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Aug 3-7 Mt Robson, the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, lies almost right beside Highway 16, also called the Yellowhead Highway. 3954 metres (12,970 ft). We stopped at the wayside rest to admire for a while.

Then Jasper National Park – The Whistlers Campground. No ‘hookups’ means that for these days we live off our water tank, solar panel and propane tanks. It works well and with a small inverter we charge computer and camera batteries. To save on water, Einar took showers in the community shower building where there are also electrical outlets for razors. One day, a young fellow sat on the bench between sinks and waited for his iPhone to charge! He was camped in a nearby tent with his family.

Mountains, mountains everywhere – and we could get a bit blasé – except one never tires. They all are magnificent, different and awe inspiring, especially when you come from Ontario. We hope some of our pictures demonstrate this and that you will enjoy them too.

One day we took the Jasper Tramway up towards the top of Whistlers Mountain. Jasper and our campground are at 1050m (3,400 ft), the tramway starts at 1200m (3.940 ft), tops at 2250m (7,380). From there (well above the tree line) one could hike to 2470m (8.105) at the top. It doesn’t sound like much more, but at that altitude the thinner air made it a struggle for us. Pausing every 50m or so we made it to about 2400m (7,875) - and threw a snow ball for fun. The rest of the way to the top was quite a distance away; we chose not to do it. It is easier going down - for the lungs - but tough on the ‘quads’. In some places the trail crested and then disappeared from view because it was so steep. (Have you discovered how difficult it is to illustrate steep inclines with a camera?) We were glad to have our hiking boots though care was needed because of the loose shale and pebble-like gravel. Low vegetation and many flowers blended beautifully with the rocks where it was almost impossible to see white-tailed ptarmigans resting 2 metres away. And then there was the view. Spectacular sharp topped peaks, one range behind the other, all with some snow and some with glaciers. We rested well that evening and think our pictures are worth a look.

Another day took us to Maligne (pronounced ‘Maleen’) Canyon. In some places the river was 50 metres below in a canyon which at its narrowed measure 3-4 metres wide. One could only capture this with a wide-angle lens and camera turned 90 degrees. It is amazing what water can do to limestone.

Aug 8 – The Athabasca Glacier is right beside the highway – that is the ‘Icefield Parkway’. It is an arm of the giant Columbia Ice field and is located about mid-way between Jasper and Lake Louise. The large welcome centre provides information and has an informative display about how glaciers are formed. We booked the tour and a normal bus took us to the edge where a special one with huge soft tires and lots more horsepower drove on to the glacier. Cracks and deep holes were everywhere but the bus negotiated a well prepared ‘road’. Walking on it wasn’t as special as we had expected because it was raining gently and the ice was very slippery. Good shoes kept us upright! The location is spectacular so please look at the pictures. There was lots of room in the parking lot so that’s where we spent the night at 1940m elevation. And then the morning view as the sun hit the top of the mountains !! What is so special about this drive is that most of the road lies between 1500 and 2000m, yet we are still looking up another 1500m to the mountain tops.
Onward to Golden, BC.

20 Jasper & Glaciers