Icefields Parkway
Icefields Parkway
Another fantastic weather day is in the forecast. Today’s plan calls for a drive north to the Columbia Icefield, about 120 km from Lake Louise. It is located at the southern boundary of Jasper National Park.
We drive north on route 93, also called Icefields Parkway. The drive by itself is a spectacular one, passing mountain lakes and numerous snow capped summits. We are planning on doing a long hike at the Columbia Icefield area, so we just stop at a handful of lookout points along the way. The plan is to revisit the southern part of the parkway at a later date.
Counter clockwise from top left: Peyto Lake, Saskatchewan River Crossing, Bow Lake, mountain range shortly before Columbia Icefield.
By the time we reach the Columbia Icefield, it is already noon. The Icefield Center is like the Grand Central Station in New York, really really busy. Sophia notices that they even have a large buffet lunch operation, very similar to those in Queens, NY, offering a mix of oriental and western style dishes. The last thing we want is to fight the crowd and over eat before the hike, so we skip the customary buffet lunch and the snow coach ride up the glacier. Instead, we elect to do plan B, a hike off the beaten path. There is a 10 km round trip hiking trail called the Wilcox Pass. The trail starts at about 3 km south of the the Icefield Center at the Wilcox Creek camp site. The trail runs north-south parallel to the Icefields Parkway toward the Columbia Icefield, except the trail is about 1,000 feet above the parkway. It reminds us of the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park.
Icefield Center
The Wilcox Pass trail ascends immediately under a heavily wooded area. The shade is a welcome one during the initial ascend. About 600 feet up, the vegetation turns into stunted evergreens and shrubs. The wind and harsh weather at this part of the mountain make it difficult for trees to grow tall. Shortly after we start, we are above the tree line. We are hiking north, the glaciers are on our left hand side. There are very few people on this trail, no tour bus in sight, everything is dead silent. Only a handful of fellow hikers go by from time to time.
Wilcox pass high above the Parkway, overlooking the icefield
Fellow hikers along the way
Big horn sheep fronting the Athabasca Range
As we are about to turn around, we notice cumulus clouds are starting to gather in numbers. There is no threat of any rain yet, and the sheer number of cotton candy like clouds forming over the horizon gives the whole landscape such an immense feel. By the time we get back down to the trail head, it is already 5:30 PM. It took us 3 hours to hike up, only 1.5 hours to get back down. The scenery is just magnificent from where we are and we take all the time we can to soak it all up. What a wonderful and rewarding hiking day.
View of Columbia Icefields from Wilcox Pass Trail
Looking south towards Banff
The drive back to Lake Louise doesn’t feel that long. May be we are all starving and looking forward to our first formal meal for the day. Since it’s relatively late (7 PM) by the time we get back in town, we pick Bill Peyto’s Cafe located at the Lake Louise Alpine Center international hostel. The place has a casual, pub-like atmosphere and serves simple dishes, sort of like a cheap eat tailored to the locals and hostel guests. We order chili, Peyto special chicken (which turns out to be grilled chicken breast with vegetable sides, nothing that special), and Thai noodles. Nothing spectacular, food always tastes good when you’re hungry, and the large apple pie at the end just hit the right spot.««½¶¶
Friday, July 17, 2009