I awoke early this morning because it was so cold, I had ice around my mouth and nose as well as my sleeping bag. After packing up camp as quickly as possible I went to to the river that ran through the campsite to shoot the sunrise. It was cold enough for the edges of the fast moving river to ice over!
On the plus side it was the first (and only) sunny day! Once the sun was out the temperature warmed to a more friendly temperature. After setting out from camp I stopped to view Peyto lake from the Bow Pass summit which was one of the more spectacular sights of the whole trip.
Peyto Lake
Bow Summit
There where lots of smaller lakes along the way that always make you want to stop, I stopped at most of them but not all because I was running out of time.
Next stop was the Athabasca glacier in the Columbia ice field, I had high hopes for this but could not help but feel a little let down. You could not really get to close to the glacier because of liability issues unless you hired a guide which I did not do.
After that it was time to head to Jasper for the night, of course I made a few stops on the way.
Looking back at the Columbia Ice field, the “snow dome”
Bellow Athabasca Falls
Tomorrow a bit of Jasper and then down a long drive to Banff.
Tags: athabasca, banff national park, canadian rockies, columbia ice field, glacier, jasper national park, mountains, river
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Waking up after a cold night is not to bad until you get your of your sleeping bag, after that it is a mad scramble to get the stove going to get something warm to eat and drink. After I had warmed up and packed up camp it was time to move on. I was making my way towards Lake Louise in Banff National park. While still in Yoho National park I stopped off to take a look at the famous spiral tunnel and lucked out to see a train passing through.
After the viewing the spiral tunnel it was time to move onto the Lake Louise. This was the first fully serviced town I had seen in a park and was interesting. After making a quick stop in the town it was onto Moraine lake, one of the most photographed spots in Canada.
After spending a few hours hoping for the clouds to break I decided to move on. Next stop was lake Louise its self.
Once I had fought off the crowds at lake Louise it was time to head out to make camp. I would be going to Mosquito Creek for the night. This was one of the coldest spots of the whole trip and the squirrels where busy getting ready for the cold winter ahead.
Tomorrow we will be heading up to Jasper and passing through the Columbia ice field.
Tags: banff national park, Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Mosquito Creek, spiral tunnel, train, yoho national park
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I got up this morning to a cold damp morning, it had rained overnight and a low cloud was moving in. I had a quick breakfast, packed up camp and started to drive towards Yoho National park. I passed through Rogers pass and was disappointed that I could only see maybe 100 meters. I passed through Golden and then got into Kicking Horse campground which is just outside the small community of Field.
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Once I setup camp and had lunch I made my way out to Natural Bridge. Natural bridge is a very cool rock formation that arches over top of the river creating a “natural bridge”.
Just above Natural Bridge
After Natural Bridge I made my way up to Emerald lake.
After visiting Emerald lake I started to make my way back to camp. On my way back I stopped in at Field. It is strange to see communities in a park but there are a few of them and this was probably the smallest one I saw.
Water tower in Field
Outside of the campground and behind Field the Kicking Horse river spreads out into a large flood plane. I was really hoping to see some animals on these plains but never did see any.
Kicking Horse flood plain
Just past the campground there is a place to that you can view two rivers joining before flowing down to the Kicking Horse river. It was a neat place to visit and did not see another soul.
Joining Rivers
Icy River
Tomorrow its time to head over to Lake Louise!
Tags: autumn, canadian rockies, emerald lake, fall, field bc, kicking horse, natural bridge, river, yoho national park
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MY first night was cold, I woke up to snow falling with a good dusting covering my tent and car. After putting on more sweaters I made my way down to the lake. The sunrise was not what I hoped for at all but it was still nice.
Cold Dawn at Lac Le Jueune
After packing up it was time to move onto where I was planning on going. I passed through Kamloops, then through Revelstoke and finally arrived at Loop Brook campground in Glacier National park.
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After setting up camp I went for a short hike near the campsite that passes by the remains of spiral trestles that allowed for trains to safely make it over the steep grades.
Remains of one of the spiral trestles
After dinner I decided I wanted to try and get a photo of a train crossing a bridge, after waiting for 45 minutes with no train and the lighting fading I decided to make it back to camp for the night.
Loop Brook
A semi passing by on the Trans Canada Highway
Tomorrow off to Yoho National park.
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You may or may not have noticed that I have not posted for a few weeks, the reason for this is I did a tour of the Canadian Rockies. I started in Victoria, BC and made it up to Jasper, AB before turning around and heading back to Victoria. This trip lasted about two weeks and was about 3000KM in length.
I left on October 1st and drove to Lac Le Jueune provincial park to spend the night. The park is located between Merit and Kamloops in the interior of British Columbia.
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Driving!
Camp for the night
After setting up camp and cooking a hot meal I went down to the lake shore to take in the evenings sunset. It had been raining most of the way to the campsite and the clouds from that where just starting to blow in.
Lac Le Jeune Sunset
Sunset over the Wharf at Lac Le Jeune Park
After packing as much as I could I bundled myself up for my first night. Little did I know how cold it was going to be and how much colder it would get!
Tags: camping, canadian rockies, Lac Le Jeune, Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park, lake, road trip, sunset
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