Phil Mercer

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Western Canada (Part 5)

 

30/5/2007 - Radium Hot Springs
We are getting well practised at the camping thing. It's taken a while but the tent goes up and down quickly, we can light a fire and feed ourselves. Tonight should be the last under canvas. Tomorrow we drive to Calgary and to a friend of Gareth's for a couple of nights (we think!).

Its been a while since I've written anything, so here is a bit of a review:

The Drive from Prince Rupert through Prince George and on to Jasper was very very long. I'd seen the mileage written down and looked at the maps, but even six hours of driving is incredibly boring, that was a quick drive for us over the next couple of days. We did see some amazing sights. The wildlife list tick box has been filling up rapidly. We have seen Black Bears, Elk, various Deer, Ground Squirrels and a few things we aren't quite sure of.

After leaving Prince Rupert, we popped in to the Lava Bed National Park, which was a bit out of the way, but seemed to be one of the few locations worth looking at. It was very eerie and must have been a dramatic sight when it occurred a few thousand years ago. Lava flows covered a valley with its Mars like pumis. It reminded me of Iceland, but unlike there, in this park life had taken hold again. even on the bare lava flows you could see various lichen and mosses covered nearly everything. Alongside stood thick forest. We had hoped to do a little walking around the area, but it was all pretty much shut till July!

I have quickly learnt that something historic in Canada is rarely more than post war to the Brits. One place that was supposedly steeped in history was Hazelton. It was a bit on the dissapointing side. It had been around since the 1850's however most - if not all - the buildings had long since gone. Someone, in a moment of inspiration, had decided to re create the town in its original style in the 1950's... it all looked just a bit... rubbish really. However, right next door was the 'Ksan First Nationers museum, which included some great examples of Indian Long houses and totem poles. Much more interesting even closed, as it was when we visited. Further around the corner was a stunning gorge and suspension bridge... definitely worth a look. That night we stayed in Smithers. The first night we didn't have a booking for. We paid for that a little as the only motel with rooms was a little on the basic side. It was however out of the rain.

The next day found us really trying to put some distance on. We stopped for lunch in Prince George, which had a little museum and an okay place for lunch. The place is really just a transit stop it seems, very little atmosphere and didn't warrant more than an hour before pushing on to McBride.

McBride proudly calls itself a village. Which it truly is, another long street of Motels. However the scenery around it is great. It is the dividing valley between two mountain ranges. The Rockies to one side and the Columbians (### check the name) on the other. It is apparently good for ski-ing in the winter, but has little else the rest of the year. Still it actually had a slight feel of somewhere worth stopping. So we did.

From there it was a climb up in to the mountains past Mount Robson (stop for photos) and then on to Jasper. The scenery getting more and more impressive as we went. The day started with rain, but by the time we pulled in to our campsite it was a glorious day. We popped in to the visitor centre and grabbed some maps and advice and hired some Bear Spray!

That afternoon after setting up camp we did a short 8k hike along the Maligne canyon (you pronounce it like Marleen apparently!). Again the climb and the view were worth it. (Have a look at the pics!)

No sign of any bears, however we did have the company of three Elk by the tents. It was calving time, so apparently we should keep clear... every bit of wildlife comes with a warning here!

The next day we decided to try a full day hike from the Old Fort to the Five Lakes. Again, stunning scenery and a lot of effort. Very disappointing to look at the map and see how tiny the walk was compared to the scale of everything around. It was at least 20k though (my feet reckoned it to be at least 30k however!)

No sign of any bears, yet we did meet plenty of ground squirrels and Deer!

Yesterday was another one for a long drive. However it was stunning. Climbing up through the Icefield Parkway stopping every few kilometres to take in some more awe inspiring views. We walked up to the foot of the Athabasca glacier along a little bit of snow. Ate some appalling food at the Icefield Centre - no food at somewhere as touristy as that has ever tastes nice! We then made our way in to the Banff National Park and once again stopped every little way.

I'd never considered May to be a time of year for winter like troubles. A large number of walks and locations were still closed due to the snow though. This didn't stop us climbing through waist deep snow to get to the beautiful view at Bow Summit of Peyto Lake. A real fun struggle. I had my hiking boots, but the people heading up behind us had sandals on!!!

# posted by Phil @ 11:33 am

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