Tuesday,  May 16th

Our drive along the Icefields Parkway was cold and snowy. This scenic highway passes many of the higher peaks in the Canadian Rockies as well as the glaciers for which the route is named. Much of the roadside is still snow-covered and many or the trails leading off of the Parkway are still closed for the winter. Lakes along the roadside are mostly frozen if not completely.

 

The first part of the drive is within Banff National Park, including the Saskatchewan River Crossing and the Wilson Icefield.

The Nigel Pass has a spectacular view from its high pull-off.

 

 

 Just before the road comes to the Columbia Icefield Centre it exits Banff National Park and enters Jasper National Park. The Icefield Centre has a wonderful view of the Athabasca Glacier and the Columbia Icefield.

 

Tonight we are in a campground in Jasper National Park. The snow has stopped, but it is still cold; our afternoon walk was shortened by the chill breeze. Tomorrow we will do a few short hikes in the park before we head on down the road to Hinton (still in Alberta).

 

Wednesday, May 17th

We took two short hikes today before our drive to Hinton. The first hike was to the Valley of the Five Lakes.

After lunch in Jasper at Coco’s Café, we drove north to hike along Maligne Canyon. A very fortunate missed turn let us see a black bear as he foraged for food.

After taking photos of the bear, we made it to Maligne Canyon which is avery steep and narrow.

 

The drive to Hinton gave us beautiful views of the Athabasca River. The Athabasca has the greatest water flow of any river in the Rockies.

 

Tonight we are in a KOA just outside Hinton. Finally we are seeing some blue sky in Canada!