18.06.2018 - Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake

Today we somehow slept longer. Have we finally gotten used to the time change? Or is it because since we drove to Alberta yesterday, we had to 'lose' an hour again 😉

Since we are not changing campsites today, we have chosen Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake as our destination. About 3km north of Jasper, we entered the valley. When we arrived at the canyon, we decided to take a path that first went about 2km away from the water to the beginning of the gorge, and then walked along the gorge and against the current to return to the canyon. That was interesting because it went from the wide riverbed to the narrow one. It was really impressive how powerful the water is.

From the canyon, it was another 38km into the valley until we reached Maligne Lake. With the mountain scenery in the background, it was truly fantastic. We actually wanted to go on the 'Mary Schäffer Loop', but unfortunately, it was closed due to construction work. So we walked along the other side of the lake for a little while.

On the drive back through the valley, there was suddenly a gathering of cars. At first, we thought there had been an accident, but then we realized that everyone had stopped because of a bear. Everything was fine, but at one point, everyone was blocking the road and many people were running around outside just to take photos, even though the black bear was only about 10m away. When the bear left, we also realized that it was a mother bear with her two cubs - unbelievable how unreasonable some people are.

Back in Jasper, we had a little something to eat, restocked our supplies, and checked emails, etc. at a public Wi-Fi.

Before heading to the campsite, we drove another 4km up the mountain to see how the Jasper Skytram goes up to Whistlers.

As soon as we arrived at the campground, there was a group of elks with three young ones. They weren't impressed by anything at all.

Kilometers driven: 120km

Conclusion: Canyons are always impressive.