As usual, we did a lot of advance planning before we took off on this trip. Somehow we totally missed the write-up of Sunshine Meadows in our guide books. Luckily, I picked up a brochure at the ranger's desk in Banff that proclaimed Sunshine Meadows as the #1 Hike in Canada. We would put it at #2 for a hike, and our afternoon there would be rated #3 after the Plain of Six Glaciers and our day in Yoho National Park.
To reach Sunshine Meadows, you must take a bus up to the ski lodge. We figured that once you were up there, it would be a pleasant stroll through the meadows. Not so much. It was pleasant, but it was no stroll! There were several steep inclines, and the hike around the three lakes was much more extensive than we expected. Not only are the views stunning, but the wildflowers were amazing. No photo came even close to capturing how beautiful it was. I cut a piece of the map apart and used it in the spread. The hike actually passes through parts of both Alberta and British Columbia.
The photos on the left-hand side of the next page are of Moraine Lake, and on the right of the first hike we took as we drove up the Icefields Parkway from Lake Louise to Jasper.
The journaling says that we aren't typically "WOW" people, but that was the operative word as we drove the 145 miles from Lake Louise to Jasper.
Our Glacier Adventure Tour was one of the most touristy things we did on the trip, but one of the most fun thanks to Ness, our amazing and hilarious driver.
We spent four days in Jasper, one of them was actually the day of the Glacier Adventure since we drove back down the Icefields Parkway the next morning to catch the first tour.
I'm not sure how we found our accommodations at Pyramid Lake, but it was a stunning setting about five miles out of town. The hike through the Valley of Five Lakes wasn't on our list until a ranger at the Icefields Centre told us about it. We ended up hiking with a young couple from Edmonton, and had a really great morning despite the gloomy skies.
Really, my only disappointment on the whole trip was not getting to see Maligne Lake. We drove out there twice, and it was foggy and rainy both times. The weather in Jasper was truly fickle. At one point, it was raining in front of us, but when you looked in the rear view mirror, it was sunny behind us! After hiking the Moose Lake trail in the rain the last day of our time in the parks, we gave up and decided to head west on Route 16. We knew we were headed east to Edmonton on our way back to Calgary so we thought we take a drive in the other direction. Little did we know that we'd end up in Robson National Park with a good view of the tallest mountain in Canada.
I didn't have enough photos of our day in Edmonton or the last day in Calgary before heading back to Chicago, so I ended July right here. By the time we left Chicago, we were into August, and those pages will have to wait until we get home from the current trip! I don't think I'll have anywhere near this many photos from a trip in the near future. It was an amazing three weeks. We hiked nearly 75 miles, and saw nearly everything we hoped to see, but we'd be happy to return if the opportunity presented itself.
