Day 11 - Monday (8/1)

On Monday we left our campground in Banff and headed north on the Ice Fields Parkway on our way to Jasper. We planned to see a few sights along the way with our major stop of the day at the Athabasca Glacier, part of the Columbia Ice Fields. We first stopped at Peyto Lake for a short hike to an overlook. The lake was a gorgeous blue color and we had a great view from high above it. We then continued on to the Athabasca to catch our tour at 11:00am. We signed up for a hiking tour of the glacier. The tour was given by a local back county ski and hiking guide. Visitors are not allowed to enter onto the glacier surface unless they are guided. This hike was surely one of the highlights of the trip. The guide did a great job and we were able to hike around on the surface for many miles, viewing the large crevasses, flowing streams and other features. There is also a nice visitor center at the glacier that was very educational, explaining lots of details about glaciers and the Athabasca. It’s a bit depressing to see how much the glacier has receded over the years. I’d definitely go see it if you have the opportunity. It’s the most accessible glacier in North America. Many people don’t venture past Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies but we did and it was clearly the right decision. After the glacier, we stopped at Mistaya Canyon to view the rushing river and waterfalls. We spotted another bear, one of many that we’d see in the coming days in Jasper National Park. We then drove up to Jasper and checked in at Wapiti Campground, just outside the town of Jasper, for the night.