Canadian Rockies: Travel Day #2

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Sunday — September 6

Just so you’re not kept in suspense — we’re home! Here’s how our unplanned travel day unfolded.

Up at 5:00a, we quickly got ready and went down to have breakfast. Service was swift (we were the only ones partaking of the breakfast buffet); the food was good. Thanks to the meal vouchers from UA, we didn’t have to pay a dime. At 6:30a, we were on the hotel shuttle to O’Hare, fingers crossed for a smooth flight and on time arrival in DC.

A line up of aircraft follow as we taxi for take-off.

UA flight 606 pushed back on time for an 8:37a departure. Once the doors were closed, Mui hopped into the row behind me to give himself a little extra legroom, leaving the two seats in the exit row to me.

Lucky guy! There’s no seat in front of him!

The flight was uneventful. By the time we finished sipping our sodas, it was time to bring our seats upright for landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. A few more minutes, and were on the ground at 11:15a.

The Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial welcome us back to DC.

With a half-empty aircraft and seats close to the front, it took us no time at all to deplane and head to baggage claim. From our conversation with the gate agent at O’Hare, we knew that our luggage was being transported by AA — go figure; they wouldn’t take us, but they did our bags!!! Anyway, the UA baggage claim agent confirmed that our two pieces were on the AA flight due to land at noon. We could have made arrangements for the luggage to be delivered to the house and left at that point. Instead, we decided to have lunch at the airport and then go home with our bags.

After browsing the directory of eateries, we settled on the Cibo Bistro and Wine Bar. As it wasn’t quite noon yet, we were the only customers and had no problems being seated at one of the concourse tables where we entertained ourselves watching travelers going about their airport business. I ordered the “pancetta wrapped grilled shrimp” served on a bed of Caribbean rice. It was quite good, but not nearly as good as Mui’s “calamari salad.”

Lunch at Cibo’s; a good way to pass the time while we wait for our bags to arrive.

Left: Pancetta wrapped grilled shrimp; Right: Calamari salad.

Our timing could not have been better. When we made our way back down to baggage claim, we were just in time to see our bags come down the chute and onto the carousel. Two minutes later, we were heading to the taxi line. The mid-day Sunday traffic was non-existent and we were home by 12:45p.

By the way — something I meant to include in yesterday’s post. When the UA agent at O’Hare was rebooking us, he noted that there was a good chance AA had refused to honor our tickets because they were award tickets worth only $80. I guess AA would rather let two seats go empty than get some amount of money for them, no matter how minimal. Go figure! In any event, we’ve learned our lesson — if we’re traveling on award tickets, we won’t accept a transfer to another airline should the occasion arise in the future.

Canadian Rockies: One Form of Water — Angel Glacier

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Wednesday — September 2 / Part I

What a difference a storm makes! We had the best day of our trip today — partly because the air was crystal clear with no evidence of smoke-haze. Of course, that wasn’t apparent when we left the cabin at 7:00a — it was still dark then. But the difference was evident once the sun came up. Even now, blogging on the porch in the early evening, the view is the clearest it has been since we arrived 6 days ago. Hard to believe we have only one full day left before we head back to Edmonton. But I’m not going to think about that now.

When we left the cabin this morning, it was 53F (12C) — the warmest morning temperature since our arrival. That did not last long. By the time we were at the Path of the Glacier/Cavell Meadows parking lot, the temperature was down to 46F (8C). It got progressively colder as we made our way over to the lake at the foot of Angel Glacier. Bundled up in layers, we didn’t mind the nip in the air.

Our initial plan was to hike the 7.5-mile (12 km) Cavell Meadows loop. Several things contributed to the change of plans. One — we knew the wildflowers were past their peak. Two — we lost all sense of time as we played around the lake and scrambled over the lateral moraine. Believe me — no regrets! We’re totally happy with the four fantastic hours we spent doing what we did. And to top it off — for two of those four hours, we were virtually the only ones there. Yes, there was one other couple, but our paths never crossed. By the time the crowds started to show up around 10:00a, we were atop the lateral moraine. I’m surprised no one joined us up there, but hey — we’re not complaining.

