We got up early and headed to breakfast in the main restaurant. It was a very good buffet and they opened early which was great for us since we had a relatively early tour. The hotel was really beautiful and on a gorgeous lake so we spent some time getting pictures around the property
Jasper Park Lodge
Jasper Park Lodge
The Lake at the entrance to Jasper Park Lodge
As we were walking around the grounds one of the hotel’s drivers saw us and showed us a special balcony on the second floor of the hotel where we could get some nice pictures. He also offered to take a photo of us
From the hotel looking out at the lake and grounds
From the hotel looking out at the lake and grounds
From the hotel looking out at the lake and grounds
From the hotel looking out at the lake and grounds
We went out to the front entrance and met Joe and his wife from SunDog tours. He is a member of one of the local First Nation tribes. He was really funny and really knowledgeable.
We first went to the Maligne canyon which had a waterfall feeding through a very deep canyon surrounded by lots of Lodge Pole Pines and many of them were infected with a Pine Beetle that has impacted much of the old growth pine forrest in BC. Joe’s take on it was a bit different than others. Because of all of the fire suppression that’s been done, the forrest in total has far more old growth than it naturally should. This has given the beetles, who are native to this area, a lot more trees that are weak and susceptible to the beetles. The trees will die off and then regrow. The forrest fires are the things that open the seeds of the pines to allow them to replant so balance will be restored eventually but it will take some time.
After the Maligne Canyon we went on to Medicine Lake. This is a huge lake that in the late fall turns into a small creek. It didn’t seem possible because of the size but there is a hole – like a drain that can’t empty all of the water from the snow melt and rainfall of spring and summer so the lake fills, then in late summer when the water coming in slows down the water level in the lake begins to drop and it becomes just a small stream. Joe had all of the old Indian folklore stories around why it happens and he shared that as well. Different tribes and cultures had different explanations but the one that he shared was of a coyote who was mad at the tribe for not taking care of the water, and he came and drank the lake dry.
Maligne Canyon
Medicine Lake
Next we headed off to Maligne lake which was a beautiful shade of blue. We hiked a bit around the lake and had some coffee and took some pictures.
Maligne Lake
Maligne Lake
Maligne Lake
After Maligne Lake Joe drove us into downtown Jasper because most of us had tickets to the Gondola which takes you most of the way up Whistler Mountain. He pointed out a few good lunch spots and left us in town. We tried one of his recommendations – Earl’s which was upstairs and had a nice little outdoor seating area. We had some lunch and then caught the 2:00 shuttle to the Gondola/Tram.
Downtown Jasper
The ride up the mountain took us 7 minutes and it took is to the upper landing at 2263 meters or 7424 feet. There was a viewing platform there which you could see down to Jasper, our hotel, Jasper Lake and all of the other lakes as well as so many mountains. We hiked up then to the summit at 2463 meters or 8080 feet – here’s a map of the area.
2263 The
Picture from the bottom of the Gondola Landing
Picture from Whistlers Mountain
Picture from Whistlers Mountain
The Hiking was hard because it was steep and we were very high in altitude so that air was pretty thin. We also met our Friend from the train – Glenn at the shuttle and he came up with us but hiked ahead. His wife decided not to come after all. We got to the top after a bit and the views were spectacular. We were very glad that we had taken the time.
Partway up the mountain looking down on the Gondola landing where we started to hike
Photos from up on Whistler
Photos from up on Whistler
Photos from up on Whistler
Photos from up on Whistler
Photos from up on Whistler
Photos from up on Whistler
Conrad at the top of Whistler
Heading down was an easier hike but hard on the knees. We waited in line and took the tram back down to the lower platform and then shared a taxi into town with another couple that we had met from the train. We did a bit if shopping in town and then headed for the hotel to get some dinner and some sleep.
We had dinner in the Italian restaurant. We liked the food but our waiter Owen was a bit of a drag. He was very chatty and pretty pushy. Still we had a nice dinner, did a bit of walking and then headed for bed because we had another early morning headed to Lake Louise in the morning.