Icefields

In addition to this day being full of incredible scenery including the very first glaciers I’ve ever set eyes on, there were a couple of lessons. One of those lessons may involve you, and in a different way it may be for you, and here ‘tis:

When you’re sightseeing and taking lots of pictures, you probably shouldn’t expect to depend on your memory for knowing which picture belongs to which fantastic natural scene. Going in to today, I expected wonderful and amazing things, but never dreamed of seeing SO MANY wonderful and amazing things. I really should have pinpointed a map, or jotted down notes after each picture I shot. Because now I have a bunch of really neat photos of incredible things … and am certain of the locations of only a handful of them.

IS the name important? Would not the image of the thing be just as captivating if the thing had no name? Well … no, not really and yes, absolutely. But I’d like to know, so if you check out the photos on this blog or in my Flickr collection and you know I’ve got something misidentified, please let me know. Thanks.

Woke up to clear weather, so back up to Banff National Park, with our eyes set on traveling Icefields Parkway. The entire parkway, stretching from Lake Louise up to Jasper, is about 150 miles long so we knew going on that we’d only be able to see a section, turn around and come back to Calgary. But based on the maps we’d picked up in Banff yesterday, just the first 50 miles or so would be an eyeful. And sure enough, it wasn’t all that long before we saw this scene, with just a hint of what was ahead.

And within about 15 minutes, this sight that is part of the Waputik Icefield.

Took in these wonderful sights:

And, along with a few others in the viewing area, got scolded by one of the area’s residents. Or maybe he was just soliciting handouts.

I zoomed in a little closer on this one glacier

And zoomed in closer, yet.

This was interesting and amusing. A photographer – obviously a serious photographer, judging from his use of a large format camera – using his smartphone camera.

A beautiful and serene setting on what I think must be Bow Lake.

And finally arriving at the landmark we’d spotted miles and miles ago, thanks to its red roof, Simpson’s Nu-Ti-Jah Lodge.

We decided to pause at this place, for a little picnic. After our light lunch, I went into the store to check things out. I will say that its gift shop offerings may just be the most brilliantly curated selection of souvenirs I’ve ever seen! And there was coffee, and sweet treats … mmmmm.

Came back outside to find that Henry had talked Sue into letting him play in the glacial waters of Bow Lake. He was happy and content – this is a great place for dog visitors – but you see how I’m dressed! And of course you can tell from all the snow that it’s COLD here.

A picture and a video of Bow Lake, and you can see Bow Glacier above it. When you first look at the picture, the glacier may look indistinguishable from the clouds. The video may help to see it more clearly.

Because it’s hard to get perspective on the sheer size of some of these glaciers – and keep in mind, they’re receding – I'm including a satellite view of Bow Glacier and Bow Lake. (Bow Lake you see close to upper right; the white stuff is Bow Glacier.) The little lake you see close to the middle of the map is Iceberg Lake, which within the last 50 or so years began to form as the glacier receded. There’s also a falls near Iceberg Lake. We didn’t realize it at the time, but it’s possible to hike up to that location – next time!

A couple more photos

Some wonderful coffee and elk chili from the lodge, and we’re on up the road.

Next stop was Peyto Lake. It takes a short hike along a well-maintained path to get to the overlook. We took a path from a car park, while off to our left and out of sight was another path from the tour bus park. Just as I reached the end of the path and had the overlook in my sight, a woman coming from the path to my left let out a bloodcurdling shriek! Then she turned around, called out something (in a language that I didn’t understand) to people coming up behind her, and started running – toward what???

This is what she saw:

Peyto Lake is the most incredible and completely unrealistic shade of blue! To see it for the first time is just that dramatic. I’ve since asked Google why Peyto Lake is so blue, and have copied an answer: “Silt is created when rock underneath the surface of the ice are grinding from the movement of the glacier. The rock flour is very light and stays suspended in the lake water for a long time. The sunlight that reflects off this rock flour is what gives the lake this spectacular turquoise color.”

My smartphone doesn’t “do” panoramic shots, so I took two more photos that, when added with the first, ensure that you can see the entire length of Peyto Lake. In the third shot, you can plainly see (to the left) that path taken by the receding glacier.

Sue and I were both blown away by the indescribable beauty of this scene. Knowing my camera could never capture its magnificence, I snapped a few shots, then thought to just sit in quiet contemplation, allowing my heart to record the beauty for me.

But "quiet" was not to come. There were simply too many people, and too much chatter; so much for contemplation! 

But as I began to listen to the chatter, I – at first reluctantly, I'll admit – realized that the chatter was all in reaction to the beautiful scene spread out before us. Asians, Middle-Easterners, Europeans, North Americans ... a babble of languages and dialects and accents ... And when they were unable to communicate by language, smiles and friendly gestures said what needed to be said. An offer to take a picture here, a helping hand there.

I was moved to tears.

One last look:

And back up the path (how can a path go “up” in both directions, I ask?) to the car and continuing up the road.

This pretty glacier, called Snowbird, caught my imagination.

We traveled as far as the Saskatchewan River Crossing, to look down into a valley and across to a mountain pass that was an important trade route for thousands of years. According to signage, strong winds and low moisture keep this valley almost snow-free, making food more easily available for elk, goats, wolves and other animals. And the pass is one of the lowest undeveloped passes along the Continental Divide, offering wildlife a relatively easy travel route between areas of habitat. But the trail to the pass is recommended only for the most experienced backcountry hikers, and the river itself – although it certainly appeared to me to be calm and meandering – should not be attempted by any except the most competent paddlers.

I’ve included one of the signs, written in three languages: English and French which are, of course, official languages of Canada, and the language of the Piikani.

Normally, I’m not a fan of graffiti. But I’ll give this one a pass because … me too.

After visiting the River Crossing, we turned back southward because we didn’t want to miss seeing Lake Louise. Met up with a local family out for a stroll:

Gave Snowbird another, closer, look:

Took a photo of Hector Lake. At least, I think it was Hector Lake. Oh well, it’s pretty no matter whose lake it is.

And made it out to Lake Louise, where Henry caused quite a stir with this handsome pose:

Lake Louise is very photogenic. That’s Victoria Glacier above it there, and I wish I were a better eavesdropper, so I could quote the park ranger who was explaining to a tour group about how deceptively distant Victoria is from Louise. I remember her saying that, when folks standing in this spot see something happening on the glacier, there’s quite a delay between the sight and the sound of the event! It looks so close, doesn’t it?

At Lake Louise we were still a couple of hours away from Calgary. Plenty of time to research where we’d take our evening meal, as it had been a while since that elk chili. Sue was hankerin’ for some sushi, so we chose an Asian Fusion restaurant in a pretty cool downtown neighborhood. Calgary seems like a nice, livable city as cities go.

But tomorrow we say goodbye to Calgary, because as wonderful as this trip has been, it can’t last forever.

But boy oh boy, the memory of today will last forever! (Even without having names for all the wondrous things we saw.)

More photos from the Forces of Nature Tour at Flickr.

Click here.