So, It Can Snow Anytime of the Year, Eh?

Oh, late spring, why do you make things so tricky?  We pounced Banff and found that, once again, all of the higher elevations we wanted to backpack were covered in snow.  The park information referred us to a two night backpack trip on Lake Minnewonka.  It was pretty popular for the first few miles, but thinned out rather quickly.  Ok, we were the only ones on the trail.  The trail followed the shoreline of the lake with beautiful views of the rugged mountains around.  We spotted a momma black bear and two cubs.  The momma was showing the wee ones how to pull bark off the downed trees and go for grubs.  Mmmm…  This was supposed to be the beginning of high season but we found ourselves with the camp to ourselves for the two nights.  We did a day hike from our campground and found several lakes and streams that were a beautiful blue color from the glacial till in the water.  We also found a boy scout camp and a dirt road and quickly retreated to our peaceful camp. 

From Banff, we headed north along the Icefield Parkway.  It was one of the most incredible drives that we have done so far.  Along the way we did a couple of short hikes and saw hanging glaciers, huge ice fields, and rivers moving quickly (and deathy) through narrow slot canyons.  We found a great camp site that only allowed tents and had some great shelters in case of rain…or snow.  We decided to stay two nights since there were some hikes around and the Columbia Glacier was nearby.  We had seen a road sign warning that it could snow at any time of the year and thought somehow since it was July that it would be safe to giggle in the sun.  Our camp had a view of the Columbia Glacier and more than a few mosquitoes.  That night and the next day we really learned to appreciate the shelter with a wood burning stove and experience a rain/snow mix in July.  We made the trek to the glacier and were soaked within a half hour.  That morning we had shared the shelter with a really nice family and decided to head back to the warmth and enjoy some reading, tea, and dominos.  The following day was the same weather so we decided to head north into Jasper.

In Jasper we found Athabasca Falls and Mount Edith Cavell.  The falls were incredibly powerful and followed a narrow canyon.  At Mount Edith Cavell we found several trails that offered great views of 3 different glaciers along with a glacial lake.  As with all the glaciers in this region, the glaciers have been in rapid retreat since the late 1800’s.  We thought we would do another backpack trip but once again the snow and little trail information deterred us.  After consulting the rangers and a few maps, we decided to head for the Bowron Lakes for a week long canoe trip.