The Icefields Parkway - the most memorable sights of the holiday

The idea was we would come to Banff and have a few days here to rest and reflect on the holiday to date before heading west to the holiday's completion. 

It is typical of us that one of our 'rest' days became the day we spent 15 hours out of the hotel - making it the longest day of the holiday in time terms and the third longest in distance. 

But wow it was worth it, as we got to see the Columbia Icefields and its surrounding terrain along with the amazing opportunity to walk on a glacier.

Haydn on the Athabasca Glacier

Breakfast 

As has become usual the last few days I work at 4.00am and got up. With a poor upload speed here at the hotel I couldn't load any photos, but I began drafting blog posts from the last few days. Drew woke at 5:00am and I used the Keurig machine to make coffee.

We shower, shaved etc. and went down to breakfast at its start time of 7:00am. This is the first hotel since Marblehead where breakfast is served on china plates, with glass glasses, china mugs and metal knives and forks. It is a small difference, but we enjoy it a lot. 

As it was Friday I had scrambled egg on toast, Drew enjoyed telling me how nice the sausage and crispy bacon were and he then had breakfast dessert of two  pancakes and maple syrup. 

Our Friday Breakfast - Eggs for me, eggs, sausage and bacon for Drew

Icefields Parkway

At the beginning of the holiday I had five key objectives. The primary one to make it to all 10 provinces of Canada, which we completed on Wednesday. Then four others which were on my 'wish list': to visit the Athabasca Glacier; to travel on a 'Snocoach' to the glacier; to see wonderful lakes and falls; and to visit Abbotsford. Today I managed three of these four, more about Abbotsford when we get there on Monday. 

Encouragement

As soon as I mentioned I was travelling to this part of Canada lots of my Facebook friends; Kath, Malcolm and Julie for example; began to tell me that if I did nothing more I should travel along the Icefields Parkway. I'm so glad that they did.

GyPSy Guide

In preparing for a visit to the AB93 north, the amazing Icefields Parkway, from Lake Louise to Jasper I wondered how best not to miss the key sites. While Drew's Rough Guide is with us, I wanted something more up to date. So when browsing the Icefields Parkway website last night I found a link to the GyPSy Guide Driving Tour App for the Icefields Parkway. The app, designed to be used when there is no mobile coverage (like the Icefields Parkway, but also like us with roaming turned off) this uses GPS locations to work. It was £3.69 on the Google Play Store, and as I bought a new phone earlier in the year, and used Google Pay five times in the first month I have a £10 vochure on the Play store that I thought I might never use. Well I now have £6.31 left. Let me tell you it was worth every penny.

Throughout the journey, at relevant points, the voice begins to tell you about the place where you are, with real insights into the characters who travelled and lived here as well as the geology of the palace. It explains what you can see on the road and the best places to stop. It was so much richer, and more timely than reading a guide book would have been. If you ever come this way I would strongly recommend it. It is a large app, so I made sure to download it in the hotel the night before our trip.

Heading North

Having reviewed the journey we decided to travel up to Jasper only stopping at places on the right and then stopping at places on the left on the return journey, thus avoiding driving across oncoming traffic. This seemed to work well.

The northward route was as follows:

Banff to Jasper along the Icefields Parkway (AB93)

So we left the hotel at 7:45am, went across the road to the Shell Garage and filled up for the journey then at 7:50 hit the road. The route provided amazing views almost from the beginning. 

The route begins by a 46 mile route north along the AB1 - our old friend the Trans-Canada highway - as it travels up the magnificent Bow Valley towards Lake Louise. The Bow Valley provides lovely views, but nothing like those which are to come. Just after Lake Louise we turn right and joining the AB93 - The Icefields Parkway. At this early stage our guide, the app, tells us about the geology of the area including how the rocks were formed by sediment at the bottom of a shallow warm see when this land was close to the equator, as the continental plates began to move, the Pacific plate and the North American plate began to collide forcing the sedimentary rock up into the air as the collision took place. So the Rockies are a factor of plate tectonics, and not of volcanic activity. This is unlike the mountains West of here which have a combination of both collision and volcanic activity, and therefore have a very different geology.

Saskatchewan Crossing

At 9:15am we came to our first stop the Saskatchewan River Crossing. The crossing is where three rivers meet; the North Saskatchewan, the Howse and the Mistaya and there are some great photo opportunities here.

