitely weren’t feeling up to hiking to the top of that particular mountain. Instead we returned to Jasper, and then headed south to a great campground at Mount Kerkeslin, back inside the National Park.

Saturday (National Park’s Day in Canada) we got up early (to try and miss the inevitable crowds) and hiked the Valley of the Five Lakes - named, unsurprisingly, for the five lakes that are nestled in the valley. Another trip to the Bear Paw Bakery for a big old cake and a coffee, before leaving the Jasper National Park behind and driving to Mount Robson which, at 3,954m is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. It is also possibly one of the most beautiful places that we’ve been to. And it was also relatively quiet (tourist-wise) considering it was a Saturday in the middle of holiday season. On the way we stopped at Moose Lake, and the Overland Falls. Both of which form part of the flow of the Fraser River as it starts high in the Rockies and then travels 1,280km to Vancouver.

At Mount Robson, we enjoyed a 3km bike ride to the Kinney Lake trailhead, a 9km walk up to the lake & back, and then a 3km bike ride back to the van (ok, we didn’t “enjoy” the last bike ride as much as the first, but the views of Kinney Lake were fantastic.)

We then headed south again, to the town of Valemount. Where Craig was less than impressed with the RV park - although, I think that might be a story for another day... We decided to walk around the local marsh, which was much nicer than we anticipated. At least it was until the thunderstorm that had been forecast suddenly decided to arrive and empty its rainclouds over us. Now you’d have thought that two reasonably intelligent chaps would have taken raincoats with them when the forecast was for thundery showers wouldn’t you...? Anyway, a very nice lady took pity on us and gave us a lift back to the campsite in her car (which ended up somewhat wetter when we got out of it, then it was when we got in!) We were lucky enough to see another moose - this one running wildly through the marsh as the thunderstorm broke - but again, no photographs of the event.

Monday we said goodbye to Valemount and headed south to Wells Grey Provincial Park. We spent two nights in the park, the first at Clearwater Lake (nice, but dull) and the second at Pyramid Mountain (less dull, but also not as nice). Craig wasn’t feeling too good (one too many sausages on the campfire if you ask me) so I was forced to complete the trek up Pyramid Mountain on my own. And boy, was it a trek (although, I would say that, wouldn’t I?), but the views from the top were worth the hike. Lots of nice waterfalls in the park, including Helmcken Falls, which are one of my favourites.

The following morning, before we left the park, Craig headed off to visit the little boys room. When he wasn’t back 15 minutes later, I started to think that perhaps something was amiss, when suddenly he burst through the door to tell me that there had been a bear sat right in our campground pitch, between him and the van, and that was why he’d been gone so long. Apparently, this was the biggest bear that we’d ever seen. After he assured me that it had wandered away down the campsite, I did pluck up the courage to get out of the van to check it had gone. And there, in the distance, was a small-ish bear just disappearing back into the forest. He tells me that it must have been a different bear...

Anyway, we stopped off at a couple more waterfalls on our way out of the park (Moul Falls & Saphats Falls), and then we drove down to Kamloops, where we spent a hot & humid afternoon, doing some much needed laundry (the excitement was almost overwhelming).

On the road again Thursday, we headed east. We had originally planned to stay just north of Salmon Arm on Shuswap Lake (try saying that when you’ve had a few), to enjoy the summer sunshine. But the torrential rain, and the fact the campsite was full put paid to that plan. Instead we pushed on to Revelstoke and stayed at a lovely campsite (Martha Creek) by the side of Lake Revelstoke. Friday morning we got up reasonably early to drive to the top of Mount Revelstoke (23km of hairpin bends takes you to within 1.5km of the summit). By the time we got to the top, the clouds had mostly cleared, making way for some spectacular views down the valley. Heading back down and planning to push on towards Lake Louise, we found that the Trans-Canada Highway has been shut due to a fatal accident, so we’ve booked into an RV park, bought ourselves a few cans of beer, and plan to make the most of the sunshine while it lasts. The Banff National Park can wait for one more day....

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Comments

[Isla]

Sounding soggy but top views!
Still sounds like you guys are still having a bundle of fun. I've sent you an emergency tip regarding wine... might come in handy!