July 24, 2009, Driving along the Icefield Parkway at the north end of Banff NP, we were headed toward Jasper National Park. The roadway is named for the Columbia Ice-fields which feed 8 major glaciers, in an area that receives close to 300 inches of snow a year. Clear turquoise lakes, at the foot of the Canadian Rockies, looked like prime fishing territory. However, with water temperatures in the 30’s and a 20 mph wind gust, it was easy for Alan to talk himself out of fishing for very long, especially since nothing was biting.
The following morning we walked to the powerful Athabasca Falls. This was a 30-40 minute trek in from the roadway and parking lot. While this is not a particularly large fall with a drop of only 75 feet, it is impressive because of the volume of water roaring over the top and it was definitely worth the stop.
Later in the day, we hiked up to Athabasca Glacier and three layers of clothes were actually not quite enough, perhaps some long underwear would have been a nice addition. Standing on the glacier in 40-degree weather with wind gusts had us thoroughly chilled and we opted out of an extended tour that was offered.
In Jasper, we caught up on laundry, groceries, and gas. Water and gas were both around $4.00 a gallon. It’s a nice little town but we definitely got sticker shock. As we headed into British Columbia, Alan claimed the first bear sighting. Lots of pretty wildflowers and mountains, but not the drama of western Alberta.
Spending the night at Crooked River Provincial Park campground, we decided the following morning to take what we were told was a "15-minute walk" to Square Lake to catch some morning trout. Between the downed signs and bad signage, we wound up at the lake an hour or so later escorted by swarms of mosquitoes. Fish didn’t cooperate here either, but we made it back to camp in record time after spotting fresh bear prints on the trail.
Departing the park, we traveled north and stopped at what appeared to be the perfect trout river, and it was. Within a couple of minutes, Alan snagged a 21-inch brown trout. He was so excited by the big hit, he slipped down the rocky bank and fell, smashing his reel, but he did land that fish. Yes!
Making it into Dawson Creek, B.C., we stopped at the 0-mile marker for the Alcan Highway, where we met Adam and Tim. They had just arrived on bikes from Anchorage. Tim is dropping out of the ride due to medical issues. But Adam will be biking 25,000 miles over the next two years, with the end destination of Argentina, to raise money and awareness for autism; his website is AdventureforAutism.com. (In April 2010--Adam spent a couple of nights with us as he passed through Florida--still Argentina bound.)
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