Today, we left Jasper to Canmore, and we drove the whole way south using the Icefield Parkway. I wanted every time we came around to make this drive, as there are so many viewpoints! The road is scenic on the mountain and differents glaciers!
We did stop at first in Athabasca Falls, and we enjoyed a little walk to see the different viewpoints. The sound of the water is incredible, and it is going so fast!
For thousands of years, only small numbers of Aboriginal people crossed the mountain divide to hunt and trade. Later, fur traders followed their faint trails through Athabasca Pass, bypassing the falls.
The unnamed peaks attracted climbers and other explorers. These men and women recorded their adventures, spurring travelers from across North America and Europe to visit the area. Soon, visitors to Athabasca Falls began arriving by horseback. It became a favorite spot with the completion of the Icefield Parkway in 1940.
The Athabasca River links the Columbia Icefield’s freshwater ice to the salt water of the Arctic Ocean. The waters we saw there journey through Lake Athabasca, Great Slave Lake, and the Mackenzie River before spilling off the continent’s northern edge 6200 km away. After it leaves the protection of Jasper National Park, the Athabasca River gathers water from most of northern Alberta and flows past towns, farmlands, and industrial development.
Depending upon when you visit, the cold water of the Athabasca River can vary in color. In summer, swollen by water from melting glaciers, the Athabasca River runs milky white. Glacier meltwater is heavy with fine silt, the product of grinding down mountains for thousands of years. Known as rock flour, this silt remains suspended in the thumbing water. The different sizes of rock particles reflect different wavelengths, coloring the water gray or white. The glaciers remain frozen in other seasons, and the Athabasca is fed by run-off, rainwater, and snowmelt. Only the smallest of particles remain in the water. These microscopic bits of rock reflect the light spectrum’s green and blue parts painting the Athabasca River an icy blue.
We stopped at Sunwapta Falls, where the view looks like the same as the Athabasca Falls, but there is this sort of island just before the falls, and it is quite extraordinary that the water is getting around to fall 18 meters above! The Falls are feed by Athabasca Glacier.
We did make a stop and a little freezing walk on Athabasca Glacier. We wanted first to do the Glacier Skywalk and going directly on the Glacier, but this was closed this year due to the COVID. We tried to walk on the edge of the mountains to the Glacier Skyline, but the weather was very cloudy, so sometimes it wasn’t easy to see the mountains’ top. So we decided that it would be for another time! Going there is only a short walk, we could have walked directly on the Glacier, but we were freezing, and I was wearing some shorts and sandals, but I had a coat and gloves!!! Some people were even less covered than me!
We did make a stop at Bow Lake, and the water was so blue! Some people were jumping very fast in the water as it is freezing (the same temperature as yesterday in Lake Annette). Peyto Lake was still unaccessible as they are making some major renovation on the parking there (this one will be for another time)
We finally went to Lake Louise to see the lake unfrozen, and it is different than in winter! I don’t know what I prefer! A lot of people were there, but we found a parking spot quickly. They had installed all these unique ways on the short walk near the lake because of the COVID. As usual, a lot of people don’t respect that.
We finally made a stop in Morraine Lake! This view was on the Canadian $20 bills. The place is beautiful, but too many people for me!!!!
It was a not so long drive, but if you want to enjoy every place, it can take you almost 8 hours!!!