The red line is the paved path; the green line is the path we created for ourselves by scrambling up and along the lateral moraine.

The paved path to the glacier offered a slightly elevated view of our surroundings. Each shift of the path laid before our eyes an increasingly better view of the scenery until we finally came face to face with total grandeur at the edge of the lake.

From this ...

… to this.
(Edith Cavell glacier is at the edge of the lake; Angel Glacier is hanging from the face of the mountain)

I've read that rising a vertical mile from the valley floor, Mount Edith Cavell is very impressive just on its own merits. We didn’t get to see the entire mountain, however, as the top was covered by clouds. The mountain was named for a British nurse who refused to leave her post when Brussels fell to the Germans in WWI. She cared for the wounded on both sides and helped more than 200 allied soldiers to escape before she was charged with espionage and executed by a firing squad in 1915.

Now take an impressive mountain and decorate it with glaciers — Angel and Edith Cavell being the most spectacular ones — and you have a real “wow” view. We were enthralled; we were speechless.

Have to take advantage of this spectacular setting for a photo op.

We played at the edge of the lake, photographing the scenery from every angle; we climbed on top of rocks, we stretched out on the ground to find the best vantage points. With each change in the light, we were prompted to take more pictures. More and more with each passing minute. (I won’t bore you by posting them all — wink!)

We photographed Angel Glacier — the waterfall streaming from its terminus proof that it was melting before our eyes; we photographed Edith Cavell Glacier — being eaten away less visibly by the comparatively warmer water lapping at its terminus; we photographed the milky-green lake and the bergy-bits that showed a hint of blue; we photographed the spectacular reflections. Sitting in awe of the scenery and the tranquility, we enjoyed Mother Nature’s handiwork.

I’m told Angel Glacier looked even more like one before it receded so much.

Edith Cavell Glacier — covered in dirt, but no less impressive.

When it was quiet, it was totally quiet — not a peep, not a sound; we spoke in hushed tones in the cathedral of nature. In the absence of noise, a breeze off the glacier brought with it the sound of the waterfall streaming down from Angel Glacier; we heard the bergy-bits gently hitting each other, a wave lapping the shore. After a while the glaciers started to speak — we listened to the pop-crackle-and-snap, hoping for a calving. Then, with a loud crack, the ice let loose — but it was hidden from view by a ridge on the face of the mountain — got the resulting puff of white cloud as proof, though!

Reflections — double the scenery; double the pleasure.

After a couple of hours in the midst of the fantastic scenery, we started thinking about leaving. We were getting hungry and our snacks were in the car — after all, this was supposed to have been an introduction to Angel Glacier before we geared up for our hike to the meadows. We just couldn’t make ourselves go back the way we came. Instead, giving mountain goats a run for their money, we clambered up the boulders — big and small — that make up the lateral moraine, gaining enough elevation for stunning views of the glacier and the lake.

Can you see any of the people way down there?

My photo op from the ridge of the moraine and a closer look at Angel Glacier’s main body of ice.

The bonus of our rock scramble was three hoary marmots. What are those you ask? They’re ground squirrels — the largest to be found in North America (weigh about 17-20 pounds [7-10 kg] and average about 20 inches [~½ m] in length). The “hoary” part of their name refers to the silver-grey fur on their shoulders and upper back. They are sometimes called “whistlers” as they are known to emit a shrill warning to alert other colony members. In fact, had it not been for that high-pitched shriek, we might have missed the first close encounter.

A hoary marmot and a scenic background. Could we have asked for more?

The marmot was alone. We’d been tracking him on the trail below the moraine, but had lost sight of him after a while. We’d already turned around to continue scrambling over the rocks when the shrill whistle had us looking around for the source of the sound. There he was, calm as you please, perched on a boulder, not caring a whit that we were about 10 yards (~10 m) from him. Almost immediately, he was off his perch. We thought we had lost him … but no, he was simply moving in closer to sit rock-still on the boulder next to me.

After a while, we moved on to climb further up the moraine ridge. As we traversed the rocks to a vantage point across from the glacier, we came across two more marmots — a female with her young. Again, they stood still for us, posing until we had our fill and decided to move on to our best vantage point for the scenery.

