Jasper National Park, Canada

Jasper National Park, Canada

After spending the previous day driving the magnificent Icefield Parkway, we arrived at Whistlers Campground in Jasper National Park just a few miles outside the town of Jasper, Alberta.  A gentle rain started to fall just as we were finishing our dinner and we heard a male elk 'whistling' in the distance making us think the campground was aptly named.

The next day was rainy so we explored the town, bought groceries and did a little laundry.  Later in the afternoon as it cleared a little we hiked along Maligne Canyon, a narrow slot canyon carved by the Maligne River into the softer "karst" limestone.  We hoped to get a look at the rare black swift that makes its summer home in the canyon.  Many bird watchers come to Maligne Canyon in hopes of viewing this bird.  Luck was not on our side as far as the birding went, but the canyon was beautiful.

David and Maya on the Wilcox Trail

 

Part of the Icefield Parkway is in Jasper National Park and one of the hikes we wanted to take was down the Parkway, not too far from the Athabasca Glacier. Lucky for us the rain moved out during the night and we had a beautiful sunny day ahead of us.  We hiked the Wilcox Pass Trail, a short trail at a little over 3 miles that climbed up the valley and had great views of the glaciers and icefields. The perspective from high up on this trail was even grander than the views from the Parkway.

View of Athabasca Glacier from Wilcox Trail

David and Maya with Athabasca Glacier in background

 

 

We enjoyed another fantastic hike and to top it off we saw a grizzly from the road as we were driving back.  The bear was too far away to get a good photo, but we watched as it dug for insects and roots for several minutes before wandering back into the forest.  A nice end to a beautiful day!