Canadian Rockies, Aug-Sept 2018

By RandySeptember 19, 2018 ( 1 )

Tom, Oscar, and I spent 2 weeks in the Canadian Rocks, hiking in the 4 National Parks (Jasper, Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay) and in several provincial parks in the Kananaskis area (called K-Country) and even across the Continental Divide into British Columbia. This was the first time Oscar had hiked with either Tom or me. We hiked about 80 miles.

At first, the longer range weather forecast for the area looked to be warm (mid 80’sF) but as the day to leave came closer the forecast was for cooler weather. We all took shorts but we never wore them. At times it was 34F when we started a hike and I had 4+ layers to stay warm. I did not sweat very often (unless I was too lazy to remove a layer). Initially we were disappointed with the smoky conditions – the area had been experiencing poor visibility for the past 6 weeks due to smoke blowing in from the west from all the fires in British Columbia. Fortunately for us, the colder weather from the north cleared out most of the smoke a few days after we arrived.

Smoky Skies on the Sulfur Skyline trail – August 23, 2018 about 5 miles, + 2129ft elevation gain

Our first hike in Canada was in Jasper National Park on the Sulfur Skyline trail which was a steep hike up to a vista. It would have been better without all the smoke but still a nice view. Oscar is on the right looking out over the valley. IMG_82857_SulphurSkyline_Jasper

Maligne Canyon trail Jasper Nat Park , August 23, 2018 – 2.5 miles

On the way back from the Sulfur Skyline trail we stopped by Maligne Canyon, a popular area. Almost all of the Canadian Rockies were formed from limestone that was pushed up to form the Continental divide (None of the hard granite like the US Rockies). As a result, the rivers can cut deep canyons in the soft limestone. This canyon is more than 300ft deep in places. This popular walk crosses the canyon with a series of bridges providing better views down into the canyon. 82952_MaligneCanyon_Jasper

Maligne Canyon trail â€“ Jasper Nat Park , August 23, 2018

From the 4th bridge you could see this small waterfall. IMG_82962_MaligneCanyon_Jasper

Randy, Oscar and Tom on the Valley of the Five Lakes trail Jasper Nat Park August 24, 2018 – 5.6 miles ~+215ft

On our second day in Jasper it was raining. We decided to hike the trail around the Valley of Five Lakes. We started at the 5th lake and met two guys from Israel and exchanged taking photos. Still smoky. There were several people who claimed they saw a bear up the trail and decided to not complete the loop around the lakes. We did not see any bear here or on any trail while we were in Canada (unless you count the stuffed, fake bears in some of the Banff stores). IMG_82983_ValleyofFiveLakes_Jasper

Randy and Tom in the Red Chairs on the Valley of the Five Lakes trail Jasper Nat Park August 24, 2018

We found these red chairs between the 3rd and 4th lakes and wondered what that was all about. Apparently, these chairs are on several trails in the Canadian National Parks and loved by some (as a photo op) and hated by others (eye sore). They did have a nice view. IMG_83009_ValleyofFiveLakes_Jasper

Valley of the Five Lakes trail Jasper Nat Park August 24, 2018

View of the 3rd lake with the 4th lake just beyond. You can also pick out the red dot of the red chairs in the upper left hand side. IMG_83015_Valley of FiveLakes_Jasper

Whistler Summit trail Jasper Nat Park , August 24, 2018 , 2.3 miles, +895ft elev

It stopped raining so we decided to ride the gondola up and hike the remaining way to the summit of Whistler’s Mountain. That’s Oscar at the upper right side of the photo. Still the smoky haze limited the views. IMG_83067_MtWhislers_Jasper

Tangle Creek Falls, Jasper National Park, August 25, 2018

This 114 ft waterfall is right off the road from Jasper to Banff. IMG_83104_TangleCkFalls_Jasper

Athabasca Glacier Toe – Jasper Nat Park , August 25, 2018, 1.2 miles

On our way to Banff, we stopped to hike the short distance toward the toe of the Athabasca glacier, the white formation in the left center. You could not get to the glacier due to a river, although for a pretty good fee, they would bus you out to the glacier. We did not have time to do this as we were meeting up with White Mountain Hiking tours in a hour or so. Oscar has socks on his hands – did not bring gloves. There were markers on the ground from where the glacier had retreated over the years. It was interesting that most of this hike would have been covered by the glacier 50 years ago. The rock cairn was already there but Oscar added a stone on top. IMG_83134_AthabackaGlacier_Jasper

Bridal Veil Falls Banff Nat Park, August 25, 2018

Also on our way to Banff, we stopped to hike a social trail the very short distance to Bridal Veil Falls. This water fall drops 1200ft to the river. IMG_83150_BridalVeilFalls_Banff

Bridal Veil Falls Banff Nat Park, August 25, 2018

Tom is near the top of the falls and Oscar and I are at a overhanging rock formation to get a better view. IMG_83190_BridalVeilFalls_Banff

Bridal Veil Falls Banff Nat Park, August 25, 2018

Oscar enjoying a great view of the falls, but it was a long drop down…. IMG_83195_BridalVeilFalls_Banff

Upper Kananaskis Lake â€“ Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, August 26, 2018 8.5 miles, +1050ft elv

We joined up with White Mountain Hiking tours for a while to explore the Rockies with a guide. Michelle, our guide is in the green jacket. Michelle is from England but now has Canadian citizenship. Monireh was the only other hiker besides us on the tour. It was a great group and we had fun. The first hike was supposed to be up to Chester Lake, but a bear attack in the area resulted in the trail being closed. Instead we hiked from Upper Kananaskis Lake to Rawson Lake. We saw a nice waterfall and some flowers (mostly Fleabane and Arnica). IMG_83205_UpperKananaskisLk_PeterLougheed_Pk

