More Canadian Rockies

Wilcox Pass

As we moved from Jasper to Lake Louise, we stopped to hike Wilcox Pass for a high view of the Athabasca Glacier and to discover some additional flower species.

     

Athabasca Glacier and Columbia Icefield                                             Tiny alpine gentian

Lake Louise

Fortunately we got a very early start and were able to park near the lake to begin our hike to the Plains of the Six Glaciers and the teahouse for a morning snack.

The parking area is regularly closed by late morning and the Chateau grounds are very crowded during the height of the summer season.

     

Lake Louise                                                                              Plain of the Six Glaciers

    

Butterworts                                                                    Cascading Twin Flowers

 Butterworts are a genus of carnivorous plants, like sundews and pitcher plants, that lure, trap and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they can obtain from the environment.

More Wildlife

Loon with chick on Emerald Lake

 Sunshine Village Ski Area

 Sunshine Meadows is on the Continental Divide in Banff National Park in Alberta and Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia. After riding a 3 mile long gondola for 25 minutes we arrived at an elevation of 7082 feet to begin our hiking through fields of wildflowers and around the three alpine lakes of Laryx, Grizzly and Rock Isle.

     

View from the top                                                                    Resting by Grizzly Lake

    

Walking through Sunshine Meadows

Time now for Joyce and Alan Breach to join their hiking group in Calgary so we are again traveling in our motorhome.

 

Moving West into British Columbia

By making an early start from Lake Louise we were able to arrive by midmorning in Glacier National Park (BC) and found a beautiful campsite in the park along a river at Illecillewaet Campground. We have found that if you do not arrive before early afternoon the park campgrounds are filled for that evening. This also allowed us to join the nature interpretive walk. From Brennan we learned about the dominate tree species in these mountains – cedar, fir and hemlock and the history of one of the earliest large hotels built in these mountains – the Glacier House.

 

Our nature guide Brennan

Following the Rock Garden Trail early the next morning we entered the wilderness heart of Glacier National Park scrambling among moss and lichen-covered boulder fields that date back to the last Ice Age.

    

Ice Age Rock Garden                                                                          Distant view

Moisture from the Pacific Ocean drops rain in summer and snow in winter nourishing the area forests of Western Red Cedar and Western Hemlock. These giant tress began as seedlings about the time of Columbus’ voyage to the Americas.

    

Giant Red Cedar                                                                             Giant Hemlock

In the early 1800’s fur trader David Thompson was the first man to follow the Columbia River its entire length from the interior of British Columbia to its Pacific Ocean mouth near Portland, Oregon.

    

Columbia River at Revelstoke                                             View atop Mt Revelstoke

 Sky to Sea Highway

Very hard to describe our travels through the coastal mountains of British Columbia. With many twists and turns, ups and downs and down shifts for the 10% to 18% grades, it took about 3 hours to travel from the very small town of Lillooet to Whistler, a distance of 85 miles. This also greatly reduced our usual daily miles per gallon fuel usage.  But the views around every turn were awesome – steep canyon drop-offs, rushing streams, snow capped peaks.

 

 Along the Sky to Sea Highway

 

Whistler Blackcomb Ski Area

 Even when we were skiing we had never made a trip to the massive ski area of Whistler Blackcomb, so a stop to explore these mountains was in order. A primary attraction in the summer is the Peak2Peak Gondola crossing between the peaks of Mt Whistler and Mt Blackcomb. This system of suspended gondolas is 2.7 miles long, travels at a speed of 25 ft per second and hangs 1427 feet above the valley floor. One gondola is loaded every 49 seconds.

    

20 plus passenger gondola                                                       Peak2Peak Gondola

 Part of our upper mountain tour was a walk across the newly constructed suspension bridge from Whistler Peak to the West Ridge Lookout, although the actual lookout is still under construction and closed. A chair lift does take you up to the peak and the start of the bridge.

     

Mountain top suspension bridge                                                          On the suspension bridge

 

Change in travel itinerary

Because of the very hot weather in the northwest we are changing our original travel plans and will board the ferry to Vancouver Island to tour there for a few days before returning to the US at Port Angeles, Washington.