Canadian Rockies: Another Form of Water — Athabasca Falls

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Wednesday — September 2 / Part II

At 12:30p, we gave up our parking spot at Angel Glacier and drove back down pot-hole strewn Cavell Road. The road, which is usually open much later into the year, will be closing on September 8 for re-pavement. Good thing we came when we did. It sure would have been a shame to miss Angel Glacier.

Rather than drive back out to the Icefields Parkway to head south to our next destination, we stayed on Hwy 93A. En route, seeing a sign that read Meeting of the Waters, we pulled into a picnic area with a view of the confluence of the Whirlpool and Athabasca rivers. Nearby signage explained the importance of the Athabasca portage in the fur trade route that stretched from the St Lawrence River (later from the Hudson Bay) to the Pacific Ocean.

Photo op at “Meeting of the Waters”.

The very popular Athabasca Falls was crowded with mid-day sightseers. The headwaters, which originate in the Columbia Icefield, flow for about 42 miles (~70 km) before they tumble 80 feet (~24 m) down a narrow gorge here. It is the volume of water that squeezes through that makes these falls so impressive. Seeing the rush of water, it’s impossible not to respect the power of the Athabasca River to carve a new landscape out of age-old rocks.

Athabasca Falls — one of the most popular spots in Jasper National Park.

The falls from two different overlooks.

After wandering around to the various overlooks to view the falls and take our photographs, we found a picnic table alongside the Athabasca River. Away from the crowds visiting the falls, we had a quiet spot to rest for a bit. Later, we returned for a second round of the overlooks and then wandered down to explore the lower canyon.

Just think of the power water has that it can carve out a canyon like this one.

At the bottom of the canyon, the Athabasca River once again flows calmly on its way.

Our explorations took us along the riverbank, far from the crowds visiting the falls. It was quiet and peaceful — just like the river that was flowing next to us.

A photo op along the Athabasca River.

A glimpse of where the river flows out from the canyon.

A stroll along the Athabasca River before we bring our day of sightseeing to a close.

We were back at the cabin by 4:00p. The guests in the neighboring cabins were out seeing the sights, leaving us to enjoy a peaceful afternoon on the porch. The cooling breezes helped keep the air crystal clear, which added to our enjoyment of the day. As we read, blogged, and otherwise whiled away the hours, we were entertained by our resident “porch guard” running across the porch, feverishly preparing for winter. He obviously trusts us as he even buried a couple of pine cones in the ground next to our porch — I hope he can find them when the cold months set in.

Eventually, our stomachs reminded us that dinner time was at hand. Mui started a fire for one last barbecue dinner on the porch. On the menu — shrimp, pasta with veggies, and garlic bread.

Left: Mui whiles away an afternoon on the porch.
Right: One last barbecue dinner on the porch.

We even had a guest for dinner!

Mr. Chippie brings his own dinner and joins us on the porch.

And so another day of our vacation draws to an end. As Mui put it earlier, today was a 9.9 on a scale of 10 — we’re deducting .1 because Angel Glacier did not cooperate and give us a spectacular calving to top things off (wink, wink). Time to take care of the chores before turning in. We plan to be off early again tomorrow!

Next Up: Quest for Salmon in British Columbia

Canadian Rockies: A Day on the Icefields Parkway

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Sunday — August 30

Dinner is over; I’ve put washing the dishes on hold until after the sun sets and nighttime veils the scenery. In the meantime, we’re enjoying our porch after a long day of hiking and sightseeing.

We were up at 5:30a and out the door at 7:00a. The 41F (5C) temperature was invigorating as we made our way south on the Icefields Parkway, a road that is considered to be one of the most scenic in the world. Having driven a good portion of the 143-mile (~230 km) long parkway in 2007, I would say that the reputation is rightfully earned — even with the smoke-haze in the air.

The Icefields Parkway — 143 miles (~230 km) of spectacular scenery.
(map courtesy of the Parks Canada website)

We’d hoped to drive straight through to Parker Ridge, our chosen hiking trail for the day. Our best intentions went out the window when we made our first stop at a roadside viewpoint. After that, we simply couldn’t resist stopping at each opportunity. It didn’t matter that light conditions were far from optimum, the scenery was worth taking short breaks as we continued our way to milepost 70 (~112 km).

Love the sawtooth shape of the peaks in the distance.

Glaciers are easy to see from the roadside viewpoints.
Left: Stutfield Glacier — Right: Dome Glacier

Despite all of the other glaciers we saw on the way down, we simply could not pass by the Columbia Icefield without making a stop. In 2007, it was a drizzly, overcast day when we walked on the Athabasca Glacier. This time, the skies were filled with sunshine. We resisted the temptation to go for another walk on the glacier streaming down between the mountains. Nonetheless, it was a good 30 minutes before we were back on the road again.

Can’t resist a “we were at the Columbia Icefield” photo op.

