Jasper and its surroundings
Spirit island, Jasper national park
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What to do in Jasper park and the area

I woke up the next day for a quite cold morning, actually my front window was covered with ice … Trying to gain some time I went to have breakfast in one of the recommended places, the Bear paw bakery. My plan for the day was 2-3 sites around Jasper: Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake.

The drive to Maligne Canyon is less than 15 minutes but when I reached the road, I noticed it was blocked ! There was no sign or anything so I didn't understand what's going on. I decided to head back to Jasper to buy some fuel. When I got to the road (to the canyon) once again, there was already a policeman standing there and he said "it's closed for a search" – sounds mysterious …

 

It kind of shuffled my plans but not a big deal. I went on towards Maligne lake and stopped in Medicine lake on the way there. It's a "strange" lake since it has no entry and exit points! In the past this made locals think this lake has special powers and that's the origin of the name. Later on, an explanation was found and it turns out the water goes through some holes and creeks to the river which flows beneath the ground (here's a better explanation). Another thing I saw there was a sign with all the "deer" types.

Maligne lake & Spirit island

I reached Maligne lake bought a boat ticket (67 CAD) and meanwhile did the short trail around the lake. The boat cruise is about an hour long and takes you to one of the more famous spots in the Rockies, "Spirit Island".

Of course the cruise is really nice and there's a guide on board who explains different things about the area. Eventually we reached the "island" and we had like 10 minutes to experience it. At that season it wasn't an island as it was connected to the mainland, but in other seasons it's an island so…

 

Spoiler alert – no one knows why it's called "spirit" though! But frankly, who cares? It's so beautiful! The colors are very nice and different from the colors in Lake Louise area.

ספיריט איילנד הרוקיז הקנדיים
Spirit island

On my way back Maligne Canyon was finally open! I started hiking in the canyon which was really nice, providing views on the river, nice vegetation, and nature all in all.

When I just about to leave the trail I saw a couple coming back my way saying the exit is currently closed by the police! Remember the thing from the morning? So even though the trail was open, now we, 30 people, were all trapped inside… We had to wait there for an hour!!

Just sitting there and waiting until they approve. Apparently there was some kind of search & rescue going on. Luckily for me, just in from me was a Swiss Mountain Dog puppy so I was relaxed 🙂 .

Maligne canyon
Maligne canyon

 My plan for the next day was to do some trail a little south of Jasper. I left the city and saw a couple of cars stopping by the road. Obviously I stopped as well, thinking/hoping to see a bear in the woods. I crossed the road and saw a few (female) elks so I was disappointed, like "come on, that's what you stopped for ?" but then! I noticed the male with the big impressive horns!!

I'm trying to get some photos with my small camera when next to me there are a few tripods with 800 mm lenses, which I couldn't resist to see how it looks over there, so I asked for permission and it is incredible!! (not sure I would carry it with me for the trip but just to look is cool 🙂 ). You can actually see the tip of the horn.

Athabasca falls & the Valley of 5 lakes

מפלי אטבסקה קנדה
Athabasca falls

 

My next stop was the Athabasca falls which are actually on the Icefields parkway but I didn't have time to visit them the other day. There's a short trail leading to the falls but on the way I saw a ranger holding an elk's horn. Turns out they grow a new one every year !

Now I was ready for my "daily" trail. It was the "Valley of five lakes". I reached the parking lot, ate a banana to get some energy and started walking. If up-to-now most hikes were well marked, this one was a bit problematic…

I mean there was a sign saying you should see 5 lakes but I walked and when I reached the starting point again I figured I saw only one… So I decided to go again, this time counter clockwise. You need to understand that along there are many little splits with no signs so you kind of need to guess where to go…

Going in the other direction did prove itself and I saw another 2 lakes! But what I noticed here was how quiet it was, I was alone in the woods and when I stopped there was no sound at all!

No tree squeaks, no birds, no water drops – nothing, that's some amazing feeling!! I remember I even stopped to voice record this "nothing" 🙂 . I kept on walking and it started raining, nothing serious but steady rain. I was equipped but since that moment it didn't stop for the next 3 hours or so!

 At one point I realized I'm not on the right way to return to where I started from but I was already too far out to go back and I guess I was feeling "adventurous" so kept walking knowing I will have to catch a ride back to where my car is parked.

I didn't stop walking for a second – not for a drink, not for a rest, nothing. Unlike most other trails this one was flat, and not too hard, so rest wasn't needed. Suddenly I see a small hawk sitting on a tree a few meters away from me. I thought it would fly but it stayed still so I had a good photo-opp.

I didn't really know where I was walking and then I saw a couple sitting on the trail. I checked up on them to make sure everything's alright and then I asked this great question: "Do you know how I can get to anywhere?".

The guy looked at me, surprised, so I explained my situation and the fact that I just need to get some road. He gave me the directions and really after about 1 kilometer I reached a road! Now I just need to get a ride, cause there's no way I'm walking all this distance on the road. Sure enough, after like 5 minutes, some car stopped and dropped me at my car! That was fantastic, I called it "karma" cause just a few days earlier I gave someone a ride, so I guess what goes around comes around.

ג'ספר קנדה
One of the 5 lakes

Patricia lake & Pyramid lake

Pyramid lake
Pyramid lake

Now I was headed towards Jasper and thought what else can I do today? It was about 4 pm, it was cloudy and I was a little tired from the long walk so didn't feel like starting another long walk. I opened a map I got from the visitor center and saw there are two small lakes 10 minutes out of town, Patricia lake and Pyramid lake.

 

So of course in order to reach them you need to drive in this very curvy nice road. The first lake, Patricia was nice but not so special and the second one was nicer and had a special feature to it, a small island connected by a bridge. And that was kind of it for Jasper, since the next day I had to start going back south.

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ערן ברימן - מטייל עם חיוך

נעים מאוד, אני ערן. נולדתי וגדלתי בת"א ואולי בגלל זה אני כל כך צמא לטבע ירוק וקריר. יצר ההרפתקנות שלי והמשיכה לבעלי חיים גדולים ו"חמודים" גורמים לי למתוח את הגבולות ולטייל למקומות קרים ורחוקים.

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