Left: Hoary marmot #1 poses for his portrait.
Right: Mum with her young.

We spent quite a bit of time at this spot with a head-on view of the glacier. Somehow our elevated position made it seem like we were closer to Angel Glacier; like we could touch it. It was an illusion.

I’ll let the scenery speak for itself.

We found it very difficult to pull ourselves away, but eventually we did. Finding a spot where the lateral moraine trailed off to merge with the Cavell Meadows path, we made our way down. Then, it was a slow walk back to the parking lot. What a difference from when we were the only car in the lot. Now, cars were going round and round, waiting for a spot to open up. We weren’t quite ready to give up ours.

Grabbing our sandwiches from the car, we found a boulder in sight of Angel Glacier and set about quieting our growling stomachs. We were the envy of passersby who couldn’t help comment that they wished they had thought to bring a picnic lunch. Clear blue skies, temps that had warmed to a comfortable 63F (17C), and spectacular scenery — they were right, we had it made.

Next Up: Another Form of Water — Athabasca Falls

Canadian Rockies: A Cruise to Spirit Island

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Tuesday — September 1 / Part II

One thing I’ve been meaning to mention … NO BUGS! By that I mean that we’ve been able to sit on the porch and hike through forests and along lakes without dousing ourselves in bug repellent. That was certainly not the case when we visited Banff in July 2007. On that trip we couldn’t step outside without protection. Of course, it is later in the year and the cold nighttime and morning temperatures probably have something to do with the lack of bugs. Whatever the reason, it’s been a pleasure not to have to deal with pesky mosquitoes and flies.

Back to our day …

On the way to Maligne Lake, we made a quick stop at Medicine Lake. Though light conditions were less than optimum, we wanted to take a couple of photographs of this lake that disappears in the winter.

Medicine Lake was so named by the aboriginal people for its seemingly magical powers.

Here’s how the Parks Canada website explains the phenomena:

During the summer, glacier melt waters flood the lake, sometimes overflowing it. In fall and winter the lake disappears, becoming a mudflat with scattered pools of water connected by a stream. But there is no visible channel draining the lake – so where then does the water go?

The answer is, "out the bottom", like a bathtub without a plug. The Maligne River pours into the lake from the south and drains out through sinkholes in the bottom. The water then streams through a cave system formed in the slightly soluble limestone rock, surfacing again in the area of Maligne Canyon 16 kilometers downstream. This is one of the largest known sinking rivers in the Western Hemisphere and may be the largest inaccessible cave system anywhere in the world!

Summer melt water coming into the lake exceeds the capacity of the sinkholes to drain it. Decreased melt water in the late summer and fall means that the lake's sinkholes can drain the lake faster than the Maligne River can fill it. This creates the disappearing lake phenomena. Aboriginal peoples called the lake Medicine because of its seemingly magical powers, and the United Nations created the Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site partly because of this unique drainage system.

In fact, on the far side of the lake, this drainage was in full evidence — the mud flats left behind were crisscrossed with the tracks of the woodland caribou that range in the area. Unfortunately, the animals themselves were nowhere to be found.

On the far end, Medicine Lake is little more than a mud flat.

That’s not to say that we did not see any wildlife. Just a short distance down the lake’s shore, a small herd of bighorn sheep were parading down the center of the road. I’m still kicking myself for not photographing the “bighorn jam” — cars were parked helter-skelter in both lanes of the road to photograph the sheep. The drivers had made no attempt whatsoever to pull off to the side. As Mui slowly inched the car forward to get around the jam, the herd crossed to the dirt shoulder on my side and I was able to photograph them through the rolled-down window as they paraded past the car.

Bighorn Sheep Parade at Medicine Lake

A little further down the road, I saw a patch of scenery and a sign that read Rosemary’s Rock flash by. When I commented that it looked like a beautiful spot, Mui flipped a "u-ey" and returned to the nearby parking lot. Often unexpected finds turn out to be a gem — this one was no exception.

Looking upriver towards Rosemary's Rock.