View from the Saskatchewan River Crossing

As we had travelled North so the smoke, which is dense in Banff, was less of an issue. It was still there in the background, but now we could see the as mountains much more clearly. The stop, for the washrooms, at Saskatchewan River Crossing is also memorable for a contretemps between me and a Raven. The raven was eating a small dead animal in one of the parking slots. I'd assumed if I drove in the Raven would leave its food and let me park. Well, the Raven and I played chicken and he won! So I left him to his food and parked somewhere else.

Raven - 1; Haydn - 0

The Columbia Icefield Centre

Our next stop was at the Columbia Icefield Centre where we arrived at 10:10am. The centre gives some great views of the Athabasca Glacier and the Icefield, but it also is the palce where we could book our glacier tour. So we booked the tour for us both and in the 50 minutes before the tour left we went up to the Cafe and both had a coffee. 

View from the Icefields Centre

Another View from the Icefields Centre

The Athabasca Glacier

At 11.15 we left the Centre for our trip up the glacier. We began by travelling on a normal coach though an old forest. Here the Spruce and Birch trees are 300 years old but don't look like old trees as they only have a very short growing period and are therefore smaller, but longer living, than their equivalent elsewhere. The trees are pelted by the winds and small rubble from the glacier, so many of them have odd shapes with  one-sided tree growth. 

The guide, the human one on the trip, not the app, tells us that the terminal moraine was across the road at the same place as the centre in 1844. The glacier has withdrawn significantly since then to the current level. 

The Athabasca Glacier is 5km long 1km wide but it continues to withdraw at 60 feet a year. So in 100 years it will all be gone. It is currently 900ft deep and like all glaciers moves at about 2cm per day. 

The coach took us to the 'Snocoach' station where our French driver David began the journey with lots of tales of the glacier. 

So we were there, we got off the 'Snocoach' and began our walk up the glacier. This was a wonderful experience which filled me with awe at the immensity of nature. All the photos are on Flickr, I can only share a few of them here. 

The water runs alongside the Glacier

That's ICE

It would be a bit steep to slide

That water is somewhat cold!!!

I'm so glad I made the effort to come here and thank all my friends who prompted me to do so. With fresh water, fresh air and loads and loads of ice it is a truly remarkable place in which silence and experience speak more than many, many words. 

As we returned the guide told us about Mount Snow Dome, which has its own glacier. This point has water which flows along a triple continental divide (a hydrological apex if you prefer). So the rain that falls here travels to three; the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic.

Sky Walk

The ticket to the Glacier also covers you for a trip to the recently built Sky Walk (tickets for the Sky Walk only are also available). So the coach took us from the Glacier to the Sky Walk. 

Parks Canada provide free audio guides for the Sky Walk, but also a number of human guides. So Drew and I, along with three people from Nova Scotia, join Guide Calvin on his tour. Calvin, who is also from Nova Scotia, has a geology degree, which is perfect for a role like this.  

Calvin with his geology exhibit

Calvin notes that the Icefield, the top of which can be seen from here is 100 meters deep, as it spreads across the tops of the mountains.

From the Sky Walk the views up to the mountains, and down to the Athabasca and Dome Rivers below are truly amazing. What pleasure there is in such wonderful views. 

From the Sky Walk

Looking down the valley from the SkyWalk

We get to the piece of the Sky Walk that juts out of the Mountain and I walk along it following Calvin. Drew decides to take, what Calvin calls the 'Chicken Run' as he doesn't like looking down. As he says: "It is not the height that scares me, but the drop". Today one of out Nova Scotian friends added, and its not the drop that is the worse, but the splat sound as you hit the bottom!!

Haydn on the SkyWalk

It's a long way down

Again, all I can say is go over the Flickr and look at those photos.

There is a regular coach service back to the Icefields Centre, so we got one back and then picked up our car for our onward trip North. We left the centre at 1:50pm after 3.5 hours of pleasure. 

On to Jasper

While the Columbia Icefield marks the divide between Banff and Jasper National Parks the road continues to be as glorious in the northern park as it was in the southern one.

Our route to Jasper has no further stops, but lots of views of the amazing landscape, and some wildlife. We only saw sheep and goats, but bears and elk are not uncommon here, it was just not our day to see them. The app continued to tell us stories of the area and point out various sights.

