#Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint

[thorsenmark]

Welcome to Canadian Nature! (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the southwest while taking in views of a nearby forest and then more distant mountains while at the Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint. This is along the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park. My thought on composing this image was to use the layers across this setting with the forest and then mountains but have a leveled-on view to let that setting fill most of the image. Some of that was because of the sun and noticing a few artifacts across the lens. But I also wanted to capture what amounted to a wide angle, panoramic feel with this image and worked my way to line up and compose the setting, given the mid afternoon sun.

[chalkerhive-blog]

22nd May 2024

Today we left for Jasper via the Icefields Parkway. It is claimed as the most scenic drive in the world and was amazing. We did have sun, rain, snow and low cloud, but we still managed to stop at 10 spots. Before we even got to the Parkway, Jane spotted cars stopped on the side and saw a bear. She was so excited for her first bear in the wild. Luckily it was behind the fencing, so it was safe to get out of the car. It was also nice seeing the animal crossing points that have been built over the highway.

We then stopped at Hector Lake, Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint, Bow Lake (which was frozen and lovely), Waterfowl Lakes Viewpoint, Bridal Veil Falls, Columbia Ice Field (very busy and terrible weather so didn't stay long), Tangle Creek Falls, Goats & Glacier Lookout, A nice stop with no name at the river, and Athabasca Falls which were great, the falls had taken different routes over time and we could walk through the old channels. Michael also found good use of the brush/scraper stick that was in the back of the hire car.

We made it to Jasper and our accommodation at Pyramid Lodge overlooking Pyramid Lake. We purchased bear spray in case we met any bears a few days ago but Michael has just been carrying it around. We hiked to Pyramid Island (not far) and had a look around. Still no bears. The one on the highway didn't really count as it was behind a fence.

We headed into Jasper for dinner and Bella spotted a beautiful Snow Rainbow.

[fleurcareil]

Alberta Rockies (3): 2nd visit to Banff & Jasper

When I had been in Banff earlier in the trip, I learned about the Cave and Basin national historic site, whose thermal springs had been the kick-off of the creation of national parks in Canada. People can no longer use the hot springs, as they found a unique snail living solely in the hot waters on this mountain (!) but the exhibits provide an interesting history of how national park policies have changed over the years from resources to conservation management, whilst also balancing human use for tourism... exactly what I want to do in Chile!😍💖

There's also a little boardwalk out to the marsh which provides a warm habitat year-round because of the steaming hot water runoff from the springs, so after a massive rain shower had passed, I went to check out the white algae that grow in the streams and look for fish & birds. Turns out that this is the only place in the Rockies where garter snakes live as it keeps the soil from freezing in winter, but luckily none came my way ... I had already noticed that I hadn't seen any snakes in a while, now I know why! 😄

Most national parks aim to build reconciliation and collaboration with local Indigenous communities, recognizing that the creation of those parks resulted in the loss of traditional hunting, gathering and spiritual places (newer parks now often have an agreement for continued traditional use). In this case, Banff asked Indigenous artists to create large stand-alone, cubic murals, which I thought were very powerful.

Dodging the rain once more, I drove to Bow Falls close where I just sat on a bench for several hours looking at the river and doing some internet (as Kootenay Park had zero reception). Had a quick dinner downtown but despite its prettiness, I felt it was heaving with tourists so couldn't wait to get back to my quiet campsite! 😁

After another night & morning of rain (this is the only time so far in 3 months that it rained so much during camping so I'm not really allowed to complain), I was hoping that Jasper would give me some sun and warmth, but unfortunately it stayed gloomy and cold (12C) all day. 😢

My first stop was at the Crowfoot Glacier and Bow Lake, which despite the clouds were in-your-face impressive. I had initially not planned to drive the Icefield Parkway as I spent two days here in 2010, literally stopping at every viewpoint of which there are tons, but the mountains and lakes were mind-blowing as ever so I'm glad I came back after all. 😊 Similar to the sea, mountains are magnetizing regardless of whether it's sunny or gloomy, so how could you ever say no?! 😍

The walk to the Peyto Lake viewpoint is a steep hill up, but the scenery is mesmerizing. 😍 It (& every stop) was of course super crowded but somehow I didn't find it overbearing and still managed to get people-free pics!