Mui followed a path through the trees and I followed a less-defined one along the banks of the Maligne River. We ended up at the same spot overlooking the rock. Had there been a good place to eat our lunch here, we would have done so. But we didn’t have too much time to explore and find one, so we made do with a quick photo op.

Rosemary's Rock is the one on the left.

(After we returned home, I found a few references to the immense boulder that sits in the riverbed. Fact or fiction? Take your pick. One story goes that when she was filming the “River of No Return” in the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe climbed on top of this rock. So why wasn’t the rock named for Marilyn? I don’t know, but at a later date, Rosemary Clooney (yes, George’s aunt) also climbed the rock and she was chosen to be the namesake. Another story has the rock being featured in a movie called “Rose Marie,” starring Howard Keel.)

It was nearing 2:00p when we finally arrived at Maligne Lake. Having booked the last cruise of the day at 4:00p, we had plenty of time on our hands. We found a picnic table overlooking Home Bay and enjoyed a late lunch before heading up to the office to exchange our receipt for a ticket.

Left: Our view from the lakeside picnic table.
Right: Mui joins forces (and hands) with a Mountie!

Afterwards, we walked along the shore and took in the scenery. Rimmed with mountains, the landscape was simply beautiful. Noting the haze in the air, I couldn’t help but be glad that we had canceled our plans for the Bald Hills hike and opted for the cruise instead. This way, we were below the haze instead of looking down through it.

Beautiful, awe-inspiring scenery at Maligne Lake.

One of those boats will take us out to Spirit Island.

The lake was created when a landslide off the surrounding Opal Hills released millions of cubic yards of material into the lower valley. The natural dam that was formed caused the water to backup and form the present lake, which was known to the Stoney Indians by the name of “Chaba Imne” or Beaver Lake. The first white man to see the lake, a railroad surveyor named Henry McLeod, renamed it “Sore Foot Lake” — perhaps an indication of how he was feeling at the time. It wasn’t until Mary Schaffer, an explorer of the region and local icon, came along in 1908, saw the lake, and wrote about it in her journal that the lake became a tourist attraction. In her words:

“…there burst upon us that which, all in our little company agreed, was the finest view any of us had ever beheld in the Rockies. Those miles and miles of lake, the unnamed peaks rising above us, one following the other, each more beautiful than the last. We had reached the narrows of which Samson had told us. …we could have looked ahead and aloft and said, ‘This is Paradise.’”

If not paradise, then darn close to it.

The boat that took us on our 90-minute lake cruise was named — you guessed it — Mary Schaffer. From Home Bay, we cruised 8 miles (~14 km) to the turnaround point, Spirit Island. Past this point, no motorboats are allowed to traverse the remaining 13-mile (~22 km) length of the lake — only canoes and kayaks.

Map of Maligne Lake
(courtesy of the Parks Canada website)

The cruise — a bit expensive considering its short length — was worth every penny to us as it was the only way we knew we would be able to see Spirit Island. The boat pretty much hugged the shoreline and we were able to get crystal clear views of the mountains and hanging glaciers on the port side. The opposite shore, with the sun still high in the sky, didn’t have the best light conditions, but so be it. The 40-passenger boat was at half-capacity and few took advantage of the small back deck. It was great to be motoring on the lake with the cool breeze ruffling our hair and the scenery providing a feast for our eyes.

On our way to Spirit Island aboard the Mary Schaffer.

We enjoy the small back deck of the boat.

We whiz by beautiful scenery.

We had a mere 10 minutes on Spirit Island, which isn’t an island really; it’s a peninsula. And in reality, you don’t step on the peninsula itself, but view it from a nearby path and slightly elevated walkway.

Spirit Island is said to be the second most photographed place in the Canadian Rockies.

A “Mui was at Spirit Island” photo op.

Despite the restrictions, we enjoyed our time here. Instead of following the pack up the stairs to the walkway, we made a beeline for the shoreline path where we enjoyed a quiet, and in a way, a spiritual time drinking in the scenery. By the time our boat mates made their way down to our spot, we were ready to go up for a look at Spirit Island from a different vantage point.

