PART CINQ:
DAYHIKING JASPER NATIONAL PARK
We spent the last half of
our third week in the Canadian Rockies in Jasper National Park. For four days we did dayhikes and car camped
at the Wapiti Campground just south of town.
Our hikes took us to more superlative scenery around Miette Hot Springs,
the Icefields Center, Maligne Lake, and Mount Edith Cavell.
THE PETTING ZOO
The French word of the day is “chèvres de montagne”, which translates to “mountain goats” in English. As in, “The picnic area at the trailhead was so full of chèvres de montagne and tourists it looked like a petting zoo.”
We slept in a little the
next morning. We were feeling a bit
unmotivated, not to mention tired for our last backpacking trip. Cloudy skies didn’t help, either. Egg sandwiches got us going though, and by
late morning we were heading towards the eastern edge of Jasper National
Park. I had a fairly short hike planned
to the summit of the Sulphur Skyline.
The Sulphur Skyline is a lofty ridge overlooking the Fiddle River Canyon
near Miette Hot Springs. Christy was in
the mood for a break, so she was planning on spending the day at the springs
while I was hiking.
We reached the trailhead,
and found a literal petting zoo in the adjacent picnic area. There were perhaps a dozen mountain goats
browsing there, harassing the picnickers, begging for food, and generally
making a nuisance of themselves. They
were cute though. I actually saw a baby
goat licking something yummy off a grill.
Christy and I took a few photos, and felt mildly embarrassed about doing
it. Then Christy headed for the pool
and I began my 3-mile climb.
The trail starts out as a
paved road, but quickly reverts to gravel.
Some distance later, the road narrows to a wide footpath. I climbed up through the woods to a
junction, where I turned right towards Sulphur Skyline Ridge. I continued to climb, occasionally on
switchbacks. At one point, I spotted a
ptarmigan in the middle of the path.
Later I passed a deer browsing right next to the trail. He must’ve been in the middle of something
good, because he didn’t bolt, even when I came within 2 feet of him. Every muscle in his body tensed up, but he
held his ground as I passed by.
The ascent was steady but
not steep until near the end. Once I
cleared treeline, I found myself scaling a steep slope covered in loose
scree. Fortunately the last stretch was
short, and I reached the windswept summit in time for a late lunch. The wind was brutal though, so I descended a
short distance to the southeast for shelter.
Luckily, this side of the mountain was also the most scenic. The ridge provides 360-degree views, but I
found the vista of the narrow gash of the Fiddle River Canyon more interesting
than the distant peaks in other directions.
I endured the wind for an
hour before heading down. After a rapid
descent, I found Christy in the picnic area hanging out with the goats. We drove back to Jasper, but made a brief
stop at Punchbowl Falls. This was not
the most exciting waterfall of the trip.
There is a developed overlook, but it more or less completely fails to
have any view of the actual waterfall.
On the way back to town we passed a couple of bighorn sheep alongside
the road. Sulphur Skyline wasn’t one of
the better hikes I did during our month in Canada (in fact, it ranks near the
bottom), but the day was certainly a good one for wildlife. We saw deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep,
and ptarmigan.
We returned to camp, but
stopped in Jasper to run errands. We
stopped at the library to check our email ($2.50 for 30 minutes) and got
groceries, beer, and gas. That evening,
the sun finally came out before setting.
We were hoping that was a sign of improving weather. We had a spectacular hike planned the next
day near the Columbia Icefield, and I was hoping for optimal conditions.
Continue reading about our adventures in Jasper as we visit the Icefields Center and dayhike to Wilcox Pass.
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