Following a day in Whistler to get my things in order, I headed back out on the road. I traversed the narrow winding mountain roads of Pemberton, traveled through wine country, and crossed over into Alberta. The country was incredible, transitioning from wet mountain forest, to semi-arid scrub land, picturesque lakeside towns, and into the majestic Rockies. Parts of the road were steep enough to throw the car into neutral and coast for minutes on end. Great for the gas mileage.
My first stop was to Takakkaw Falls just outside the town of Field in Yoho National Park. The falls tumble over 380 m (1,200 or so feet) from the cliff's precipice to the river below. I got there early enough in the morning to avoid the crowds and enjoy the short hike to view the falls. I would love to see these during the spring melt but still pretty nice in the fall.
Before leaving Lake Louise, I stopped in the strip mall area to pick up groceries, mail a few postcards, and clean up the car. Immediately after pulling into the parking lot, a greasy haired boy (maybe 19 or so) ran up to my car, asked me if he could buy a joint, and when that failed if he could buy a cigarette. No's on both accounts and then he launched into a Jesus spiel. Not expecting that one at all. I ended up talking with him for about 40 minutes and it got pretty interesting. He meant no harm, told me he would be praying for my soul, and gave me a hug. I finished cleaning out the car and then left the parking lot with him waving and jumping frantically as I passed by.
The drive from Lake Louise to the Columbia Ice Fields in Jasper Provincial Park was not long mileage wise, but stopping every thirty minutes or so adds up and it took me about 7 hours to travel no more than 150 miles. Nice to have the luxury of time. As Robert Pirsig says, "We want to make good time, but for us now this is measured with an emphasis on "good" rather than time..." A nice way to think about travel. Not just getting from one point to another on the map, but slowing down and moving at a pace to take it all in. My road was hemmed in on each side by mountains jutting up into the skies, emerald lakes with empty picnic areas, and glaciers tucked behind nooks of mountains. So much beauty on one area.
I arrived mid afternoon and had plenty of time to hike to the Athabasca Glacier before Ellorie arrived later in the evening. I ended up returning to the glacier twice, the second time as the sun was going down. The clouds turned a light pink, peaks became bathed in light, and the moon rose behind and full as a quarter. Not another soul was by the glaciers toe. Just me.
Ellorie arrived at the campground at nightfall. We crammed both our cars into the camping area, jostling for flat space, and built a warm fire. made some hot toddies too and talked for hours, catching up from the summer and enjoying the company. The fire began to die down and we headed to bed. In the middle of the night, I awoke suddenly to a scream and the movement of someone jolting up in bed. Apparently, a mouse had decided to worm it's way into Ellorie's car, stare her in the eyes and then scamper across her pillow. The rest of the night, we could hear the little scurry of feat all over the car. Sometimes seeming to come from the roof, other times scurrying under the windows, and then darting over the covers. I woke up at one point with it resting on my shoulder. Such a small animal can cause so much frustration. Needless to say, neither of us got much sleep that night and had a hard time pulling ourselves out of bed for coffee around 10:30. Rob and Zoe, two friends of Ellorie's arrived and gave us some much needed pep for the morning.
Rolling out of camp late (good thing no one was in any hurry) we headed just up the road to Wilcox Pass. The hike begins in the trees but quickly emerges into the alpine and a large saddle valley between two peaks. Rob and I mostly hiked together while Zoe and Ellorie were just behind catching up on news. After a picnic break, we continued off the trail to scramble a nearby ridge. The ridge gave incredible views of Athabasca Glacier and we spent a lot of time just below the summit trundling (rock pushing, more fun than you think) and enjoying the view and a little bourbon. Just a nipper to keep the belly warm right? Rob had been eyeing a further summit along the ridge and we all took to scrambling along a "trail" to reach it. We scrambled for a little while before turning back as we were suppose to meet another group of Ellorie's friends at 5. It was about 4:30 when we turned around. Oops. We started down, taking the quick was of running down the scree slope to save time (think taking jump turns in deep snow on skies). About halfway back to the cars, we meet up with the other two and headed back to camp.