Spirit Island from two different vantage points.

We were back on shore around 5:30p. Not yet ready to say goodbye to Maligne Lake, we got some snacks from the car and sat down to enjoy them in view of the spectacular lake scenery in total solitude. It was like someone had pulled the plug and the crowds had drained out. Total tranquility! One last walk up to the shoreline overlook; one last photo op … and we said farewell to everything named Maligne.

A farewell photo op at Maligne Lake.

We arrived at the cabin around 7:30p, tired from our long day but completely satisfied with the outcome. Dinner consisted of pizza and a cold Canadian brew, which we enjoyed on the porch with only our personal porch guard to keep us company.

Ooops! Just lost power, so I have to wrap up this post. The rain is falling in earnest now; the lightning and thunder are still very much in evidence. I love listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops in the dark … it’s the perfect lullaby.

Next Up: One Form of Water — Angel Glacier

Canadian Rockies: 5th Bridge and Up — A Hike in Maligne Canyon

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Tuesday — September 1 / Part I

Our day started with a roadside bull elk “necking with a sapling” and ended with the same bull elk visiting us at the cabin. It was already dark when the bull showed up with his harem of seven. The females did not stick around, but the bull grazed a bit in the clearing in front of the cabin. I have to thank the Austrian couple in the cabin next door for alerting us; I managed to get a single shot in very low light conditions.

Honey, guess who came to dinner?
(apologies for the lack of sharpness)

I am in the dining nook at the moment — it is too cold, too dark, and too wet to be on the porch. Mother Nature is putting on a spectacular thunder and lightning show. The storm is quite powerful — the lightning is brightening the sky as though it was daylight and the rumbles of thunder are deafening. The area could use a good wash and blow to clear the smoke haze. Keeping fingers crossed for tomorrow!

We are definitely in our “active vacation” mode now. Once again, we were up at 5:30a and out the door at 7:00a. At 45F (7C) it was a bit warmer this morning; but not by much. At the junction with Hwy 93, we detoured to take a closer look at three elk in the distance. It wasn’t a great photo op, but what the detour did was change our timing so that when we turned around towards the townsite, we found ourselves in the right place at the right time for an encounter with a bull elk.

The bull is marking his territory — rutting season is not far off.

The roadside encounter was fantastic, even more so because we were the only ones to witness it and there was no distracting traffic. The bull was exhibiting a behavior that I’ve designated as “necking,” rubbing its antlers and neck against the branches of a sapling. His antlers were all tangled up with the branches and he was shaking the tree with quite a bit of vigor, stripping off the bark with ease. He'd extricate himself after a while and then go right back and start dueling with the tree again.

One reason elk do this is to remove the velvet off their antlers — this bull had already done that. Another reason — practice fighting with a sapling helps strengthen their neck muscles as they prepare for the rutting season, which isn’t far off. Finally, this behavior is also a means of marking territory (they rub their scent glands on the branches).

After about 20 minutes, the bull sounded a bugle alerting his harem that it was time for them to return to his side. Then, he quietly turned around and headed into the trees. Our cue to take off as well.

Click here for a short clip of what we witnessed.

Our first planned activity of the day was a hike in Maligne Canyon. The Canadian Rockies Trail Guide (Brian Patton & Bart Robinson) suggests starting the hike at 6th Bridge. But after reading that the first mile of the trail runs through the forest, we decided to skip what we would consider to be a hike with no entertainment value. Instead, we started our trek at 5th Bridge.

We start our canyon trek at 5th Bridge.

The canyon shares its name with the river that runs through it. Pronounced "mah-leen," the name is derived from the French word, "mal" — inferring sick or evil as in "malignant." If you consider how and why the river was named, however, "wicked" may be a more appropriate translation. The story goes that a French voyageur who had to battle the treacherous currents of the river was the one who came up with the name. The name later came to be associated with not just the river, but the lake it feeds into, as well as the valley and the canyon. Regardless of the name, we found nothing but tranquil beauty here this morning; nothing wicked whatsoever.

