Alberta

Wild Rose Country

August 2017

With our Cozy Snail in tow, we mosey on to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada all the while remembers last night at Chilliwack Valley Campground located just a few hours near the US/Canada border. Arrived at the campground in the afternoon, we set up everything quickly and hunker-down for the night.

Cozy Snail and popup shelter made a happy home

The lullaby sound of a nearby river, cool weather, great dinner and meeting fellow campers made a great stay in Chilliwack. There was a spunky mom, Linda, daughter Natasha, who have been coming here for the last few years, have a certain fondness for the place. Linda also recounts her many memories of Jasper’s turquoise river and spectacular views with bright and sparkle in her eyes.

Cozy campsite pairs with dinner made fresh

As we approach Glacier National Park but were surprised to see many columns of smoke rise up from the blueish mountains. The air filled with smoke and burnt smell as we passed through the center of Glacier NP. We suddenly have sinking feeling that our Banff visit would somehow be less enjoyable, but naively hope the fire and smoke don’t affect where we are going. After all, Banff National Park is still more than 100 miles away.

In a few short hours, Banff’s Vermilion Lake reflect Mount Rundle brilliantly in the afternoon sun shed all our doubts away, for a while.

Our Cozy Snail parks along side Vemillion Lake with Mount Rundle in the background
Mount Rundle with its snowcapped peak

We checked into Banff’s Tunnel Mountain Campground and were assigned a beautiful and shady site with a direct view of Mount Rundle from our Cozy Snail windows.

Arrived at Banff National Park and the air is refreshingly clear
Our pooch resting contentedly on sofa ignoring any noise in the background

Wanting some night shots of Vermilion Lake we venture out to the same spot we stopped earlier. Even before setting up the tripod, we heard a rhythmic tune and singing voice from somewhere nearby.

Curiously we approached a lone figure strumming guitar on the otherwise an empty dock. At times, his fingers furiously pound on the strings angrily and foot stomp hard on the wooden boardwalk as the tune pick up the tempo. Still with tune reverberation in the air, with one smooth motion, he slaps on the side of his face that coincided with the music rhythm.

Mount Rundle stood silently in the quiet of the night
A lone musician made the night unforgettable

So the slapping wasn’t a part of the music… just a bunch of pesky mosquitoes attacking his hands and face! We ran back to fetch some mosquito repellant. Gratefully, he thanks us and resume rocking, but his tempo is more soothing as we departed.

Next morning the faint smell of forest fire waltzing in from outside our Cozy Snail, we hang our heads in resignation for the smoke finally caught up with us. The ranger said the Verdant Creek fire burns 8 days ago has destroyed around 5,100 hectares. The fire also causes the closure to Verdant Creek, Fatigue Creek, and Citadel Pass. Disappointed that all the plans we made were shot; few days of kayaking on the turquoise lakes gone up in a puff of smoke!

Given the current fire and smoke obscured any potential sight-seeing, we couldn’t help it but reminisce to our last visit to Banff back in 2013.

It was chill in the air but beautiful Lake Louise got all our attention
We brought our kayak here for the occassion, but it is not to be!
Moraine Lake was another kayaking haven and only about 7 miles south of Lake Louise
Kayak rental at Lake Louise that sparked our inclination of bringing our own this time around

About 15 minutes drive from our campground, we dropped by the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. Although this park inside Banff, there is an admission fee of 3.90CAD per person to enter. This park was originally discovered by a couple of railroad workers. Seeing the opportunity to make money off the mineral water and the hot springs, they applied for land ownership but was promptly denied. The Government of Canada just realized the potential National Park system, and thus Cave and Basin and the entire Banff National Park became what they are today.

Visitor Center from Cave and Basin National Historic Site
Rustic stone wall encompassed the hot spring inside
This beautiful emerald hot pool used to open to tourist long time ago
Now it's a haven for tiny endangered snail the size of popcorn kernel

The following day, we drove 26 miles north of Trans-Canada Highway 1, to reach a Johnston Canyon for a day-hike.

