Friday, May 31, 2013

Jasper National Park: Athabasca Falls

After returning from our Bald Hills hike it was decided that we would all make a trip down the road to visit Athabasca Falls. The falls are about a 20 minute drive south of the Wabasso campground where we were staying. There is a large paved parking lot by the falls as it is a popular tourist spot and many tour busses stop here.

You walk along a path from the parking lot until the beginning of the falls come into view. The path continues on and wraps around the falls and is connected by several bridges allowing many different views of the lovely falls and waters running turbulently in the canyon below.








This plaque was on one of the benches. It is very sad that people often make foolish decisions that cost them their lives and cause their family much sorrow. 


Raindrops started to fall so we made our way back to the car to drive back to the campground. It was a lovely evening despite the rain clouds.



Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Jasper National Park: Bald Hills Hike at Maligne Lake

Our first hike in Jasper was at Maligne Lake, the Bald Hills Trail. No dogs are allowed on the trail due to it being caribou habitat and so the stepmother stayed behind at the campground with the dogs while Dad and I went off on the hike,

We set out early in the morning as that is the best time to hike and also to see wildlife. Maligne Lake Rd. is well known for being a great place to spot wildlife and Dad and I were not disappointed. It is a beautiful drive out to Maligne Lake, you pass through mountains and by lakes and rivers.

Medicine Lake


My second bear sighting of the trip came on this day, our second of the trip. We encountered a "bear jam" - cars stopped so people can gawk at the bear. Dad decided to pass by the cars so we could get to the hiking trail but as we pulled by I got some shots. Dad ended up stopping for a second as the bear crossed the road behind us.

Some of the people were crazy/stupid and were getting out of their cars. Rule number 1 when encountering a bear, don't get out of your car! You never know when a bear is going to feel threatened and attack. Common sense people! 



After I got a few shots of the bear we continued on to the trailhead for the Bald Hills Hike. This trail starts off in a wooded area and after a decent elevation climb you break free of the tree line and get a wonderful view of Maligne Lake.

 There is very clear signage at the start of the trail saying that dogs are not allowed on the trail. There is even more signage along the trail, it is impossible to miss. This is not some random Parks Canada rule, it is because the trail is in Caribou Habitat and the presence of dogs can be disruptive to them. The caribou population in Banff and Jasper is very small and it is important to protect their territory as much as possible and one way of doing this is to ban dogs from this hiking trail. Despite the clear signage we still saw somebody with the dog on the trail. My dad informed him that dogs were not allowed and that he would receive a fine if Parks Canada staff saw him with the dog, he claimed to have not seen the signs, impossible!

This is not a particularly challenging hike for most people. I huffed and puffed my way up the trail while my dad patiently stopped to wait for me. Yep, I am slow, but if I take my time I get there eventually. That is what happens when you are a student who lives a sedentary lifestyle buried under your books and are overweight. However, one of the main themes of my blog is that even the overweight and not so fit people can still hike the trails and enjoy the beauty of Canada's landscape. You just have to make sure to listen to your body and be prepared with water, a snack and proper clothing and footwear. These are essential for any hiker regardless of their ability level.

As you gain elevation you begin to catch glimpses of Maligne Lake through the trees. It was a beautiful day and a perfect temperature, however, it was hazy which made for less than stellar pictures. The view in person was magnificent.
Maligne Lake

Maligne Lake

Maligne Lake
 We finally made it out of the treeline and we were now on the exposed hillside, hence the name of Bald Hills. The trail goes in several directions and can go on for miles and miles. It is up to each individual to decide where they want to go and how far.


Dad and I found a nice spot to sit and have an early lunch with a nice view of the lake.

Maligne Lake

Maligne Lake

Maligne Lake
 After lunch we decided to continue climbing up rather than walking along the relatively flat trail that ran to the east. We joined up with a solo hiker from the States at this point. He was a very nice man and he and dad had some great conversations as we continued on our trek. We got to the top of one of the hills and Dad wanted to pose for pictures. This was terrifying for me as I am not a huge fan of heights when there is nothing preventing me from plummeting to my death. The pictures do not show this well but where my dad had me pose was uncomfortably close to a huge drop. I felt ill the whole time he had me standing there.






The trail continues on connecting each peak. We could see some storm clouds starting to roll in so we thought it prudent to begin our decent. I certainly did not think it advisable to be on an exposed hillside during a thunder storm.



