Icefields Parkway on route to Banff: Athabasca Glacier, Peyto Lake, and saying goodbye to the mountains (Day 9)

We initially planned this trip as a way to celebrate both my 40th birthday and our 10th anniversary of being together.  This isn't the first time I've spent my birthday in another country, and that alone made it extra special.  Today we packed up and left Jasper early to make our way back to Calgary for our flight the next day.  We had earmarked a couple of spots that we wanted to stop at that we'd missed on the way up.  

There is so much beauty here, you really can't see everything.  Like anywhere that you travel, you can only ever hope to glimpse a small part of a place, peek through the window into another world.  You do what you can in the time that you have, never knowing if you'll make it back to that place, or if memories are all you'll ever have going forward.  

Mount Kerkeslin

After packing up the car and telling R we were going to "one more hotel" and then fly home, we set off fairly early for what we knew would be a very long drive.  He doesn't do well with long drives, even with short periodic stops to stretch his legs. He loves long, leisurely stops, where he can immerse himself in hiking or throwing rocks in the lake or chasing squirrels, so he was unhappy being thrown in the car so early in the morning. I sat in the back to try and keep him entertained.

Our first brief stop was the "Goats & Glaciers" stop (that's how it's signed), where you can view Mount Kerkeslin across the road.  We walked over to the lookout but didn't see any goats. This is the location where we had seen goats on the side of the road on our drive to Jasper, so we realized how lucky we were to have stumbled upon them that day!

J holding R over the 
quicksand pool so he
could poke it with a stick

Another brief stop was something that isn't marked on any of the maps of the Icefields Parkway, but that I actually found out about through geocaching.  It's a roadside stop with washroom facilities, and if you take the little trail to the left (if the highway is behind you), you will come upon a roped off area of real quicksand!  Having never seen this phenomenon in real life, we wanted to see what it looked like, so we walked the little trail, holding tight to R's hand.  The pool of quicksand was a strange muddy greenish colour, and there were bubbles of air coming through.  It was fascinating to look at, a neat little stop that is a great addition to your journey along the Parkway. If you want to read more about the quicksand at this location, check out the geocaching page about it.  The spot itself is located at N 52° 30.682, W 117° 33.953. 

Closeup of the bubbles in the quicksand

After that, we headed to the Athabasca Glacier, hoping to try the

Athabasca Glacier

"Toe of the Glacier" hike.  This is a relatively easy, 1.4km round trip that takes you fairly close to the Athabasca Glacier.  It is rocky, uphill, and windy, so we weren't sure how R would react to this kind of hike, but he happily hiked up to the viewpoint like a champ.  There was a small waterfall up there too, which made him happy as that's his favourite feature to hike to.  Not many people can say they've hiked to a glacier on their birthday, so that was definitely a fun experience. The terrain around here was very different than the other places we have hiked in the region.  R enjoyed the idea that he was hiking "up the mountain", and that's certainly what it felt like.  

Where the glacier was in 1982

I wonder what he'll remember of this trip, if anything at all.  Likely not the glacier, which is sad, as J and I commented to each other that this is probably the only time in his life he'll ever see one.  As you climb along the hike, there are periodic signs telling you where the glacier used to be in various years, and gives a chilling sense of how quickly they have been melting.  

This beautiful location is also very dangerous, as there are large sections close to the glacier with hidden crevasses. There were many signs and blocked off barriers for where it wasn't safe to walk, so we were shocked to see so many individuals walking nonchalantly way past the barrier.  People have died falling into the hidden cracks over the years, so it's astounding to me that anyone would put their safety at risk like that. I too wished I could get even closer, but at the same time was quiet content to remain a respectful and safe distance away.  If I ever go back, I would want to take one of these indigenous-led tours.  Have a look at this link, where they give you a very detailed and fascinating indigenous history and perspective of the glacier area. 

