Week 61 - Icefield Parkway and Jasper National Park

Plan B was needed, and the choice quickly fell on Boom Lake in Banff National Park. A beautiful hike in the valley, where the dense clouds in the sky didn’t matter. Unfortunately, the fog was quite stubborn, and the mountains were veiled all day long.

Spontaneously, we got a spot at a campground for 17 CAD. We were really surprised at how well walk-ins worked at the campgrounds.

Unfortunately, the fog had not completely vanished the next day. However, it did not stop us from hiking. We set off for Helen Lake. And the hike was so beautiful! After climbing and going around a mountain, we reached a plateau. A marmot greeted us, and the Canadian Ground Squirrels peeked out of their holes every few meters. You could already see the delicate growth of the flowers, and the view of the snow-covered mountains was simply beautiful. It was completed by a small waterfall and river.

The last kilometer was actually covered in snow, and the lake was indeed still frozen. We did not expect that.

After this solitary idyll, we set off for Peyto Lake. And we had to wait 30 minutes for a parking space. That didn’t bode well. Unfortunately, the fog was still there, and the waiting and crowding unfortunately didn’t turn out to be worth it. With sun, it would have been really beautiful, but the many people dampened the moment a bit.

Our pitch was lovely, located by the river, allowing us to forget the many people.

The next day, we headed back into the hustle and bustle - the Athabasca Glacier is the most easily accessible glacier, and you can certainly tell. The short walk to the glacier tongue was nice, though.

After stops at Sunwapta Falls and Athabasca Falls, we headed to Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper - because it was Canada Day. We arrived just in time for the parade. The town was full, and the atmosphere was good.

Spontaneously, we also got a spot at one of the campgrounds here. We can promise you that we won’t spend as much money on campgrounds in the coming weeks as we have been lately ;-)

The next morning, we got an early start to Maligne Lake. Relatively early in the hike, we met Vanessa and Tim, who are currently on vacation in Canada. We had a great time together and immediately arranged to meet for dinner in Jasper.

On the way back, we saw a moose by the roadside. Unfortunately, there was such a traffic jam that we could not stop. Some people are really incapable of a) parking their car properly on the roadside and b) keeping their distance from the animal. It really annoys us that we cannot stop.

We have now seen at least one black bear every day; the grizzly is still waiting, but we have the endurance ;-)

After a nice evening with Vanessa and Tim, the next day we went to the Valley of the Five Lakes. Unfortunately, the valley is in the middle of a burned area.

In 2024, Jasper National Park experienced the largest fire in decades. A total of 32,000 hectares of forest burned; unfortunately, a part of the town was not spared either. We drove for miles through burned forests, and even the mountains on both sides of the horizon were burned. The cause was a lightning strike.

The walk in the valley was beautiful, as everything was blooming, and the meadows between the burned trees were very colorful.

After that, we drove out of Jasper National Park (finally back to wild camping, yay) to Mount Robson. The mountain, at 3954 meters, is the highest peak of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

At the visitor center, we enjoyed good coffee, sweet treats, and Wi-Fi. Of course, we also enjoyed the view of Mount Robson :-)

This afternoon, we are heading to Prince George. The last big city on the way north. We will buy supplies and some essentials for the wild north to be bear-safe. More on that in the coming weeks.

Since there is no cell reception on the Icefield Parkway, we were completely offline for days, and to be honest - it wasn't half as bad. Unfortunately, we were just not prepared for it, so we couldn’t plan the route that well. But otherwise, it didn’t bother us at all.