Since we were at the bottom of the canyon, we deviated from the path and made our way down to the rocks along Maligne River to enjoy a closer experience of the water tumbling over rocks and fallen tree trunks.

Scenes from the canyon — between 5th Bridge and 4th Bridge.

We took our time ascending the canyon to the next bridge, stopping to enjoy a snack riverside; listening to the sound of the rushing water; taking a closer look at the waterfall on the opposite bank of the river. We had this portion of the trail to ourselves. Knowing that the upper reaches of the canyon would be more crowded, we made the most of these tranquil moments.

The river continues to shape the canyon.

Eventually, we made our way back to the main path and followed it into the higher reaches of the canyon. By the time we reached 3rd Bridge, we were no longer in the slit canyon, but were walking alongside it — the canyon floor was 33 feet (~10 m) below us. The walls were so close together that had there been a way to get into the slit, we would have been able to stretch out our arms and touch both sides at the same time.

The canyon is little more than a slit at this point.

A closer look at the waterfall at 3rd Bridge.
Left: Lower Cataract — Right: Upper Cataract

From 3rd Bridge up we had plenty of company. Most people who visit the canyon park at the top and walk down only this far. Even though there are beautiful waterfalls in the upper canyon and we enjoyed seeing them, I have to say that we missed the solitude of having the canyon to ourselves.

The waterfall at 1st Bridge.
(at this point, the canyon floor is 125 feet (~38 m) below us)

After we reached the top, we went into what is billed as a teahouse, but weren’t impressed with the ambiance. Without dallying long, we started our descent. Once we passed 3rd Bridge on the way down, the crowd sharing the trail with us thinned out. We did encounter a few people as we continued our descent, but they were few and far between.

The descent provides a different perspective of the canyon views.

Having taken three hours to get to the top of the canyon, it took us only 30 minutes to get back down to the point where we could once again walk along the rocks on the riverbank. We found a nice, flat rock to perch on to enjoy the scenery and take a break to eat our snacks before walking the remaining distance to the car.

A nice spot along Maligne River to take a break.

Don’t get too comfortable, Mui!

One last photo op before we head out of Maligne Canyon.

We arrived at the 5th Bridge parking lot around 12:30p. What had been an empty dirt lot at 8:00a was now packed with cars; large numbers of trekkers were preparing to hike into the canyon. Happy to be out ahead of the crowds, we pulled out onto the road. The temperature had risen to 70F (21C) — it was still comfortably cool for our afternoon plans ...

Next Up: A Cruise to Spirit Island

Canadian Rockies: Light Hiking in the Valley of the Five Lakes

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Monday — August 31

It’s almost 7:30p. We ate out tonight, although it wasn’t where we had originally planned to dine. Mui’s preparing sandwiches for our long day of sightseeing tomorrow. I’m taking advantage of this down time to write today’s blog segment.

I’m not on the porch of the cabin this time. Instead, I’m sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs the Alpine Village has placed along the banks of the Athabasca River. It’s quiet and peaceful. The sound of the water flowing downriver is very soothing. With the sun behind the trees, the milky green color of the river is quite evident. There’s a lot of glacial flour suspended in these waters.

Relaxing on the banks of the Athabasca River.

Wanting to do an easy hike today, we decided to stay local. We were up at 5:30a and out the door at 7:30a. Our destination, the Valley of the Five Lakes. It was only 39F (4C) when we set out from the trailhead 30 minutes later. Bundled up in my primaloft jacket, I was especially glad that I had my qiviut cap to keep my head warm.

The trail started out relatively flat, but soon we were negotiating short, steep stretches that had us breathing hard. This was not the easy walk we had anticipated, but the treat at the end was worth the bit of heavy-breathing along the way. That we had the entire trail to ourselves for the first two hours was a bonus.

We did the loop trail in reverse, which allowed us to walk with the light behind us, thus providing better conditions for photographing the lakes. With each a different depth, every shade of blue and green was in evidence.

We arrived at Fifth Lake just as the sun was peeking over the mountains. We sat on some rocks at the edge of the water and ate our breakfast while we enjoyed the views. From this vantage point, the beauty of the lake was not evident. That changed as soon as we made our way up to a narrow, dirt path rimming the lake.

