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The Canadian Rockies ranks as my most "high" hiking trip
ever for more reasons than one, and it is not just the sheer
exhilaration of treading on high alpine lands I am referring
to. Breathtaking glaciers, ice-capped |
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mountain vistas, unusual
gorges, beautiful canyons and the mysterious aura of glowing
jade-coloured lakes aside, it was the first place that I
experienced falling snow - or more aptly, the magical
sight of crystals falling out of the sky - an unforgettable
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| wondrous feeling that
is ever so special and precious to one, who hails from a
tropical country that is the sunny island of Singapore...
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My arrival at the Rockies was very early in the morning - 2am to
be precise - that is, after an exhausting 17-hour flight from
Singapore to Vancouver and then catching a 14-hour Greyhound ride
straight to Jasper. With the youth hostel already closed, my first
night, or rather morning, was spent in a delightful little B&B
with gnome figurines in its garden.
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When light came, I was pleasantly charmed by the town's
quaintness, its pretty railway station and the rows of lovely
cottages, backed by snow mountains |
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| peeking enchantingly
through the shifting fog. The sight perked me up immediately
for what was to be a wonderful stay in Jasper National Park -
the largest and wildest national park of the Canadian Rockies
established in 1907.
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My first foray was to head for the famous Maligne Lake
area. Dubbed the "Sore Foot Lake" by railroad surveyor, Henry
MacLeod, whose 1875 quest for a transcontinental railway route
was stopped |
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valley blocked at its eastern end, the lake was to remain
unexplored to non-natives until a 1908 expedition led by a
spirited young lady named Mary Schaffer from Pennsylvania.
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Although the weather was gloomy, I could see why this is
considered one of the most picturesque spots in the Rockies.
Anchored by a bright |
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red historic boathouse built in
1929, the largest and deepest lake in the Park extends for a
further scenic 22-km stretch flanked by panoramic peaks on
either side.
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Plenty of activities are available here - from hiking, fishing,
canoeing, whitewater rafting, horse-riding to the obligatory boat
cruise to Spirit Island. Cliché photo-snapping notwithstanding,
there is no denying the haunting beauty of Spirit Island, with its
oft-pictured view of the islet of small pines standing amidst
shimmering cyan waters and surrounded by snow-capped
ranges.
I once read that the best way to get rid of jet lag was to
exercise, so off I went after the cruise - wobbly legs and all - for
the nearby Opal Hills trek. Indeed, Maligne Lake was created when a
landslide of these hills released almost 500 million cubic metres of
sediment into the valley causing the water to rise and form the
lake.
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Whether the hike did cure the jet lag I wasn't sure, but it
was certainly physically exhausting, being uphill almost all
the way. Once through the steep pine forest part, the trail
became an open meadows area with cone-shaped dizzying slopes
around, giving me a top-of-the-world feeling. I turned back
soon after though, without seeing the "promised" lake views in
the hike description, it being
enough exercise for a first day. |
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Besides, the trail was quiet
and there were those worrying grizzly bear warning signs
around... The Park is, after all, a wildlife area |
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bears, elks, deer, moose, mountain sheep, mountain goats,
coyotes, and even wolves and mountain lions!
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After "migrating" to the youth hostel at the base of
Whistlers Mountain, I woke up refreshed early the next
morning ready to conquer its summit. Just kidding. Instead of
climbing, there is a more leisurely way to go up
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| - that is, being transported
up 2,500 metres by the Jasper Tramway in a mere seven minutes.
Cool. Especially when the dawn mist had yet to clear and we
transcended above the clouds for spectacular |
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| views of the mountain
ranges as well as the surrounding area below. And yes, it
snowed last night!
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The whole summit was shrouded in blinding white. Wow. I would
have screamed in delight if not for the fact that I was freezing and
barely able to keep my teeth from chattering. After a visit to the
cafeteria for a warm-up with the help of a steaming cup of hot
chocolate, I was "better equipped" and lasted longer
outside.
As the trails were all buried, I could only follow sets of
footprints up slowly. Visibility was poor and the terminal soon
disappeared from view. Despite the frost, I was delirious with
euphoria at the occasional tantalizing previews revealed by the
moving cloud curtains, of vanilla ice-cream peaks against a sky of
layered blue. When I eventually turned back and took the tramway
down, after queuing with the hordes of tourists who had by then
ascended the mountain, it was one chilled but happy lady ambling
back to the hostel.
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With such an inspiring start, I was raring to go for a hike
in the afternoon, this time from the town to Pyramid Lake.
However, it turned out to be one long walk, partly because of
a companion I |
| had met at the hostel
and partly because of the confusing trail markings which got
us walking in circles in the Douglas fir forest. There were no
warning signs of the furry creature in the area.
Unfortunately, my fellow hiker was one overzealous
bear-paranoid person. If there were indeed any animals in the
vicinity, they would have cleared out for a mile due to the
frequent blowing of her shrill whistle! Every moving twig or
even heap of dung looked suspicious and by the time we found
the lake, I was as jumpy as her and very well-appraised of all
the dangers and precautions concerning black bears and
grizzlies. Sigh, and I had hoped to see one...