Speaking about bears, after another view of the glorious mountains, there was a suddenly a massive pile of cars and... a grizzly bear walking on the hill with 2 cubs! 🤩🤩🤩 I was so taken looking at them that I forgot to take a pic until they were much further away, but they're the 3 black dots if you zoom in 😂. For a moment it looked as if they were returning back to where I was (they were first next to my car when I stopped!) but alas they got fed up with all the people gawking and left into the woods. It was really cute to see the characteristic shoulder hump also on the little ones... made my day! 🥰

Two-minutes drive around the bend was a parking lot for a popular hike, where people were completely unaware of the grizzlies, so that reiterated my resolve of not going for solo hikes in the Rockies! 😅

Finally, I spent some time at the Columbia Icefield Centre, looking at the exhibits and eating fries overlooking the glacier. 😋 There was one exhibit showing the ice's retreat that has happened since 2017, so I'm curious whether I can see it on my own pics from 2010 that I must have taken when we were here... once I got the time to retrieve those photos, I'll post them to do my own citizen science! 😄

As it was another 100km to the town of Jasper & I was tired, I skipped all other stops (including undoubtedly two pretty waterfalls), and drove straight to the campground where to my astonishment I did not have a firepit (didn't even occur to me to check when I booked it) so got no fire to keep me warm. 😣

It dropped to 4 degrees that night 😨 and although I was ok warm in my mummie sleeping bag, it was not comfortable so when the sun came in the morning, I just sat for hours with a cup of tea and a book, embracing every ray! 🌞 I felt a bit guilty to stay on the campsite whereas I was supposed to take in all the beauty of the park, but this was exactly what the doctor had ordered to get my mood lifted! 🥰

After only leaving the site at 1pm I wasn't really up to do much driving and facing crowds at the waterfalls, Mount Edith Cavell etc, so instead I checked out Patricia and Pyramid lakes which are close to town. With calm water & no wind it was a perfect day for a paddle, so I pumped up my SUP for the first time using the repaired hose... it was very slow in building pressure while leaking some air, so as I wasn't sure it was correctly reading and would possibly blow up, I stopped at 7psi instead of the usual 15psi... I told the warden who came over to talk about invasive aquatic species that I would likely sink 🤣, but I just managed to stay afloat! 🤗 Good news is that the pressure gauge is correct so that I can continue to use the pump until I have a replacement (which after a hunt at multiple stores in Golden, Jasper and Edmonton has proven to be impossible except for buying online which I can't do until I'm back in TO 😕, the downside of modern shopping!)

I ended up having a beautiful paddle around the lake with views of mountains and glaciers, that I couldn't capture as in the commotion I had forgotten to bring my phone 😅. As a bonus, on the way out, I saw a black bear alongside the road so this was a happy day!

Before heading back to town, I hiked a small portion of the Maligne Canyon, which had impressive potholes from (previously) swirling water, as well as a huge logjam under which the water continued to flow. The waterfalls & gorge were pretty too but not newsworthy compared to the prettier Marble Canyon... I believe I've canyoned out for this trip 😛, a downside of traveling for so long!

Although the town of Jasper is less pretty than Banff, it has much less tourists and therefore is far more relaxed in terms of vibe; a cool mountain town! On my way to the canyon, I had hopped into a bakery for a delicious rhubarb pastry,  and now on my way back I had some appetizers & local beer on a rooftop patio watching the sunset. 🤗

The sky was cloud-free and although I was too tired to stay up all night for the milky way to come, the treeline against the darkening sky was magical and I managed to photograph the Big Dipper and Arcturus at its tail (shout out to Byron 😉)! At the front end, I also could see the North Star and the beginnings of the Little Dipper but they were still very faint.

Went happily to sleep but that night, it got again freaking cold so less charmed in the morning 😫... if this weather continues,  it would mean the end of my camping as I'm really not prepared for close-to-freezing temps!

Even without an extensive sun-warming session, it took me a couple of hours to pack up the tent, eat & get dressed  -  I guess not working & having deadlines has made me slow 🙃 but the beauty of traveling solo is that I don't answer to anyone 😀 - and get on my way to Maligne Lake. I believe it's famous because of the  row of mountains at the back end of the lake, but the smoke had returned so there was really not much to see.... too much wind to go for a paddle, too few people hiking to make me comfortable on the trails, meant that I drank my cup of tea at the lookout and then left.... no magic for me here today, c'est la vie!  😜

Leaving Jasper Park eastward towards Hinton, the mountains changed; they became less high and more white-grey in colour, still pretty though.

Big disappointment; I had planned for the afternoon to soak at the Miette hot springs, which are supposedly to be surrounded by beautiful nature, but I had  not checked the website so wasn't aware that they are closed since June due to a landslide! 😵

This was the end of my time in the Rockies, now back through (more) northern Alberta, excited to explore Edmonton!