The boardwalk hugs the side of Johnston Canyon to bring visitors deeper to lower falls
We love the scenic and easy hiking trail
We cross many emeral pools along the trail
Less than a mile walk, we approach the lower falls
Lots of beautiful waterfalls everywhere on our way to upper falls
The upper falls doesn't have a lot of volumn back in 2013, and probably empty now with the drought condition

There is no admission to Johnston Canyon and the canyon open year round. During the winter months, ice climbers flock the upper falls for an exhilarating ascend. Unfortunately, the smoke is hampering and potentially cut short of our visit to Banff and the park vicinity.

Verdant Creek smoke is covering the peak of Mount Rundle

Perhaps we can escape to Jasper National Park in search of fresher air? On the way to Jasper, we stopped by Bow Lake for lunch and to stretch our legs from a long drive. And what an amazing blue lake and fairest weather only just 43 miles away. Beautiful scenery pairs well with scrumptious  Montreal smoked meat sandwich we purchased earlier from the town of Banff.

Casual stroll on the bank of Bow Lake after a good lunch

Continuing to Jasper, the Athabasca Glacier National Park appears as a dirty white ribbon stretches across the Canadian Rockies. The glacier has been continuously melting and recedes at the rate of 16ft per year, and thus far has lost half of its volume for the past 125 years according to park information.

Athabasca Glacier lost half of its volume in the last 125 years

We finally reach Jasper National Park later in the day but decided the smoke is still too much to bear. So, we continue to Mount Robson 47 miles west of Jasper. For one, Mount Robson has the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies and contains many beautiful waterfalls in the area. At 12,972ft, it even 132ft taller than the famed Black Bear Pass in Colorado.

At 12,972ft, Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies
Like everywhere in Alberta, drought has a key role elevated fire danger

Few miles west of Yellowhead Highway 16, we stop and admire the two waterfalls located just 7 miles from Mount Robson; The Rearguard Falls and Overlander Falls.

Reaguard Falls with its staircases leading to spectacular view
Overlander Falls is short but wide pouring water down Fraser River

Next morning we decided to give Jasper another chance and lol-and-behold, Jasper air is breathable again. Taken this rare opportunity, we visited the deceptive shallow Athabasca River near Talbot Lake and the breathtaking Maligne Canyon.

Walking on the very shallow Athabasca River with our pooch
Other visitors take gingerly step toward middle of the wide river
Maligne Canyon is only 6.6ft across but at a depth of 160ft!

So are all the smokes and fires in drought drench Alberta turning us away? Hardly, we came from drought California and all the park precaution make perfect sense. Besides, worrying doesn’t take away tomorrow problem, it takes away today peace (Randy Armstrong), and here we found our peace!

GPS Coordinates

  1. Vermilion Lake – 51°10’56.2″N 115°36’13.3″W
  2. Tunnel Mountain Campground – 51°11’39.5″N 115°31’27.9″W
  3. Lake Louise – 51°24’59.4″N 116°13’02.7″W
  4. Lake Moraine – 51°19’39.4″N 116°10’48.0″W
  5. Cave and Basin National Historic Site  – 51°10’08.5″N 115°35’29.4″W
  6. Johnston Canyon – 51°15’13.8″N 115°50’17.1″W
  7. Bow Lake – 51°40’42.4″N 116°27’58.3″W
  8. Athabasca Glacier National Park – 52°13’13.1″N 117°13’28.1″W
  9. Jasper National Park – 52°52’38.2″N 118°04’50.6″W
  10. Banff National Park – 51°11’20.5″N 115°32’28.6″W
  11. Mount Robson – 53°02’07.8″N 119°13’44.3″W
  12. Reaguard Falls – 52°58’31.1″N 119°21’51.9″W
  13. Overlander Falls – 53°01’48.3″N 119°12’32.9″W
  14. Athabasca River – 53°04’36.6″N 118°02’19.9″W
  15. Maligne Canyon – 52°55’15.3″N 117°59’58.2″W

References

  • Destination details from local knowledge, some were extracted from handout literature, brochure, or website, and Wikipedia
  • Coordinates are from Google map in Degrees, Minutes, and Seconds (DMS)