Wednesday 25th September
We got up late and had our peaches and coffee for breakfast.
I went for a short walk outside to test the weather and saw a female elk and her calf grazing nonchalantly on the grass within the hotel complex.
Then MAC loaded the GyPSy App which gives tours using the cell phone and the GPS connection in the Jasper area. The app gives directions and a commentary of the local sights with even some recommendations for stopping places to eat. This took us a short distance to Old Fort Point right by Lake Beaulac. From the parking place you could see the grand Jasper Lodge across the lake. Climbing up some 87 steps there was a viewpoint which gave a sight of the Athabasca River flowing around the bend and on northwards.
Leaving here the tour took us to various other sites including Maligne Canyon a beautiful area over looking the enormous canyon. The Maligne Canyon holds the Maligne River and lake. It was given its name by a Belgian priest who found it difficult to cross!! Through the canyon the Maligne River runs in a deep gorge which is spanned by some man-made bridges giving a view way down into the torrent below.
At the entrance to the Canyon park there is a restaurant called the Maligne Canyon BBQ Restaurant and we stopped there for lunch of brisket and pulled pork sandwiches. There is also a very nice gift shop.
From there we drove to Patricia Lake and Pyramid Lake and walked across to Pyramid Island over a wooden bridge. This gave us great vies of the surrounding mountains including Mount Edith Clavell. After this we drove back into town for a coffee and pastry at the Bear Paw Bakery, which is obviously one of the more popular spots in the small town. We also walked down Patricia Street and Connaught Street and checked out the shops and the Information Center.
As the weather was not too bad we decided it would be a good time to go up to the Jasper Sky Tram which takes you up Whistler Mountain. We drove up to the base, bought tickets and were soon on the Sky Tram and being given a good commentary by a young Australian (of which there are many working in the locality), about the surroundings. He explained that the fir trees which are very thick at the base of the mountain are planted too close together and this deters the wildlife from living there. It has also encouraged infestation by a beetle which eventually kills the trees thus many of the trees have brown patches which indicate that the beetle has got into the bark and the tree is doomed. This will mean that over future years the mountainside will be denuded and there will have to be new growth. Although this desk to be a disaster, it is, in fact nature erasing man’s mistakes in over-planting. It will also give the wildlife space to graze in the woodland instead of encroaching on the areas developed by man. Our guide also pointed out a famous golf course where many dandelions grow. These are much sought-after fare by bears who get ‘drunk’ on them and then go to sleep on the course, necessitating the ‘authorities‘ to come and wake them up and chase them off the course. By the time we made it up to the top, the temperature was 0 deg C and there was quite a wind. The opportunity was there to go further up on a path but as it was snowing lightly and quite cold, we decided to take in the view and then descend back down again. The view is indeed magnificent but some of the mountains were obscured by mist and fog.
At the bottom we awaited the arrival of Matricia Bauer who is from the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation one of the indigenous tribes in the area. She was to give a Fireside Chat with information about the ‘First Peoples’ as the Canadian indigenous people are known. She arrived and erected a tent to cover us from the occasional rain and also lit a gas fire to keep us warm. She told us stories about the ‘skypeople’ who are the tribes equivalent of our deities, of her spirit animal, the eagle and how spirit animals were selected, how some omens such as the sighting of birds or other animals can foretell the future. She lit bundles of sweet grass, sage, lavender and cedar which area used a medicines by the tribe. She also explained about the essential truths and other rules and teachings by which the tribe lives and how she and others interact with ‘elders’. The role of the antecedents and also the children both born and to come play a role in the way life is lived. She told us about totems and what they represent and that their lifespan is not meant to be long. She talked about the beliefs and the life of the First Peoples and how things have got better but are still very hard for them. There is a lot of youth suicide, alcoholism, unemployment and despair. The Canadian Government are trying to help but there is still much work to be done. The main bone of contention is the land which is not in the possession of the tries. Even the reservations are owned by H.M. Queen Elizabeth. The talk was fascinating and I will write more about this subject later.
It got quite cold so after the talk we drove back to the hotel for dinner. The we retired to the cabin and MAC lit a fire and we ate the cheeseboard which she had ordered. Then it was off to bed.
I went for a short walk outside to test the weather and saw a female elk and her calf grazing nonchalantly on the grass within the hotel complex.
Then MAC loaded the GyPSy App which gives tours using the cell phone and the GPS connection in the Jasper area. The app gives directions and a commentary of the local sights with even some recommendations for stopping places to eat. This took us a short distance to Old Fort Point right by Lake Beaulac. From the parking place you could see the grand Jasper Lodge across the lake. Climbing up some 87 steps there was a viewpoint which gave a sight of the Athabasca River flowing around the bend and on northwards.
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| Lake Beaulac |
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| Crystal clear water |
 |
| Jasper Lodge Hotel |
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| Views of the Athabasca River from Old Fort Point. |
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| The Maligne River and Canyon. |
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| One explanation for the naming of the river!! |
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| The Maligne Canyon Restaurant with outdoor firepit on the terrace. |
As the weather was not too bad we decided it would be a good time to go up to the Jasper Sky Tram which takes you up Whistler Mountain. We drove up to the base, bought tickets and were soon on the Sky Tram and being given a good commentary by a young Australian (of which there are many working in the locality), about the surroundings. He explained that the fir trees which are very thick at the base of the mountain are planted too close together and this deters the wildlife from living there. It has also encouraged infestation by a beetle which eventually kills the trees thus many of the trees have brown patches which indicate that the beetle has got into the bark and the tree is doomed. This will mean that over future years the mountainside will be denuded and there will have to be new growth. Although this desk to be a disaster, it is, in fact nature erasing man’s mistakes in over-planting. It will also give the wildlife space to graze in the woodland instead of encroaching on the areas developed by man. Our guide also pointed out a famous golf course where many dandelions grow. These are much sought-after fare by bears who get ‘drunk’ on them and then go to sleep on the course, necessitating the ‘authorities‘ to come and wake them up and chase them off the course. By the time we made it up to the top, the temperature was 0 deg C and there was quite a wind. The opportunity was there to go further up on a path but as it was snowing lightly and quite cold, we decided to take in the view and then descend back down again. The view is indeed magnificent but some of the mountains were obscured by mist and fog.
At the bottom we awaited the arrival of Matricia Bauer who is from the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation one of the indigenous tribes in the area. She was to give a Fireside Chat with information about the ‘First Peoples’ as the Canadian indigenous people are known. She arrived and erected a tent to cover us from the occasional rain and also lit a gas fire to keep us warm. She told us stories about the ‘skypeople’ who are the tribes equivalent of our deities, of her spirit animal, the eagle and how spirit animals were selected, how some omens such as the sighting of birds or other animals can foretell the future. She lit bundles of sweet grass, sage, lavender and cedar which area used a medicines by the tribe. She also explained about the essential truths and other rules and teachings by which the tribe lives and how she and others interact with ‘elders’. The role of the antecedents and also the children both born and to come play a role in the way life is lived. She told us about totems and what they represent and that their lifespan is not meant to be long. She talked about the beliefs and the life of the First Peoples and how things have got better but are still very hard for them. There is a lot of youth suicide, alcoholism, unemployment and despair. The Canadian Government are trying to help but there is still much work to be done. The main bone of contention is the land which is not in the possession of the tries. Even the reservations are owned by H.M. Queen Elizabeth. The talk was fascinating and I will write more about this subject later.
It got quite cold so after the talk we drove back to the hotel for dinner. The we retired to the cabin and MAC lit a fire and we ate the cheeseboard which she had ordered. Then it was off to bed.
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