It is a miracle they found us as Rob wrote a very critic message. Ellorie tore off a page from an academic paper she needed to read, and rob circled letters (in both the English and French sections) alerting the two of where we were, when we would be returning, and how to find us. Nice code breaking
Upon arriving back at camp, everyone brought their food to the picnic table and a flurry of knives and stoves began making a hodgepodge of food. This was only the beginning of the evening. Beers were passed around, three guitars appeared out of nowhere, I fashioned some percussion instruments and the bonfire really set off the whole sing song time. Our poor neighbor. He never emerged from his tent however for us to invite him over to join. He came for seclusion and silence, and we gave him none. In all fairness, we were only second loudest. Another group was vying for, and won, the ruckus campsite title.
With a full moon out, it was light enough for a night mission to the glacier. That is not to say we made it there quickly. The time it took from the idea to be formulated to feet moving in the proper direction was well over an hour, and even then, the enthusiasm for late night aerobic activity was split. From the six that started, only Rob, Pat, and I made it to the glacier. The moonlight bounced off the glacier and seemed to illuminate nearby peaks. No wind, no noise, just a soft light bathing the landscape. Returning to the camp site, I still had itchy feet and walked up the road for a little while enjoying the quiet.
Settling down for sleep in my car, I pulled the covers close and quickly passed out. Only and hour later however, I awoke to a familiar sound of scampering feet, a quiet little chewing sound, and then a Spiderman-like mouse appeared running down the inside of my window. I have no idea how he/she hung on but the mice were on a mission at the Columbia Icefield. The whole night, I again battled a mouse and could never get it out of the car. Unfortunately, Ellorie had similar luck as I saw the hatch of her van open every hour or so, and a frustrated body come tumbling out to open doors and get the mouse of of her car. In the morning, I found out that her's had multiplied. Two were roaming around her car.
Not being able to sleep did have it's benefits however. The whole day and evening had been overcast, though small pockets did open teasing at the star filled night sky. Around 5am, the clouds finally evaporated and a sky full of stars was on full display. I couldn't help but get out of the car and walk down to the road to enjoy stars over the peaks. The sun rose not too long after and turned the few remaining clouds on the horizon a cream shade of orange.
After plenty of coffee and oatmeal all around, all of us piled in respective cars to cram one more short hike in before the group dispersed. The wind howled at the peak, forcing all of us to hunker down in these circular pits walled with rocks to break the wind. At a fork in the hiking trail, group consensus elected to turn left up the ridge. However, this was not a good choice according to a woman decked out with fancy trekking polls and a nice fleece who blurted out harshly, "There isn't anything to see up there! You get a small sliver of glacier, but.... don't go that way. You need to turn the other direction to see anything at all." We decided to turn left, bringing us to the stone pits and a nice view of multiple peaks and glaciers. We did come down and go her way, which in all fairness did give a view up the valley and of the full glacier that rolled down the valley like a tongue. A few photos and down we all headed.
Everyone headed their separate ways, but I followed Ellorie to the town of Jasper to check out Miette Hot Springs and then turn my direction towards Mt. Robson. Slight change of plans however. Ellorie told me the hot springs were about 30 km up the road from Jasper but it ended up being more like 80 km. Oops. This put us at the hot springs pretty late in the day and Ellorie still had to drive back to Edmonton and finish edits on a grant proposal. Needless to say, after relaxing in the warm waters and showering, neither of us were in the mood to move quickly in any direction and we decided on the parking lot for the evening. I set up the tent in the woods as there was no camping allowed in the parking area, and Ellorie finished the edits on her grant proposal. We sat in Ellorie's car for a while, me reading a book and acting as sounding board for phrasing of important academic work, and her furiously typing away before she hit a wall and we looked at photos from her field season over the summer. At midnight, we took a chance and assumed that no one would be checking the parking area and settled in for a nice night under another full moon.
The few days with Ellorie and her gang will be hard to beat. Incredible scenery, great people, and a taste of Canada I hadn't gotten before. Sorry America, but Canada is creeping up to the number one position. You better impress me in the coming weeks if you don't want to loose me across the border.
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