We could hear the thunder in the distance and as we were descending we felt the rain drops start to fall. We stopped to put on our rain gear, and sure thing, as soon as we put our rain coats on it stopped raining and the storm rolled away. Of course, if we had not had rain coats we would have been sure to get drenched, that is how these things work right? ;

The beginning/end of the trail is flat and lined with gravel. As we were walking back along this part of the trail an accident occurred.  Yep, I fell. Leave it to me to hike through the mountains and scramble over rocks and not fall. Instead I fall on a flat gravel path. I wasn't hurt too badly but a huge bruise formed on my right leg and lasted for a good 2 weeks. It was a beautiful bruise, very attractive!It was very sore and the dogs loved to bump into at every chance they got. Ouch!

Once we got back to the car we ditched our hiking packs and walked down to the lakefront to grab some pictures of Maligne Lake up close. Maligne Lake is most famous for Spirit Island. Unfortunately, the only way to get to Spirit Island is by boat. You can canoe, however, it would take several days of travel to reach it, Maligne Lake is very long. There is a cruise that you can buy tickets for that will take you out to the island but is not cheap and still eats up a few hours of your day. Canoeing out was not an option and we were not willing to drop the money on the cruise.

Maligne Lake

Maligne Lake
Here are three short video clips from the hike:

Bald Hills Hike - View from the top
View of Maligne Lake from Bald Hills Trail
Maligne Lake waterfront

After a stop at the bathrooms it was time to start making our way back to the campsite which meant driving back along Maligne Lake Road. Wonder if we will see any more wildlife?


We saw this adorable baby mountain sheep on the side of the road all by itself. I was afraid that it would get hit as it was right in the road.


Then, at the Medicine Lake viewpoint we saw a whole heard of mountain sheep hanging out. They were very comfortable being around people which is actually not a very good thing. Sure, it is a thrill for a tourist to be able to get up close with the animals but this lack of fear by the animals means that they are in greater danger of being killed, etc. Dad and I stopped as I wanted to get a picture of the lake. It was impossible to walk around without nearly bumping into the sheep, they were everywhere.
 One of the sheep was kind enough to pose for me by the lake.

People who have seen only the picture below have questioned me as  to the authenticity of the picture. They say it looks fake, as though there is a fake goat there or its image was superimposed. Nope, I was incredibly lucky to happen to be in the right place at the right time. My dad told me I should not tell people that I took this picture right next to a parking lot and let them believe I encountered this animal while on a hike in untamed wilderness. 


Look how friendly these sheep were, people were petting them! 
 There were same babies on scene as well.


My wildlife count for the trip so far: 2 black bears, one black bear cub, 2 mountain sheep babies and 8 mountain sheep. Pretty good for only day 2 of the trip!

Dad and I stopped in town on the way back to the campsite to go to the Bear's Paw Bakery as I had heard that their signature Bear's Paw was delicious. Well, it was a bit of a let down, it was kinda boring. Oh well! It was also on this stop in town that Dad and I discovered the regular grocery store. We checked it out and it was much nicer than the one in the main tourist section of the town. It was bigger, nice and clean, and had a good selection. It is called Robinson Foods and is on the corner of Connaught Drive and Balsam Avenue.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Journey to Jasper: Mountains, and Glaciers and Bears, oh my!

In August 2012 my dad, stepmother and I spent two weeks exploring Jasper, Banff and Yoho National Parks. My brothers had visited my dad earlier in the summer so this trip was all about traveling my style. The pace on the trails was not as speedy and my dad incorporated visits into the townsites of Jasper and Banff, activities that would not have interested my brothers.

My dad lives in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia so we had to leave his house early in the morning in order to make it to our campsite in Jasper at a decent time. We would be taking Dad's small trailer with us so no sleeping on the cold, hard, lumpy ground for me! Hurray!

A new four-legged family member was joining us on this trip, my dad's 10-month old puppy, Tilly. It would certainly be a bit cramped with the three of us and the two dogs in the trailer for two weeks!

Marcus (left) and Tilly (right)


Even though the dogs had the entire back of the car to themselves they insisted on spending the entire journey crowding around my seat.

We stopped at a campground and picnic area as we entered Yoho in order to let the dogs run around and do their business. Dad and I were a bit worried about the smokey haze in the air as we were scheduled to hike Lake O'Hara in just over a week and this sign of smoke meant that our views might be obscured. We crossed our fingers that when we returned the smoke and whatever was causing it would have drifted away.