Wildlife: 1 grizzly bear with 2 cubs ♥ and 1 black bear at Jasper

SUPs: one at Jasper

Hikes: one at Banff, two at Jasper

[peakinginthewild]

Where do you even begin when you're talking about one of the most, if not the most, mesmerizing place you've ever seen. Don't get me wrong, I could spend weeks in the North Cascades getting lost within the peaks and be just as intrigued, but the Canadian Rockies really stole my heart and soul. I once saw a photograph of Moraine Lake and thought to myself, once I’ve seen the lake with my eyes and have stood at the shore of those majestic blue waters surrounded by rugged yet such beautiful peaks, I could die happy. And there I was, with my eyes filling with tears of joy. But I'll get to that in a minute.

We left Washington pretty late in the day, forgetting that 15 hours meant we'd be driving through the mountains in the dead of night. But we did it, we got to our hostel at 4am and have never been happier to see a bed. But that drive was probably the most stressful drive of my life. Even the Canadian Patrol throughout we were dumb for making this drive at night. Now imagine this, driving down a road that has a 70 mph speed limit, the road is extremely windy, it’s darker than dark, and theres either a bear crossing every 5 miles or a moose one. Now imagine hitting a moose going 70 miles per hour. Do you see why I'd be stressed?  Luckily enough my friend was sweet enough to be an extra pair of eyes for me and scream "RED" if there were deer anywhere. And many there was.

Because we drove throughout the night, we only saw outlines of the Canadian Rockies. You can only imagine what awe we were in waking up to the most beautiful peaks we've ever seen. We went straight to Moraine Lake, of course. We were extremely surprised at the insane amounts of tourists crowding the lake. Renting a canoe was going to give us the best experience of the lake and was going to get us the furthest away from all these people. $120 dollars for an hour on this gorgeous lake seemed more reasonable than ever. It was the end of June, yet you could still get hypothermia from being in this water for over 30 seconds. So rocking the boat sounded less like a good idea once we felt the icy waters for ourselves. It was so extremely peaceful to sit in the middle of this lake and get hypnotized by the bluest ripples I've ever seen. Canoeing right up to the glaciers on the other side was nothing but humbling. It's an experience I’ll never forget and one I hope to experience once more.

Second stop was Louise Lake, but the weather wasn't looking up for us. The peaks were covered with clouds, you could barely see the ice field in the middle of the peaks. At the lake we asked around about where we couldn't miss out on having dinner and someone told us about Truffle Pigs. That guy made the place sound so delicious, we drove over an hour just to experience it for ourselves. And it was best decision we've made all day. I'd highly highly recommend checking this spot out. Seared duck for $25 dollars in a very cute restaurant in a city called Field. We were beyond pleased. We then adventured to Yoho National Park and experienced some of the most beautiful rivers we've ever seen. Rivers are NEVER this blue, it felt like a fairytale place. Because we suck at planning anything ever, we spent every single night looking for camping spots for over an hour or so. And because it was so cold, we had to sleep in the car every night as well.

On our second day we checked out Bryce Canyon and it's many waterfalls it had to offer. Note to self, don't ever go during the highest tourist season again, it's nearly impossible to get a photo without a suburban family in the background. We drove to so many other lakes and viewpoints but its impossible to remember all of them because theres at least one every 5 miles. There is something insanely beautiful to check out every 10 minutes on Highway 1 but you can't catch them all when you have less than a week. After Bryce Canyon, we started our drive towards Jasper. We made it to Peyto Lake right before the sunset but with the amount of bears we saw on the drive, we opted out of hiking up the short trail and just saving it for the morning. Instead we parked my car right in the Bow Lake parking lot next to Highway 1 and watched the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen. We fell asleep to the stars slowly filling the sky and the space around Crowfoot Glacier.

I woke up with the most excitement Ive eve had. Ive been dreaming of seeing Peyto Lake for years now. We made the short hike to the top and just sat there, staring at the lake, my soul was on fire. I thought nothing could beat how beautiful Moraine Lake was but watching the snow fall very slowly on the turquoise waters down below made me change my mind quickly. It was definitely the most alluring view my eyes have ever captured. I didn't want to leave, I wanted to stand there at the edge of the cliff and stare down at Peyto Lake forever. But we had a long day ahead of us. We got to see blue lake after blue lake after blue river after blue lake on the drive to Jasper, it never stopped. By far the most scenic drive Ive ever driven on. About halfway to Jasper, we realized that we weren't going to see a gas station for a very very long time, I was getting real close to empty, and we had to turn around. We drove 1 1/2 hours just to turn around and drive back the same amount to fill up on the most expensive gas I've ever seen. But I can’t complain, the drive was definitely not a boring one. Right about where the Athabasca Glacier meets Icefields Pkwy is where the rockies look the most intense. I would drive down that road over and over if I could. We made Jasper our very big scenic playground for the day and winded down at a real campsite for once with hotdogs and a campfire. Even the hot dogs taste better in the Canadian Rockies.

