Immediately upon entering Jasper National Park, we were greeted by a huge bull Elk casually grazing along the side of the road. Unfortunately, the ensuing traffic snarl sent the animal on a headlong rush into the forest. We weren’t in the Yukon or Northwest Territories anymore, Dorothy.
We opted to drive immediately to a campground and find a campsite as our freeform schedule had not allowed us to make reservations for campsites. Jasper and Banff are, basically, Canada’s equivalent to America’s Yellowstone with millions upon millions of visitors every year. There are many large campgrounds ( Some as larges as 781 sites, ugh) which allow reservations, but several others that do not allow reservations and are first-come-first-served. We set our sights on a campground near the Central part of Jasper National Park along the Athabasca River. We had arrived right at checkout time, so we were optimistic we’d get a site.
We went to Kerkeslin Campground, which is one of the smallest in Jasper and found a nice site with the Athabasca River in the “Backyard,” it was about a 200 meter walk to get to the River and our bank had about a half a dozen springs sending crystal clear water into the Athabasca; the views were stunning.
In the time it took to set up our tent, almost every other open site around us was taken. We had learned our lesson, we needed to get into camp early to get a site. After camp was set, we drove up to the trailhead for the Edith Cavell Glacier. The road up to the trailhead was tight and winding. There were signs everywhere that indicated that RV’s larger than 25 feet were prohibited, but that didn’t stop the families who had rented an RV for their family vacation from attempting to cram 10,000 pounds of RV into a 5,000 pound road. It was pandemonium.
We did, however, make it to the trailhead and once we pushed past the short first section of the trail, it was busy, but not crazy busy. We saw the Edith Cavell Glacier, which is named for a British Nurse who helped Allied soldiers escape from behind German lines during World War I. Cavell was executed by the Germans, by firing squad, in 1915. A true war hero and very deserving of having such a beautiful place named after her.
As we hiked up into the alpine zone across from the glacier we saw Columbian Marmots and Pikas. I had seen Pikas, or rather, had heard, Pikas before in the High Uintah’s of Utah, but the Pikas in Jasper were little attention seekers, who would chirp if the hikers were paying too much attention to the Marmots. It was as if the Marmots and the Pikas were fighting to become the biggest Youtube star!
Pikas are the smallest Rabbit in North America. and Marmots are a colonial species, so the two large ones in the photos above are likely the parents of the dozen, or so, juveniles we saw on the mountainside all around the parents. It was cool to sit and watch the animals going about their lives without any concern for the people hiking past…other than to seem to WANT to be filmed and photographed as the center of attention.
After a long day of hiking up to altitude, we went back to camp, had a nice dinner and then went for a walk along the Athabasca River. It was relaxing to sit along the river looking up the mountains with no one else around us. We had a good night’s sleep. The next morning, we were up early and headed down the Icefields Parkway. The plan was to visit the Columbia Icefield Centre, which, we thought, was a Glacier Interpretive Center and Museum. It was, kind of, but it was first and foremost an exclusive lodge, a series of fancy restaurants, a Starbucks and gift shops. Needless to say, the small museum (They called it a Gallery) tucked into the basement was disappointing and the huge crowds sipping their $9 hot cocoa’s from Starbucks while elbowing in to see the exhibits was overwhelming.
We escaped the Centre and once we got on the trail to hike to the Athabasca Glacier, things were a bit better. It was still busy, but the wide, open glacial valley, glacial debris field and moraines clearly visible while hiking were neat to see and share with the girls. Petra has an especially strong fascination with the Ice Ages, so showing her glacier created land structures that are clearly visible in the valley was special. We have many of these glacial landforms in Wisconsin, but they have been covered by forests in the 7,000 – 10,000 years of recovery since the last ice age. The Athabasca Glacier has only just retreated to its current position in the last 100 years.
The Columbia Icefields feed three major river systems in Canada. The Athabasca River, which eventually flows into the Mackenzie. The North Saskatchewan River and, aptly enough, the Columbia River. This is a Tri-Basin divide along the Continental Divide and water from the glaciers here ends up in The Pacific Ocean, The Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. It is a very interesting place to visit to understand the connection of all the places we visited on our entire trip!
After our hike up to the Athabasca Glacier, we headed South down the Icefields Parkway to Rampart Creek Campground. This is, again, a smaller, first-come-first-served campground just inside the Northern boundary of Banff National Park. We arrived in early afternoon and quickly found one of only 4 sites available. As we set up camp, the remaining sites were quickly taken. Then, more and more anxious people filtered through the campground only to find it full.
Rampart Creek meets the North Saskatchewan River at this campground and my afternoon was spent hiking along the North Saskatchewan River and in the willow thickets of the Rampart Creek. Sarah relaxed and read a book in camp. Olive and Petra built “Camp Fairy,” a summer camp for forest fairies, using natural materials gathered from dead and down timber around our campsite. There was a teepee for boy fairies and one for girl fairies, a mess hall, a fire pit, a swimming pond, an obstacle course and an archery range. They had thought of everything.
The views from near our campsite, were, yet again, spectacular. On my hike, I saw sign of bear and wolves. I saw sign of Elk. This small exploration of Jasper and Banff National Parks made Sarah and I discuss a backcountry backpacking trip to similar places in the US. However, as a paddler, I just feel like carrying your gear on your back is a regression of evolution. I don’t mind carrying the gear on my back for a Portage, but then you put the gear back in the boat for the majority of the trip. Only Neanderthals carry their gear on their backs, enlightened, modern man uses a Canoe or Kayak! Ha ha.
We got up early and headed South, deeper into Banff National Park. The drive was spectacular and we began looking into which hike we’d like to do that day. However, it was clear that Olive and Petra were showing full-on signs that they had their fill of mountains, glaciers, waterfalls and river valleys. Every time we pointed out a new wonderful vista, they would look up half-heartedly, acknowledge the beauty and then go back to their coloring book or chapter book. It sounds crazy, but we were on the verge of camping burnout.
Not to mention that the further South we drove into Banff National Park, the traffic and speed of the drivers around us increased exponentially. It was culture shock after two and a half months of first canoe camping on the Mackenzie River backcountry, then spending time on the road in the Northwest Territories and Yukon to come into civilization. It sounds weird to call Banff National Park civilization, but with millions of visitors it felt incredibly crowded.
We decided to head for Calgary rather than spend another night in Banff NP. We stopped in the town of Banff for some souvenir shopping and lunch, it was so crowded, but such a picturesque mountain town. The Canadian Parks Service offered a sing-along and puppet show outside the Banff National Park Headquarters building, which the girls loved. And the main souvenir shop they visited was a rock shop.
Sarah and I enjoyed an Indian Buffet, which was a welcome treat, as anyone who knows me well, knows that Chicken Curry northern style is one of my absolute favorite foods! We drove to Calgary from Banff among the speed demons racing back after a weekend of mountain biking and hiking in Banff.
In Calgary, we stayed at the Royal Hotel, which was a treat, as it was, by far, the nicest hotel that we had stayed at for the entire trip. I took two very long, hot showers. We also went to a store called Pro Hockey Life and picked up some hockey gear for the girls as Fall Tune-ups would start within a couple days of us getting home to Wisconsin. The demands and expectations of normal life were starting to creep in and we could feel the pull of home!
All that was left to do, was to start driving home in earnest.
Follow our final legs home in the next blog and check out some new Trip Short videos posted to out Youtube channel HERE.
More soon, ~Umingmaq