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Okay, it was not all that bad. There were some wonderful views of
the Athabasca River Valley along the way with open grassy hills. And
we did spot an elk in the forest (must have been a deaf one). When
we reached the lake, two cute guys in a car gave us a lift back to
town. And yes, I did like Helen. Bear hysteria apart, she was a fun
chatty girl and good company on other topics. In fact, it was sad to
say goodbye when she headed back to Vancouver, while I, to the
Columbia Icefields.
Ah, the beauty of the Icefields Parkway - the glorious 230 km
sojourn from Jasper National Park to Banff National Park in the
south - is simply indescribable. One has to experience it first-hand
to understand the involuntary utterances of "oohs" and "aahs" by
privileged visitors like myself. Departing from the town of Jasper
in a coach tour that was to take me to Lake Louise, I was
unprepared, despite having read the glowing literature on the famous
mountain highway, for the unsurpassed visual feast that was to be
unveiled.
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After passing through the forested valley bottom of the
Athabasca River, the first stop was for a view of the
Athabasca Falls. And they were spectacular - with the glacial
waters gushing down powerfully in a whirl of green-tinged
white, which then bottom-necked through a narrow gorge with
fine arches, into an icy pool below. Needless to say, we all
got warmed up immediately and went into a frenzy of
photo-taking that was to become the order of the
day. |
Despite the gloomy skies and foggy weather, for which the driver
apologized (it was apparently clear and sunny last September), I
enjoyed looking at the panoramic mountains shimmering mysteriously
under the ever-shifting clouds, reminding me of a lyrical Chinese
painting.
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Then, the unthinkable (at least, to me) happened. It
snowed. That brought on a fresh spate of apologies from the
driver to the amusement of the other "winter-seasoned"
passengers who laughed appreciably and remained calmly rooted
in their seats. All this while I was going crazy |
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inside,
wanting to scream for joy and
rant at the driver to halt. What was he doing? This was a
miracle! After what seemed like an eternity when I could only
watched helplessly at the blizzard through the glass window,
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| we finally had a
brief stop. Oh, I could kiss the driver. Suffice to say, the
world came to a standstill when I had my first wondrous feel
of the white flurry and they melted, oh so sweetly, on my
touch. Wow...
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More of the magical white matter at the next stop - to be
precise, a massive chunk of ancient ice spanning 325 square
kilometres and 365 metres deep. We had reached the Columbia
Icefields, the Continental Divide with its meltwaters feeding river
flows into three different oceans - the Pacific, the Arctic and the
Atlantic. This is glacier country and the icefield comprises the
Dome, Stutfield and Athabasca Glaciers.
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It is to the latter that we had a chance to step on when we
took the fun Snocoach bus out. For a glacier, I must say it
was pretty stable. Everything was startlingly |
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| white with a hint of
bluish tinge, and a tad slippery. Still, I managed to have a
short but decent snowball fight with a Japanese girl from the
coach also travelling on her own. By lunch time, we had more
companions joining - two chaps from Japan and Korea
respectively.
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After departing from the Icefields Centre, the scenery changed
and became amazingly even more beautiful as we descended - the
astounding Weeping Wall, the dramatic jagged cliffs, the green
forests cloaked in white like winter wonderland, and awesome
snow-striped mountains abound.
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Then, we reached the icing of it all - Peyto. The
breathtaking surreal lake radiates a mystical emerald glow
from the glacial silt floating on its surface. Stunned were
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| all by its remarkable
beauty enhanced by its snow-decked surroundings. My new
friends and I had a good time frolicking in the enchanting
area which was all but too fleeting, when we had to continue
on.
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After the fantastic run of surprises and marvels, alas, it all
came to an end abruptly, when we reached the Lake Louise youth
hostel where I had to drop. This leg of my journey is certainly the
unforgettable highlight of my Rockies odyssey.
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Comments
Julianah
Your site on the Rockies is great, and true to the core. I was there in the Spring of 2001, and the experience with mother-nature was simply breathtaking, exhilarating and priceless. Thank you for putting the words down for me.
mobey
not much here about canadian rockies. hope to see new things here soon.
sze chiung
Hi, can't wait to visit the Rockies after seeing your photos. Could you let me know which month were you there? I am planning to go there this Oct/Nov. thanks.
Robin
I am glad you had a great trip, nice pictures......visit again. I live in Banff and have been to Singapore about 10 times and love it. Hope to go back soon. Robin
Lau
Wow! Wow! I really enjoy your free websites on the two most famous National Parks of western Canada. Such lovely and very poetic descriptions of Banff N P and Jasper N P. Yes! I must make another attempt to see these two special places during July/August next year.
Other canada stories:
Mont Tremblant's Autumn Splendour,
foto memoirs ~ montréal & québec city,
foto memoirs ~ niagara falls &
Alaskan Sojourn ~ Whitehorse & Klondike Highway.
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