Upper Kananaskis Lake â€“ Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, August 26, 2018

Still smoky but an interesting view. IMG_83218_UpperKananaskisLk_PeterLougheed_Pkc

Rawson Lake – Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, August 26, 2018Â

Here we are hiking part way around Rawson Lake. IMG_83284_RawsonLk_PeterLougheed_Pk

Coral Fungi – Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, August 26, 2018

Ramaria pallida is a coral mushroom in the family Gomphaceae. This one was about the size of a soccer ball. IMG_83296_CoralFungi_PeterLougheed_Pk

Sunshine Meadow Banff AB, August 27, 2018 ~5.4 miles, 985ft elev

Overnight it rained (and snowed at higher elevation) and the north wind finally pushed the smoke out of the Rockies. We hiked in the Sunshine ski area, both in Banff and Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia (crossed the Continental divide). There had been no snow here the day before and it was mostly gone before we finished the hike (but pretty while we were hiking). There were several snow ball fights. IMG_83339_Sunrise_Banff

Sunshine Meadow – Banff AB, August 27, 2018

Because the ground was so warm, none of the snow remained on the trails. All the visible snow was sitting on the grass and trees, insulated from the warm ground. IMG_83353_Sunrise_Banff

Rock Isle Lake, Sunshine Meadow – Mt Assiniboine BC, August 27, 2018 IMG_83380_RockIsleLk_Banff

Rock Isle Lake, Sunshine Meadow Mt Assiniboine BC, August 27, 2018

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Rock Isle Lake, Laryx Lake, and Grizzly Lake Mt Assiniboine BC, August 27, 2018

You could see the three lakes we were hiking around the rest of the day: from left to right, Rock Isle, Laryx, and Grizzly. The odd thing that no one could explain was that Layx and Grizzle had no snow near them but there was snow everywhere else. We had lunch at Laryx Lake and could actually see patches of blue sky. IMG_83438_Sunrise_Banff

Rock Isle Lake, Mt Assiniboine BC, August 27, 2018

Note the snow is already starting to disappear and when we returned from our hike around the other lakes, it was gone (see next photo) IMG_83451_Sunrise_Banff

Rock Isle Lake with no snow – Mt Assiniboine BC, August 27, 2018

By afternoon the snow was melted off. It was fun while it lasted. IMG_83547_RockIsleLk_Banff

Trumpet Lichen, Stanley Glacier, Kootenay Nat Park, August 27, 2018

Trumpet Lichen (Cladonia fimbriataÂ is lichen belonging to the family Cladoniaceae) caught my eye during a hike out to Stanley Glacier. It is sometimes also called “Golf Tee” lichen. IMG_83592_Trumpet_Lichen_Stanley_Glacier

Pika near Stanley Glacier, Kootenay Nat Park, August 27, 2018

We found this small pika defending it’s turf. A pika is a small mammal with short limbs, very round body, rounded ears, and no external tail and is a close cousin of the rabbit. This one looked to be about 4-5 inches long. They make a loud chirp and this one was not happy that we were crossing its territory. In our travels we also saw marmots, elk, big horn sheep, ground squirrels but did not see a moose or bear. IMG_83602_Pica_StanleyGlacier_Kootenay

The Beautiful Lake Moraine, Banff, August 29, 2018

On our way to hike in the Lake Louise area we had to stop and see the beautiful Lake Moraine. This photo is taken from the rock pile at the end of the lake. IMG_83673_LakeMoraine_Banff

Lake Louise from the Fairmont, Banff, August 29, 2018

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel grounds is where we started the Plain of the Six Glaciers hike. IMG_83725_LakeLouise_Banff

Fairmont from Lake Louise, Banff, August 29, 2018

IMG_83741_Fairmont-LakeLouise_Banff

Plain of the Six Glaciers, Banff, August 29, 2018, 10.9 miles (17.6Km), + ~2200ft elev

The horses shared some of the trail with the hikers up to the glaciers. IMG_83767_Plain_of_Six_Glaciers_Banff

Plain of the Six Glaciers, Banff, August 29, 2018

We hiked up toward Victoria Glacier and heard a loud crack. The streak of ice down the left side of the photo was from a portion of the glacier that had just fallen. We did not get to see it fall because the sound arrived after the event. All the brown area at the bottom of the photo is also the glacier with “dirt” on top – you can see the ice underneath in the cracks. IMG_83790_Plain_of_Six_Glaciers_Banff

Plain of the Six Glaciers, Banff, August 29, 2018

Oscar, clowning around on the way back down the trail. You can see the Fairmont and Lake Lousie in the distance. From here we detoured up the left side of the valley to visit Lake Agnes to have tea and scones at the Tea House. IMG_83809_Plain_of_Six_Glaciers_Banff

Plain of the Six Glaciers, Banff, August 29, 2018

More horse riders coming up the trail. IMG_83810_Plain_of_Six_Glaciers_Banff

Plain of the Six Glaciers, Banff, August 29, 2018

The trail back toward the glacier. IMG_83815_Plain_of_Six_Glaciers_Banff

Plain of the Six Glaciers, Banff, August 29, 2018

Crossed a meadow with Fireweed on our way to Lake Agnes. IMG_83821_Plain_of_Six_Glaciers_Banff

Plain of the Six Glaciers, Banff, August 29, 2018

IMG_83833_Plain_of_Six_Glaciers_Banff

Takakkaw Falls, Yoho National Park, August 30, 2018

We climbed up from the valley floor below to reach the Iceland trail to visit more glaciers. This trail was our first in Yoho National Park and provided a great view of the 1250 ft Takakkaw Falls across the valley. IMG_83878_TakakkawFalls_Yoho