The Canadian Rockies - Aug 16 - 24, 2009

Jasper Area

(see map)

Photos © Peter Mansbach, 2010.
No commercial use without written permission.

Jasper Tramway - The Whistlers, Aug 20

Took the Jasper Tramway up to the top of The Whistlers, a mountain named for the marmots that supposedly whistle (I never heard them).




Jasper Tramway
  
The town of Jasper, seen from The Whistlers Mountain



A couple enjoys the view from The Whistlers

A mountain goat with kid crosses our path


Maligne Canyon, Aug 21

Even before the first glimpse of Maligne Canyon itself, I saw an elk near the parking lot, and followed it to the nearest outhouse:

The buck stops here
(sorry, I couldn't resist)


A trail winds along Maligne Canyon, crossing the narrow cleft six times. I hiked down past the first three crossings before running out of time. (I had a dinner reservation for bison steak at the Moose Nook restaurant, that I wasn't about to miss! Gotta have my priorities!)


Maligne Canyon, near the first bridge, I think

and below the third bridge


Mt Edith Cavell, and the Cavell Meadows Trail, Aug 22

Mt. Edith Cavell (named for a WWI nurse) is visible and recognizable from many places in the Jasper area. I did the Cavell Meadows hike. With the name "Cavell Meadows" I expected mostly flat, easy terrain. Not so. The trail climbs, fairly steeply in places, about 1250 vertical feet.


Mt. Edith Cavell, taken along the trail

A marmot, encountered early in the hike


I passed Angel Glacier early in the hike (left photo). The larger view on the right, taken from farther away, shows the "wings" that suggest an angel, giving this glacier its name. But much of the right wing is missing, presumably due to global warming. Or maybe Canada is just more liberal....

 

Angel Glacier


At the higher elevations the trail passes the meadows. Although it is late in the wildflower season, there are still some flowers.



A pika accompanies me for a bit.


The top at last! This is the end of the trail, at the top of a small hill. It is not the top of Mt Edith Cavell, which continues to loom behind us. The last part of the trail is quite barren, although the view of neighboring mountains is nice. An occasional hardy flower shows its determination.


The end of the Cavell Meadows Trail

Alpine harebell


Icefields Parkway, from the same trip
Banff and Lake Louise, from the same trip
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