The drive from Banff to Jasper along the Bow Valley and Icefield Parkways was the part of the trip I was most looking forward to. I had done plenty of reading up before leaving and these roads seemed to promise the best views and the highest likelihood of spotting some wildlife. Unfortunately, we woke up on the morning of leaving to heavy rain and cloud cover. Packing up the car I crossed my fingers that it would clear up by the time we were ready to head off. After breakfast in the resorts restaurant the weather was still against my plans, but we still had one thing left to see in Banff. Only a short ride from the resort we pulled up at the vantage point to see the Hoodoos, noticing some commotion with a man rushing for his camera we hopped from the car to see what he had spotted. The mist here was thick but in the tall grass by the river below the famous rock formations was an elk lazing in the rain. My biggest regret of this trip was not taking my Nikon D60, but I hastily snapped away on my iPhone hoping that one shot would at least prove to be more creature than blurry blob from copious zooming.
Back in the car we began our drive along the Bow Valley with anticipation but it looked as though the bad weather was to be our travel companion all day. Almost an hour later we arrived into Lake Louise, the most beautiful blue lake I had been gazing at photos of for many months leading up to this moment. Although still aqua in colour, there was nothing dazzling about the water with the lack of sunlight. So we took the customary photographs before heading back to the car and joining Highway 93, better known as the Icefields Parkway.
It was to be a long 3 hour drive, on one road all the way to Jasper with very few photographic opportunities, but the views were still stunning even if my iPhone wasn’t up to spec to capture it. Grumpy and hungry we stopped at the Saskatchewan River Crossing for some warm grub before taking are places back in the car and continuing to drive to the next stop which was to be the Athabasca Glacier. Now, heres a friendly tip - if you just want to say you’ve seen the glacier and snap a few pics I would park in the left hand (driving from Banff) car park and do the short but very steep walk up there yourself. The glacier itself is all roped off for safety reasons but you can still get the photos you might require for your album. It seemed a lot of people were going off to the right to take the guided tour, and whilst I’m sure this is very informative, I don’t know exactly what it includes for the money so I guess it all depends on how much you want from the trip.
Finally a little while later as we entered the Jasper area we were graced with a little sunshine. It took us a little while to find our accommodation, mainly because I had the wrong house number, but we got checked in and then settled down for an early night.
The next morning we went into town for some breakfast (do try Smittys if you’re in the area) and a mooch around the town. We then drove out to Miette springs to complete a walk there and have lunch before enjoying a soak in the hot spring pools. We chose to take the Utopia Pass path that would take us past the old pool buildings, now in ruin, and then to the hot spring itself. The rocks around the spring were green from the sulphurous water being emitted and was shrouded in mist and the strongest smell of eggs I have ever encountered. We did venture a little further up the path and crossed the creek but we didn’t make it all the way to the wildflower meadow due to the time and rumbling bellies. Back at the cafe we were accompanied by a very brave squirrel for late lunch, before heading into the changing rooms to suit up and relax in the 4 pools. The cold pools were 14 and 17 degrees and the hot pools were 38 and 40, a real treat for the aching muscles when moving between the temperatures. After luxuriating there for 2 hours, chatting with locals and other tourists in the occasional rain showers, we grabbed a takeaway in town and made our way back to the apartment for a quiet evening.
The following day we drove out to Maligne Lake and did the Moose Lake trail in the hope that we may spot the mother and calf that were supposedly in the area. Unfortunately we weren’t lucky enough to see them but nevertheless the walk was a nice easy stroll compared to some we had done previously. We had decided as it was our last evening in Jasper we would go back to the apartment early to get washed and dressed up for a proper meal out. As they say the best laid plans etc…as we rejoined the highway into town it looked more like a car park. So of course we pulled up on the side of the road, grabbed our phones and rushed over to see what animal had made everyone park up. There before us were two female elks with their respective calves, then came the bugling and we spotted Dad. They say patience is a virtue and when it comes to animal sightings in Canada this is definitely true. As other people came and went snapping photos of the family we stuck it out for an hour and a half before we were rewarded for our perseverance by hearing another male elk beginning to bugle. Wading across the very fast flowing river was the other bull, part of me wanted to cover my eyes to block out what was about to happen but the chance of ever seeing this ritual ever again kept my hands firmly on the camera. Still I wasn’t quick enough with my trigger finger as the two bulls ran at each other and we were treated to our very first, and probably the last, elk rutt! The sound was SO loud it was unbelievable as it rang out, it only took one run to see off the interloper and he sloped off to float down river a little further and out of harms way. By now it was rather later than we had anticipated so, as most seem to do in the mountain towns, we went to dinner in a proper restaurant in our walking gear…and no, we didn’t really stand out that much!
It was with heavy hearts we packed up the next morning, Jasper had really been the highlight of the trip so far and we knew that leaving Alberta behind would be hard no matter what British Colombia had in store for us. Before we left we had our per-booked Skytram tickets to use, what better way to say goodbye to Jasper than gazing down on it from 2,277 metres above sea level. On entering our tram we eagerly claimed a standing spot by the window, the tour guide was quick to inform us that a black bear and her two cubs were currently in the tree line about halfway up the ascent. Eyes peeled and, again sad that I was only armed with an iPhone, we saw them making their way through the trees. The vistas at the top were so incredible and after doing some risky climbing out onto ledges for the best photographs we went for lunch at the restaurant with the incredible view. Back at ground level it was time to drive on to Clearwater, a little later than planned we now wouldn’t be arriving until 9pm and we still had one more stop to make. Rearguard falls marks the upper limit of the 800 mile migration of salmon from the Pacific Ocean and we were hoping to spot some leaping to their fate. Again it seemed we weren’t going to be the lucky ones that day but the waterfall itself was still an amazing sight.