Jasper is a far less touristy town than Banff, with a more lived in feel. We parked near the Railway Station at 3:40pm and walked to Tim Hortons in the town for our coffee and snack. A bagel for me and a Cinnamon Roll for Drew.

Bagel and Cinnamon Roll

Starting the journey back to Banff

The return journey saw us following the same route in reverse, but there are more pull over spots on the right side as you go back down to Banff than there are on the way up. This was our route:

The way back to Banff - The Icefields Parkway (AB93)

We pulled over and stopped at:

Athabasca Falls with its rich wash over the rocks and fast fall.

Athabasca Falls

Sunwapta Falls with a smaller falls, but a very pretty environment, what the app calls, the connoisseurs' falls.

Sunwapta Falls

Stutfield Glacier Viewpoint which allows us to photograph the Stutfield Glacier above and the river below.

Stutfield Glacier

Bow Summit, where we made the two kilometre walk up the steep track which gives a wonderful view of Payto Lake, but is much steeper than expected, good for the cardiovascular system I am sure.  

Payto Lake from Bow Summit with the smoke in evidence

Bow Summit sign, perhaps we ought to have read about the steepness before not after?

Then down to Bow Lake, an iconic image I've seen on lots of Canada brochures/leaflets. While the smoke made our photos less crystal clear than some, it gave an ethereal quality that the soon to be setting sun set off so well.

Bow Lake at Sunset

Back to Banff 

We left Bow Lake at 7:45pm and headed back to Banff where we arrived at 8:45pm. We parked the Car in the underground Car Park at the Best Western, Banff and headed into town for our Dinner.

Dinner 

One of my oldest friends, Brian Smith, travelled here with his late wife Jeanne some years ago. Knowing my love for food he had recommended we try Magpie and Stump, a Mexican Restaurant, which they had loved on their visit. I'm glad to tell you Brian that this was a big success. 

A twelve minute walk from the hotel to the restaurant put my step count over the 11k, even though most of the day had been spent in the car.

I opted for a Mucho Bowl for starters. This was rice, refried beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole, cilantro, cheese with four corn tortillas and a spicy salsa. A perfect meal for a Friday when meat is not an option for me as a Catholic. It was rich with flavours and got my mouth watering, which is always a good sign.

Mucho good in the Mucho Bowl

Drew went for a Gringo Salad which was watermelon, toasted pumpkin seeds, cheese, pickled onions, greens, cucumber, mango jalapeño dressing. He really enjoyed it and thought the mix of sweet mango with spicy jalapeño set the salad apart from the more traditional salad

Gringo Salad

For Mains, again focused on vegetarian food I had a Chilli Rellenos - the two peppers were roasted stuffed with cheese, green rice and coriander (called cilantro here). In an unexpected turn (for me who have never had them served this way) they were then battered, deep fried and covered in salsa verde and salsa roja. The batter isn't something I've ever had on rellenos before and the crispy texture isn't quite the same as the crunch of the peppers I normally experience. Still I'm not scared of something new, and I eat all of it, feeling very satisfied at the end.

Chilli Rellenos - nice large peppers

Drew went for Chorizo Burger, which as the name implies is a Chorizo patty served in a bun with lettuce, pico de gallo, jack cheese, garlic chipotle aioli and pickled jalapeños all served with fries. He loved it.

Chorizo Burger

Julie from Perth, who served us, asked if we are sure we both wanted appetisers as they are huge and we could share one. We weren't convinced by the idea, and two courses were perfect for us (but might be a bit much for people who eat less than us.) 

After the two courses Drew still had room for a Key Lime Pie dessert which was served in a glass and served with cream. Drew made an effort to eat lots of Key Lime pies last year, as it is a Florida favourite, and he felt this one was up there among the best of those he has eaten. 

Key Lime Pie in a Glass with whipped cream

Day's End

Having arrived at Magpie and Stump's at 9pm we leave at 10.30pm and are back at the hotel at 10:45pm after a wonderful, but tiring 15 hour day when we covered 361 miles in the car. 

I know this is a day that will live for a long time in both of our memories. When someone asks what was most special about Canada I'm sure standing on a Glacier will be the first thing that comes to mind.