Saturday, April 29
Today started out quite chilly at 29 degrees but it was bright and sunny -- and as the day progressed it warmed up to 76 degrees. As we were moving on to Jasper National Park, and had read that they didn't have the water on yet, Mel went ahead and filled the fresh water tank at Lake Louise Campground and stopped at the dump station before we left.
We set out on our journey at 8:50 a.m. and arrived at Wapiti Campground in Jasper National Park around 12:15 p.m., traveling 145 miles in about 3-1/2 hours.
During the drive to the campground, we climbed to 7,000 feet in elevation over mountains as we made our way to the Athabasca Glacier Visitor Center. Athabasca Glacier is one of the six principal toes of the Columbia Icefield located in the Canadian Rockies. The glacier is approximately 3.7 miles long and covers an area of 2.3 square miles and measures 300 to 980 feet thick. It loses a depth of about 16 feet per year and has receded greatly, losing more than half its volume in the past 125 years. This glacier is usually easily accessible and the most visited glacier in North America. But today there were no visitors climbing on the glacier.
(Mel points to Athabasca Glacier in picture above and below is the drifts in the parking lot at the Athabasca Glacier Visitor Center parking area.)
I was anticipating the beautiful glacier we had seen in the month of July several years ago. But as we arrived, boy were we surprised. It truly was a frozen tundra! We drove to the only plowed area, which was the parking for the Visitor Center. However, it looked like it had just been plowed open a few days earlier with at least six foot drifts all around. The visitor center was closed due to the enormous amount of snow in the area. So we moved on down the road to get to our campground in Jasper National Park.
Before we arrived at the Wapiti Campground, we saw a few bighorn sheep. And we couldn't get one of the big males to get out of our way on the road!
As we got to Wapiti Campground, we drove around to find a spot big enough for us to unhook the truck, and then we paid for two nights ($34.50 CA/night or $69 CA total). This campsite is at an elevation of 3,500 feet.
We then fixed a quick lunch and went back out to sightsee around 1:45 p.m. We decided to drive to Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake which are both along the same highway. Medicine Lake has barely any water as you will see in the picture below.
Maligne Lake is a lake that is approximately 14 miles long and 318 feet at its deepest point. It is also famed for its beautiful azure colored water and the surrounding peaks, along with the three glaciers typically visible from the lake. But today, this lake was also still mostly frozen over.
Sunday, April 30
Today we didn't leave the campsite until around 11:30 p.m. The day started out at 31 degrees and soon became sunny and warm reaching a high of 80 degrees. We drove into town to get gas at the Jasper Petro Canada station, and then Mel stopped at the Jasper Brewing Company to fill his growler. In the afternoon, Mel went for a 10 mile bike ride, while I worked on my blog and downloaded some pictures. For dinner, I made beef stroganoff.
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