It was nearing 10:00a when we crossed into Banff National Park to begin our hike up to Parker Ridge. It was a relatively steep trail — gaining 820 feet (~250 m) in 1.7 miles (2.7 km). Thankfully, the switchbacks made for a more gradual ascent. That we had views of the valley to entertain us along the way increased our enjoyment of the hike.

Here’s a map of the hike we will be attempting.

Mui stops to take in the view of Cirrus Mountain as we ascend the Parker Ridge Trail.

Despite some fairly steep grades, we made it up to the ridge without huffing and puffing too much — taking our time was the key to our success. From the ridge, we followed an even steeper path to the first overlook from which we had a good sightline to the Saskatchewan Glacier. We couldn’t help but wish that a good blow would come along and clear the smoke-haze away, but that wasn’t in the cards. We sat down to enjoy both the view and our snacks before continuing onto the second viewpoint.

Saskatchewan Glacier from the first overlook.

Time for a nap!

The view of the Saskatchewan Glacier was impressive from the first overlook, but it paled in comparison to what we saw from the second one. We found a perch and enjoyed the expansive view of the 5-mile (~9 km) long river of ice, the longest outlet valley glacier of the Columbia Icefield. Simply awesome!

How can one not be inspired by this view?

We took the return trek slow as the loose dirt and rocks made our footing slippery. It was 2:00p by the time we were back in the parking lot. The hot sun had taken its toll and we were quite drained. Wanting to enjoy a refreshing spot for lunch, we headed to Tangle Falls, 9.5 miles (~16 km) north of Parker Ridge. The falls, which are 100 feet (~30 m) tall, were named by explorers who had to crawl through a tangle of brush and thick undergrowth as they came over the Wilcox Pass. That said, the name is most appropriate as the upper tier of falls do look like they are all tangled up.

The multi-tiered falls make a great place for lunch.

Scrambling up the rocks, we made our way to the base of the falls. Sitting on a couple of boulders, we ate our PB&J sandwiches and enjoyed the view of the creek falling over the escarpment. Afterwards, Mui lost no time removing his shoes and socks, rolling up his pants, and wading into a pool of water. He didn’t play around long — the water temperature was glacial! The occasional light spray carried on the breeze was cooling and most welcome.

Just how cold is that water, Mui?

It’s peaceful and cool at Tangle Falls.

Tangle Falls was amazingly tranquil. You wouldn’t think that it would be since the falls are right off the Icefields Parkway, but we got lucky. Others who stopped while we were there stayed near the lower tier of the falls, leaving us to enjoy the upper reaches in complete solitude.

For a short clip of us playing at Tangle Falls, click here.

Just as we were about to take off, three young guys from Israel (on a work/travel program) asked if Mui could take one of them back to the Columbia Icefield parking lot to pick up their car. We’d seen the threesome taking photographs a short distance from our lunch spot, so Mui agreed to give the driver a lift. I stayed behind to enjoy the falls a bit longer.

This “good deed” shifted our timing just enough that we were still in the area when three mountain goats came down to graze not far from the falls. It was amazing to see how quickly a “goat jam” could develop with cars screeching to a halt on both sides of the parkway. As we’d not seen this species the last time we were in the Canadian Rockies, we left our car parked at the falls and walked over to enjoy the encounter. There were two nannies — one of which had an endearing kid dogging its footsteps.

Nope, it's not a double-headed mountain goat!!!

Kids are born in late May/early June, making this one no more than three months old.

The rest of our trip back to Jasper was uneventful. By the time we filled up on gas and arrived at the cabin it was almost 6:00p. It was a long, but satisfying day. While I put our stuff away, Mui fired up the barbecue. We put the time until the fire was ready to good use, doing our laundry and taking care of a few other chores.

We enjoyed our dinner on the porch again. On the menu tonight: shrimp on the barbie, steamed vegetables, garlic French bread, and an ice cold Canadian brew to wash everything down. A perfect ending to a great day of activities.

Time to end this entry and go do the dishes. Tomorrow we plan to stick close to town again and do an easy hike in the morning. Then, back to the cabin to enjoy some quiet time. Of course, our plans have a way of taking an unexpected turn, so we’ll see if we manage to stick to them.

Next Up: Light Hiking in the Valley of the Five Lakes

Canadian Rockies

Maybe I'll get around to posting my journal of our first trip to the Canadian Rockies in the blog someday. In the meantime, you can click the links below to read my trip report and view my galleries.

Our July 2007 trip focused on the Banff/Lake Louise area with a day in Yoho National Park in British Columbia and a jaunt partway up the Icefields Parkway into Jasper National Park.

Mountains, Glaciers, and Lakes in Words - this will take you to my trip report on Fodor's.

Mountains, Glaciers, and Lakes in Pictures - this will take you to a series of galleries documenting our adventure in photographs.