On our last full day in Jasper we couldn't miss out on Maligne Lake and Mt. Edith Cavell. I wish we had the time to canoe on Maligne Lake. I've only heard the most amazing stories of floating on that lake. Jasper is filled with wildlife. I've never seen so many elk families just grazing the grass right off the highway, and the mountain goats and bears would come right up to your car. Later that evening we began making our way back through B.C. The one thing I regret more than anything was not stopping at Mount Robson. I can't wait to take this trip once more and spend days hiking around that mountain.

Five days wasn't even close to enough time in this place of magic. This fall, I plan on making this trip once more, but this time I'll plan every little stop out and not miss a thing. I've got butterflies in my stomach just writing this blog about it. Until next time Alberta.

[nunoxaviermoreira]

201609S_0160 Canada - Helen Lake by ├ Ad DeCort (NL) ┤ Helen Lake is a 6 KM (3¾ mile) hike one-way just south of Num-Ti-Jah Lodge. This popular and scenic trail gains 420 m (1,380 ft) to an elevation of 2,370 m (7,775 ft). The well-signed parking area is nearly full on Canada Day across the Icefields Parkway from the Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. The Helen Lake trail-head provides access past Helen Lake at 6 KM (3¾ miles), to Katherine Lake (8 KM), Dolomite Pass (9 KM), then north past Isabella Lake at (22.5 KM) to the trail junction at Dolomite Siffleur (26.5 KM) via the Dolomite Pass Trail. Initially, the wide gravel trail, inundated with rocks and large roots, is fairly steep through lush forest before the grade moderates and the trail narrows. The trail, heading up and east, crosses several picturesque snow runoff streams which are easy to ford. source: Wikipedia https://flic.kr/p/SJZW4G

[thorsenmark]

Being Alive and Smelling That Sweet Mountain Air (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: At the Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint along the Icefields Parkway with a view looking to the southeast to Crowfoot Glacier, Bowcrow Peak, and Crowfoot Mountain. This is in Banff National Park.

[thorsenmark]

Heart and Mind Sing Together When I Am in the Mountains. (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the west while taking in views of a nearby forest and then more distant mountains while at the Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint. This is along the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park.

[thorsenmark]

Welcome to Canadian Nature! (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the southwest while taking in views of a nearby forest and then more distant mountains while at the Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint. This is along the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park. My thought on composing this image was to use the layers across this setting with the forest and then mountains but have a leveled-on view to let that setting fill most of the image. Some of that was because of the sun and noticing a few artifacts across the lens. But I also wanted to capture what amounted to a wide angle, panoramic feel with this image and worked my way to line up and compose the setting, given the mid afternoon sun.

[thorsenmark]

Dandelions and Mountains Are a Few of My Favorite Things! (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at the Hector Lake Viewpoint with a view looking to the northwest in Banff National Park. This is along the Icefields Parkway. With this image, I was drawn as soon as I got out of the rental car I was in to the field of dandelions along the parking edge. I then noted how there were evergreen trees and mountains that I could use as a backdrop for the setting. The rest was just finding a spot to line up and compose the image.

[thorsenmark]

There Are Times for Inner Reflections (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: There Are Times for Inner Reflections And other times to see reflections We become a better person when we take the time to reflect on a life lived But sometimes, it’s nice to see what nature makes in a reflection! Another work of short poetry or prose to complement the image captured while at the Bow Lake Viewpoint with a view looking to the southwest across the still waters of Bow Lake to North and Central Crowfoot Mountain. What drew me into this image was the setting of the mountains and its reflections. Given the mostly overcast skies but with some bright portions caught in sunlight, I decided to minimize that portion of the image and set a focal length that would include mainly the mountains and the reflection from image edge to edge. I did some initial post-processing work making adjustments to contrast, brightness and saturation while playing around as I learned how to work with DxO PhotoLab 6. I then exported a TIFF image to Nik Color Efex Pro 4 where I added a Polarization, Skylight and Pro Contrast filter for that last effect on the image captured.