Maligne Canyon
Overnight rain meant that we slept well without the sound of screaming children. Just the cawing crows to get us into gear for an early morning (9am) cuppa.
Then we visited the Bears Paw Bakery for breakfast before tootling up to Maligne Canyon. A popular place on a Bank Holiday. Full of tourists like us, looking at the plentiful information boards, as well as coachloads of orientals who we assume are enjoying a long weekend away from Vancouver. Nowhere near as crowded as Joffre Lakes though.
It's a remarkable canyon, well worth the visit. There's not much water at the top, but the water draining from Medicine Lake, many miles upstream, 'springs' into the river as it descends the canyon. It must have been these lower reaches that a Belgian Jesuit missionary was trying to cross with his horse in 1846 when he named it 'Maligne' ('evil' or 'wicked' in French).
There are supposed to be fossils at the top of the canyon. We saw lots of these. Bipeds. There were also whirlpools, and all the usual features of a deep, over 50 metres in places, narrow gorge.
It was good to make contact with my daughter Kate during this walk, and we were pleased to hear that her first day in a new job went well, and that an 'Escape Room Blog Project' has been instigated.
We returned to camp for lunch in the shelter, as it had started to rain again. Then a planning session for the next few days, during which our contact with the outside world may be limited as we'll probably be on very basic campsites with no phone signal. It's possible that you may not hear from us until next weekend, and that postings may be erratic.
After a bit of exercise by the river we adjourned to Jasper for the last time, visiting the poshest laundry in the world, and the supermarket, to set us up with provisions and clean clothes for the next phase of the trip. Then pizzas at a rooftop pizza emporium with a '70s music tape, and great, clear views to the Queen Elizabeth range of mountains that we could only see as vague outlines until yesterday. What a difference the lack of smoke makes!
All in all a very satisfactory 'rest day'.
Today's pictures were taken in Jasper and in Maligne Canyon, the last one was from the pizzaria.
4 km on bimble in canyon with ~ 100 metres ascent, plus 4 km by the river in 20.45. Charlie had an easy day.
2 comments:
Just to let you know that Ken and I are loving the blog and fantastic pics. All the best for the rest of your trip. Love Helen
Terrific photos again Martin. As you say, the lack of smoke makes a difference.
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