Once we got back on the road we continued into Banff until we reached the turnoff for the Icefields Parkway. We would be driving up the Icefields Parkway to get to our campsite just outside of the townsite of Jasper. We made a few stops along the way to take some pictures. First stop was the Crowfoot Glacier.
Crowfoot Glacier
I asked my dad if we could stop at Peyto Lake on the way to Jasper as there was no guarantee we would have good weather when we drove back in a few days time. As is always the case in the mountains the weather can be unpredictable and change quickly. For instance, while we were visiting Peyto Lake it would was sunny, then cloudy, then sunny again, and then it started to pour rain as we were leaving. It was also a nice place to stop as it got us all out of the car and we were able to stretch our legs as there is a small walk to get to the viewpoint. Peyto Lake is very famous and one of the most photographed locations in Banff. The colour of the water changes depending on the time of the year and the amount of sunlight. The day we were there it was rather cloudy and so the water looked like a cold milky blue. On others days it can shine bright as a sapphire.
Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake

Tilly and Marcus enjoying the time out of the car and all the attention they were getting.

Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake
I took advantage of the bathrooms at Peyto Lake as there would be no more stops for us until we got to the campground.

We continued on our drive along the Icefields Parkway. We drove past the Athabasca Glacier which Dad and I would be visiting in a few days time.

Athabasca Glacier
When we were about an hour away from the campsite Dad noticed that there was something wrong with the trailer. He and the step-mother got out to investigate while the dogs and I watched in concern from the car.
Marcus

Tilly
I think we spent a good 30 minutes on the side of the road.You will have to excuse my ignorance here as I am not a handy girl at all and know nothing about cars. Turns out the problem was that the protective cover (protetcs from rocks and debris etc.) over one of the wheels on the trailer had come loose and was about to fly off. Dad could not find the screws to fix the issue so he ended up having to take it off. It wasn't a huge deal as everything still worked just fine.
View from our spot on the side of the road while dad tried to play mechanic
 Finally, around 5pm we reached our home for the next few days, Wabasso Campground. Once we got there we found out that the site they gave us was not very trailer friendly despite it being a trailer campsite...

The dogs and I watched in amusement as Dad and the stepmother tried to back the trailer into our campsite and then stabilize it. It took a loooooong time.

Once we had our trailer stabilized and everything set up and in order we decided to head into the town of Jasper to take a look around. This was mostly for my benefit, I doubt that dad would have gone into town if I had not been there. 

Jasper was adorable. Much smaller than the town of Banff but it had everything you would need. We parked on the main street and then made our way to the Visitor Centre to check out what sort of information they had and to browse through their shop.
Town of Jasper

Jasper Information Centre
 After the Information Centre we walked around a bit and stopped at a small grocery store. It was not impressive, overpriced and looked rather rundown. However, Dad and I went in anyways and got some overpriced juice since the stepmother had forgotten to pack any.  It wasn't until the next day that dad and I found a real grocery store further up the road in the slightly more residential section of the town. At least we know for next time!

There was a beautiful rainbow as we made our way out of town.

Much to our delight, in the woods right outside our campground we spotted a black bear and her cub. My first bear sighting, ever! We were the only car on the road so we stopped so we could get some pictures. We were very careful and never got out of the car. Unfortunately, we saw many people getting out of their cars and trying to get closer to bears later on in the trip, that is a disaster waiting to happen!

My pictures were rather blurry as I was having to lean into the front seat and look though my dad's window as the dogs would have gone crazy if I had rolled down my window. Dad got better pictures than I did. 




I did manage to get a brief video clip of the bears http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pIaL30kJr8

We eventually moved on as a few more cars had arrived and stopped. As we entered the campground we made sure to notify the Parks Canada staff of the bears nearby as they track this sort of activity, especially near campgrounds and townsites. There was also a potential "bear jam" in the making if more cars showed up and stopped.

Once back at the campground we had dinner and got ready for bed. The Wabasso campground, unfortunately, does not have shower facilities, however, the bathrooms were very nice and only a short walk from the trailer. No smelly port-a-potties here, these were roomy clean bathrooms with flushable toilets, always a bonus. We went to bed early as Dad and I would be heading out early in the morning for our first hike of the trip.