Icefields Parkway

We spent today driving the length of the Icefields Parkway, part of Banff's National Park.




We had been looking forward to seeing the snow tipped mountains mirrored in the glassy lakes for months before arriving in Canada. What we hadn't banked on was the weather being 18 degrees lower than normal for this time of year and the lakes still being frozen.




I'm not talking just a bit of slush on top, I'm talking over a metre of ice covering every inch of every lake in the area! It was quite an amazing sight to see actually. From ground level, it just looked like a big expanse of snow, possibly a field but from the summit of a mountain, looking down on what is obviously a lake which looks like the colour has been taken out on Photoshop.




Our first stop was Lake Louise. One of the most famous and picturesque lakes in the area. We walked as far as we could until we reached an area which had been blocked off by a previous avalanche. Every step provided another breathtaking view. We walked for over an hour in complete silence with only the squeaky crunch of the snow under our feet. We hoped to see some wildlife but there was no sign of anything at all - not even a foot print! We did see a couple of birds including a big ass crow the size of our dog!




At Bow lake, we walked right out onto the ice, right into the middle of the lake, on top of the thick ice, was about another metre of snow. Every now and then, the snow would give way underneath you and you'd completely lose one of your legs right down to your hip! We spotted more bear shaped foot prints but still no bears!




At Bow Summit, we looked down on Peyto Lake which was surrounded on all sides by black and white mountains and a perfect blue sky. The snow up there was really soft and very sinky - I had some fun trying to run as fast as I could, as far as I could without sinking. I didn't make it very far before I was flat on my face.




Lake is one of the most researched lake in Canada. Just recently, fragments of wood, over 3000 years old, were found deep in the glacial ice which shows that this glacier was once forest. So where parts of the world are melting at an alarming rate, this glacier is growing bigger.




Along the parkway were more amazing mountain vistas, there was one more lake we wanted to stop off at which is supposed to be a very common place to spot moose, deer and bear. We came to the sign, started to turn in and almost drove into a wall of ice! The lake was completely closed off, there was no sign of a way in and the sign was pointing at two metres of solid snow and ice.




Reluctantly, we gave up our nature search for the day and returned to out hotel. We only have one more day left in Banff so I really hope to see something with a pulse tomorrow!

Location:Icefields Parkway, Banff National Park, Canada

Ice, ice baby!

We've been on a mission today to spot a bear, or an elk, or a deer... even a mouse. Wildlife is what we're here for but so far we've not seen anything other than a bit of a blur as we whizz past on the highway.

The lady in tourist information said that the bears were awake, albeit a bit confused by the unusually cold weather for this time of year, and we were quite likely to see them up at Johnston's Canyon.




The roads up to the canyon were bad; it had snowed heavily in the night and the ploughs had not been out so we were pretty much driving on a sheet of glass. We managed to keep the car under control though and made it to our destination in one piece.




The ice on the footpaths was a foot and a half thick, a few inches above the bottom rung of the safety barrier. Paul slipped on one section, his legs went straight through the gap in the barrier - I though he was a goner but all those burgers we've been eating not only gave him a cushioned landing but also jammed him by the backside between the two bars. We put on crampons after that.




The gorge is older than the pyramids; carved out over thousands of years by the icy mountain water cascading over the rocks, carrying sharp pieces of stone and grit.



During the winter and well into the spring, all of the falls and most of the river itself freeze solid in rippling folds of blue and grey ice. Icicles metres long hang from the rocks, glittering when the sun shines just right.




During the freeze, a tree had been washed down the fall and been caught in time, protruding from the frozen fall, ready to continue its journey downstream when the ice melts.



You have probably guessed from my ramblings that we didn't cross paths with any bears or any other animals for that matter - we did spot some giant clawed footprints though on the ice just near an emerald pool.



After a four hour hike wearing crampons (it's really hard work walking in those things!), we were cold and very achy so we headed up to the thermal springs which have mountain views on each side. After fourth minutes in the hot 38 Celsius water, we felt almost human again... and very sleepy! So it's an early night for us tonight to give our aching bones chance tore over before doing it all over again tomorrow!

Location:Johnston's Canyon, Banff, Canada

Banff

In England, if your SatNav announced "in 173 miles, turn right", you'd let out a groan, aside from the possibility of driving off the end of the country, you'd be in for a very long and boring drive.




Not in Canada.




In a seven hour drive, 173 miles of it on the same road, we drove through torrential rain, hail, sleet, sunshine, low cloud, a blizzard. We saw lakes frozen solid, roadside toilets buried up to their roofs in snow, wild deer and two baby bears.




We even crossed time zones! That's something I've never done in a car before!




We arrived in Banff just as the light started to fade. It's a lovely, quaint little town; just a couple of streets lined with log fronted shops, restaurants and hotels. The sapphire night was lit by the the shop windows, soft white flakes the size of dollar coins were falling all around us and landing in our eye lashes - it felt like we were walking through the scene of an old fashioned Christmas card.

Location:Banff, Canada