Fifth Lake’s beauty becomes apparent from the forest trail.

Fourth Lake was next. The narrow dirt path afforded us plenty of elevation to see the varying shades of green and blue as well as the reflection of the trees and mountains on the glass smooth surface.

At Fourth Lake, the varying water depth creates different shades of blues and greens.

Third Lake turned out to be our favorite. Its elongated length and still waters created a mirror to reflect the fantastic cloud formations. We looked for a perch in the shade to eat our snacks, but none afforded us good views. After a while, we reluctantly moved on. But not before I dug out my new panorama tool to capture a set of images to stitch together … too bad the light conditions were so drastic from one end of the lake to the other.

Third Lake — a perfect mirror for the cloud formations.

Pano Stitch

Second Lake was relatively shallow as evidenced by the lighter shades of green that dominated the color scheme. A few clicks of the camera and we moved onto the final lake in the series — and the biggest one as well.

Second Lake

I have to admit that to me First Lake was the least impressive one. Maybe we did it a disservice by not walking further up the path, but when the lake remained hidden behind the tree line for the first several hundred yards, we decided to turn back and take the short cut to complete the loop trail.

First Lake is the final one in the series.

Along the way, we found a clearing hidden behind some trees that allowed us to get a closer look at First Lake. Hopping from one rock to another, we made our way to a spot at the edge of the water that provided us with a nice place to sit, relax, and have some snacks before undertaking the return trek.

A quiet spot to rest before we complete the loop trail.

Although we knew the temperature had been rising as the morning wore on, we were shielded from the brunt of the heat while we were on the heavily-forested trail. It was a different matter when we arrived at the parking lot. We decided to head home for lunch on the porch and a relaxing afternoon. On the way, we made a detour into the townsite to pick up tickets for the late afternoon cruise on Maligne Lake tomorrow. When we arrived back at the cabin around 1:00p, it was with a small bag that contained a treat for dessert — a “Glacier” (a concoction of chocolate, pecans, and caramel).

In a setting like this even the simplest meal tastes great.

Though lunch was simple — grilled ham and cheese sandwiches followed by juicy peaches — the setting we ate it in made it very enjoyable. We topped off our meal with our special dessert. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the porch, reading, and browsing our photos from today until it was time to take off for our planned dinner at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (JPL).

Jasper Park Lodge

JPL may be the premier resort in Jasper, but having now been there, we’re glad that we opted for the Alpine Village for our stay. First of all, we’re more conveniently situated to both the activities we want to do and to the townsite. Secondly, our self-catering cabin has allowed us a lot of flexibility when it comes to meals — not to mention saved us a lot of money. The Alpine Village was certainly the right choice for us.

Our plan had been to walk along Lac Beauvert, which the JPL fronts, and then have an al fresco meal on the patio of the Emerald Lounge. It quickly became apparent that the light conditions were not optimum to enjoy the beauty of the lake. So, we moved onto the second part of our plans — dinner. No sooner were we seated that a light rain started to fall. Time to change plans!

The manicured grounds from the patio of the Emerald Lounge.

Rather than look for another dining venue at JPL, we drove into Jasper and went to Evil Dave’s Grill for dinner. Excellent food; casual decor — just what we were looking for.

Evil Dave’s serves up good food in a casual atmosphere.

We skipped the “sinful starters” and went directly to the “evil entrées” so that we would have room left for a “decadent dessert.” Mui had the Heinous Halibut (wok seared with a red Thai curry sauce) and I ordered the pan-fried Wrathful Shrimp. Both dishes were served on a bed of jasmine rice and steamed vegetables. We accepted our waitress’s suggestion to top off our meal with a slice of the toffee crunch cheesecake that was appropriately named Wicked.

Top Left: Wrathful Shrimp — Top Right: Heinous Halibut
Bottom: Wicked Cheesecake

And so we brought another day of our vacation to a close. Tomorrow we’re off on a hike followed by a lake cruise.

Next Up: 5th Bridge and Up — A Hike in Maligne Canyon