Skip to main content

Peyto Lake is Spectacular - Part 2

 That was it for Kootenay National Park, I would have loved to drive all the way through the park, but we had no time. The Columbia Ice Fields Parkway awaited us and as usual we were running out of daylight. We started the drive north to Jasper. We stopped at multiple viewpoints showing mountains next to lakes, they were stunning. 


Our first hike was to see Peyto lake. John was in no mood to walk but he was forced to start a steep uphill ascent towards the viewpoint. He quickly tired and I put him on my shoulders and fast stepped it up the hill with two hiking sticks providing some help. The path would level out just to turn a corner and you’d be faced with another massive uphill. The effort was well worth the reward, a view of Peyto lake and the river valley that was formed by its waters with a wall of mountains on each side. The low hanging clouds prevented us from seeing peaks, but it was one of my favourite views of the trip. 


After another viewpoint we stopped at Mistaya Canyon. We were debating whether it would be worth the time. After consultation with a family that just returned from the canyon, we decided to go ahead. This time it started with a significant downhill that we knew we had to climb up again. The sinuous canyon was formed by the water flowing from a lake with the glacier tipped peak in the background. The bridge only provided a view of a small amount of the canyon. We ventured uphill on the other side of the bridge to see if we could get a view downstream with no luck. Back uphill. It was worth it. 


The next part of the scenic mountain drive didn’t have many viewpoints, so we sped towards Jasper National Park and the Athabasca glacier. We arrived at the Athabasca glacier at 8:30pm. The kids were still working on their Columbia Ice Fields Explorers book examining the rate the glacier was shrinking. We put on as much warm clothing as we could find and brought a donut blanket just in case. We walked the rocky dirt path up towards the glacier. Wind was against us the whole way up. Air cools on the glaciers, cold air sinks and this creates a cold breeze off the glacier. I remember walking on the glacier when I was 9 years old and my parents brought me on a trip. If you compare where the glacier was at that time and now, there is over a hundred metres of open ground between the two points. I remember walking up the glacier but now there is a large meltwater pond at the base of the ice that we couldn’t cross. 


Back in the car, darkness had fallen, and we drove to Whistlers campground in the town of Jasper. They provided a list of unoccupied campgrounds when you enter late, and we chose one. There was a newly renovated shower building with beautiful washrooms and showers. Lovely.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Desert Forest

Saturday, May 28th – Joshua Tree National Park - North to Joshua Tree National Park - South, California– Day 107 Our campsite was a large open dirt area with some scrub around the outside. In the dark we had managed to park beside the pile of horse poo and shaving. Horses were allowed in this site. Gen stepped in the middle of a pile.   The Joshua Tree National Park visitor centre was a five-minute drive away. The town of Joshua Tree was packed with college age millennials communing with nature. There was a market with kombucha, organic greens and a few small tortoises. It was all very pleasant but very busy. The laundromat was at the edge of the market, I charged the devices and did the laundry. Gen bought some produce from a guy loading a truck. I even snuck in to buy some watermelon kombucha.   The drive into the park was ten minutes followed by a ten-minute line to show our pass. A quick stop to fill up our water bottles and we were into the park. Th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meow Wolf and O

Wednesday, May 25th –Lake Mead National Recreation Area to Las Vegas, Nevada – Day 104  We woke up in our roadside turn out and got ready for the day. Our plan was to go for a swim at Lake Mead, see the Hoover Dam and head back into Vegas. The morning was stifling hot, we were looking forward to the swim.   We drove to the visitor centre at Lake Mead Recreation Centre. We could see Lake Mead on the way. The water was well below the high-water line on the rocks. At the visitor centre we got our passport stamped, filled our water bottles, and received junior ranger booklets. The air conditioning was so nice we set up the kids to work on their booklets and hung around. The kids finished up enough activities that they were sworn in by a very nice ranger before we left.   We decided to go see the Hoover Dam first. We dropped the trailer in the parking lot. We heard it might need to be opened at the security checkpoint and we couldn’t be bothered. The H...
Post a Comment
Read more

Canyonlands is Another Planet - Pt 1

Thursday, May 12th – Moab, Utah – Day 91  Utah is another planet. I cannot do justice to the sights that I have seen in Canyonlands National Park. They are beyond compare. I would encourage everyone to visit. The pictures we have taken do not convey the beauty of the scenery we witnessed.   We woke up in the morning after a late night. The kids did some schoolwork. We ate our oatmeal. We tried to clean up the dust that was all over the trailer. The wind had subsided in the night and the morning was pleasant and warm. Aisling had made us promise that we would climb the rock that they had all been climbing on. We strapped on our hiking boots and started towards the rock. A quick climb later we were at the top; on the way down, we were looking for pretty rocks.  The road to Canyonlands sits between two buttes with their cliffs rising on either side. The drive was thirty minutes to the entrance. The visitor centre had displays that detailed what each layer of the canyo...
Post a Comment
Read more