R and the Columbian Ground Squirrel

After that hike (in which R was uncooperative for the latter half as I had pointed out the tour bus on top of the glacier itself and he wanted to "wait" for the bus to come "pick him up" which obviously wasn't happening), we headed for a lunch stop at another day use area. This one had plenty of picnic tables spread out over a large area and was by a beautiful turquoise river, so it was the perfect spot.  There was a small area where R could go down and throw rocks into the fast moving river (with me no more than a few inches away from him), and he entertained himself by doing that, as well as making friends with one of the Columbian Ground Squirrels that hung out near our picnic table.  He was delighted by its disappearance into one hole and reappearance from another hole a few feet away, and kept watching to see where it would come out next. The area was the Coleman Flats day use area, and you can find the location on this map. 

For his nap, we drove back through the Big Bend hairpin switchback (which was more impressive on the way up but still incredible), and grabbed coffees at the Saskatchewan River Crossing.  We arrived at Peyto Lake just as R was waking up from his nap.  We parked in the lower parking lot (the upper one is for buses only, though personal vehicles can access it to drop off person's with mobility needs) and made the hike over to the Peyto viewpoint, which is a 1.3km round trip.  We had actually stopped here on the way up to Jasper, but R was not having anything that day (again, long drive = miserable child) so we weren't there very long and planned to come back and enjoy it better. 

R & his "hiking sticks"

I was prepared with the promise of a "big" chocolate (Ferrero Rocher) if he complied with taking a family photo (he has developed an aversion to having his photos taken - especially here, where you sometimes have to line up to take photos at the most popular spots - I don't blame him), so he happily came along and we got our obligatory family photo with the gorgeous lake in the background.  The colour is so strikingly a piercing blue because you are viewing it from so high up, so the light goes through the rock flour particles in a different way than when you view some of the other lakes at shore level.

The real beauty here, though, is at the much lesser known "Panorama" viewpoint.  Even though this trail is listed on All Trails, it is surprisingly not very frequented.  If you're lucky enough to have someone drop you off at the accessible parking lot, it's a very short walk from there, but if you're coming from the main parking lot it's a 2.4 km round trip - though it's not actually that far from the main viewpoint itself. 

Peyto Lake - Panorama viewpoint

The trail is quite confusing and not well marked, and as you'll see from the All Trails map there are a myriad of intersecting paths in the woods that you could potentially get lost on, but I managed to direct us the right way (again, geocaching to the rescue - there happens to be a "virtual" cache there, so I was able to use the pre-downloaded offline maps of the area, which show you the full trail system, and then follow it on my phone as we hiked to make sure we were taking the right turns).  It takes you through the woods and then along a ridge high above the valley, and eventually you will start spying Peyto Lake again through the trees. The real magic is at the end of the trail though, so keep going until you reach the rocky outcrop.  There was only one other couple here (compared to the 50+ people present at the main lookout), and it was quiet and peaceful, with a very light wind blowing.  The large rocky outcrop is perfect to sit and have a quiet picnic away from the crowds, but all we had time for was a quick few minutes to look out at the lake and admire its striking beauty in silence.

This stunning wilderness; how do you take it in?  The endless Rocky Mountains on all sides - I understand why people have fallen in love with the Canadian Rockies now.  There is something different about them than other mountains we have seen in the world (New Zealand, Iceland, Portugal).  They become a part of you, something you alternate between marveling at and simply taking for granted as being part of the backdrop.  Even R noticed their presence, and their absence, when he looked out the window in the hotel when we finally got to Calgary; "where mountains go?"

As we drove out of Banff for the final time, we watched the mountain ranges slowly thin out, decrease in height, and eventually disappear all together as we approached Calgary.  The end of a trip is always sad.  When you leave such a spectacular landscape, it comes with its own particular flavour of sadness.  All the photos in the world do not replace that visceral experience of being immersed in a place.  Saying "goodbye" to a place, to an experience, is a strange concept, but R didn't find it strange at all as I suggested we wave goodbye to the mountains.

We'll see them again, I'm sure.  We are so lucky that Canada is so vast, so beautiful, and so accessible.  I can't believe I've lived here 40 years and this was my first trip out west. It definitely won't be the last.

Goodbye Rockies. Until we meet again.