Early bird enjoys the glacier (almost alone)

To get ahead of all the tourists around the Athabasca Glacier, you have to get up early, and since our accommodation was about 50 km away, that meant getting up even earlier... Well, leaving the accommodation earlier didn't bother us... A few pictures from inside can be found here... it explains everything by itself...

So we were among the first at the edge of the glacier, before many others. Many dates along the way explained how far the glacier reached over a hundred years ago. A sign explained that the glacier retreats about 5 meters every year... It still has a few kilometers in length, but we also know how quickly time passes and how these natural forces change... if nothing is done about it... FfF...

We arrived at the Athabasca Glacier only with a handful of early risers via the 'Toe of the Athabasca Glacier Trail'. Here again, the feeling of experiencing something special...

Even before the masses rose from the breakfast buffet and took a ride to the glacier, the guided tour to the glacier or on the glacier with a snow/ice mobile costs a whopping 114 dollars per person, we said goodbye and set off for a hike on the Parker Ridge Trail, which started at 2000 meters and took us to 2,275 meters. An ascent that made us gasp for air. The thin air certainly made sure of that, because otherwise, we are fit as a fiddle ;) ... Besides, it's pretty cold up here due to the proximity of the glaciers...

When we reached the top, we were greeted by six bighorn sheep, basking in the sun (the sensational thing about it was that they were all male, as we had only seen scruffy female representatives until now). Every now and then a squirrel chirped... All very beautiful and idyllic. Passing by the animals, we saw the largest Canadian glacier, the Saskatchewan Glacier. This tongue stretches for seven kilometers, ending in an emerald blue lake. These emerald-colored lakes and rivers get their color from the meltwater of the glacier, which determines the color through various sediments and minerals. You rarely see just green lakes.

Again, the effort was absolutely worth it. This view from the heights of the glaciers (of which there are actually several, but not all are equally spectacular) and into the mountain ranges of the Rockies with partially meter-high snowfields is simply fantastic. Of course, the now longer-lasting sunshine and the blue sky play a big role in the appearance.

After the descent, the next absolute visual highlight of the day follows after another good stretch on the Icefields Parkway: the brightly turquoise Peyto Lake. Madness, this play of colors here. It is really hard to put into words how beautiful the view from the viewpoint at the highest point of the Icefields Parkway at 2,088 meters (Bow Summit) is. Even if the photos deceive, we are definitely not alone at this vantage point!

The wild ride continues and on the way to Lake Louise, we have another sensational sight: we see a baby grizzly bear with its grizzly mother! Our joy is huge...

Of course, our Asian friends haven't read or understood the lesson 'How to behave in bear sight'. They jump out of the cars and run along the road towards the bear and her cub... The fact that this can be a particularly dangerous situation is not considered. What is important are the photos for Insta and Co., preferably with a cuddling baby bear in their arms... Bear awareness is not emphasized with this species!

The waterfalls that are visible everywhere continue to accompany us. For those who don't remember what that is, we have uploaded a photo...

Our wish was now to see the famous Spiral Tunnels in Yoho Park or the trains that, like in the USA, run through the mountain with far more than 100 wagons loaded with two containers each. When a train is on the track, you can see the beginning of the train at the highest point of the mountain track while the last wagon has not yet left the tunnel at the very beginning of the mountain track. Unfortunately, we have no luck and there is no train on the track, even though the frequency is very high and therefore the chances are great... But maybe it's because today is Sunday...

We continue to the last planned waterfall on this Canada tour (according to the travel planner). It is Canada's second-highest waterfall, the Takakkaw Falls. Once again, we are amazed at how many Indian people are here. Since many are in large groups and have a grill or stove with them, we assume that at least here they seem to be local Indians. After all, who would carry a grill on a plane (aside from colleague Marianna, who also likes to travel with her Thermomix)... Nevertheless, the question remains: why are there so many Indians in Canada???

Since we cannot solve the question, at least not right away, we decide to end the day and head to our Deer Lodge in Lake Louise. This is not sooo easy, especially since it is the weekend and tomorrow, Monday, is the Canadian national holiday 'Canada Day'. Everything, absolutely everything, is on the road. The access road to Lake Louise at the lake of the same name is connected with long queues of cars. All parking lots are full and you can only make a loop and turn back. We don't need that because we have the hotel parking lot...

However, we have a logistical challenge to solve regarding the parking problem tomorrow. We have to leave the hotel and the public parking lots at Lake Louise and Lake Moraine (close together) are already full in the morning from 6 a.m. and it's only worth trying again after 8 p.m. to get a parking space for the vehicle...

We think that the city administration could solve this more cleverly... The success of this mission remains to be seen... Stay tuned!