The Canadian Rockies – 3

The unexpected snowfall on the day I arrived in Jasper had not just taken everybody by surprise but also made it that much more difficult for me to find things to fill in my itinerary. I wanted to go on the hard hikes for the breathtaking views but that was not a possibility anymore. I would have to settle for the more accessible and popular spots. In the Rockies, all you have to do is to be there to earn the amazing views. The long and hard hikes could wait for my later visits which I hoped would be many.

 It was a cloudy day again, rather crowded early in the morning as I drove to Maligne Canyon. It was an easy morning walk that turned scary every now and then when I got lost in the swarm of trails and the many entrances and exits. I imagined bears creeping up on me every time I was alone even though I had not seen one so far during my visit. My patience, or the lack of it, was rewarded a little later with a few bear sightings. They were all black mama bears with their little ones. I stopped to look for a while as I made my way back to town from Maligne canyon. It appeared that they were used to all the attention, just going about their business even while we gawked in admiration. Black bears are supposedly more forgiving of intruders than grizzly bears are, which meant we waited and watched till we were sure they were out of sight. I should observe that us humans usually tend to exhibit a lack of intelligence in the presence of these beautiful animals. We tend to do exactly what we are told not to do, sometimes with the best intentions, putting them and ourselves in danger.

 There was another bear crossing as I drove up Mount Edith Cavell. Although slightly disappointed that it was not a grizzly, I took my time to admire her and the cub. I was driving up to see a glacier up close on the mountain after being amidst many for a few days. I did the short hike up to the overlook of the Angel glacier and the pond which was mostly frozen. I stood there for a while and heard some noise which I though came from the vehicles on the road, wondering if we were really that close to the road. It is only a few minutes later that I witnessed the source of the sound – avalanches! I had never seen one before. I, like many others, had ignored the warning that said we should stay on the trail and had walked closer to the glacier. After seeing a couple of avalanches, I quickly turned around. I encountered a bear, possibly the same one I had seen earlier, on my way back too.

 I had planned to do a tough but short hike to the top of Sulphur Mountain in the afternoon. I headed out there after having stuffed myself with some tasty Korean food. It was a rather long drive from Jasper. Reaching the top was sure to reward me with beautiful views due to the previous day’s snow. What I did not anticipate though, was that there would be a lot of snow on the trail. There were lots of people coming back as I started. That indicated I was pretty late to be starting at that time and that made me anxious, and the overcast made it darker than it was, meaning I needed to hurry, which I did. Once at the top, seeing other people made me happier than the views did. I took my phone out of my bag to click some photos, only to realize that it had turned off. It would not turn on no matter what I did. I felt better when I heard someone nearby exclaim and complain that his Samsung phone had done the same. I had not realized how cold it was since I had worked up a sweat and did not feel the need for a jacket soon after starting the ascent. It was below freezing temperature and all these mobile phone manufacturers apart from Apple thought they would rather shut it down if they cannot figure out how to make it work. So I rushed back down the trail without any photos of the views and with a lot of nervousness with different scenarios playing out in my head, what were my options without a working phone? I convinced myself that it would not be all that bad. I was driving back to Calgary the next day and that would not be difficult to do, with the help of the road signs. I would need to find a way to get to the hostel in Calgary and then to the airport the next day morning. Perhaps I could ask someone for help and write down the directions in the old-fashioned way. There was not much I could do other than calm myself down since I am the only one responsible for my travels and the situation that I found myself in. I plugged the phone in as soon as I reached the car and thankfully, it switched on. It was a great day for wildlife viewing, which ended with the opportunity to see some Bighorn sheep resting by the freeway. My hostel room was nearly empty, but a newbie from the UK arrived soon and I did not waste any time giving her a lot of advice on what the best places to see are, in and around Jasper. She did not have a car and would not be able to go everywhere but was kind enough to listen to me with rapt attention.

 I started driving early in the morning on my last day in the area. It was bright and sunny and I needed to coax myself to look straight ahead while driving. I was enchanted by the beauty around. Peyto lake was my first destination for the day. It was a quick walk from the parking lot. I could not believe my eyes when I could finally see the lake. It was the most beautiful setting I had ever seen, the blue of the lake, the mountains with the dark green of trees and the snow at the top, in the background. The viewing area was obviously crowded with everybody trying to capture the scenery from every nook and corner. I had read about a trail that would let us admire the view in isolation and went looking for it. I spent some time there and walked back, still seeing the lake and the snow-capped mountains in front of my eyes. I planned to go on another very popular hike to the Wilcox viewpoint nearby as far as I could until it was time for the icefield tour. I started without carrying as much as a bottle of water but the views made me go farther than I had decided to. i stopped at a great view of the Columbia icefield that was across the road. I will complete it another day, hopefully just as gorgeous.

 I was excited to be onboard the ice explorer, a huge vehicle that would transport us to the icefield. Somehow, I was quite disillusioned by the end of it although I did get to walk on the icefield. I did not think the tour was worth the money and skipped the part that would take me to the skywalk nearby. It bothered me that I had chosen to engage in this commercial activity instead of completing one of the spectacular hikes nearby. Nevertheless, I had seen and experienced so much in the six days that I was there and quickly forgot about it, again spending the drive engrossed in the surroundings as much as I could. I hoped to make it a personal tradition to visit Banff and Jasper every year if I could, in all the seasons that it is accessible, to do a lot more hiking, camping and backpacking.