Link to the old/original blog post.
After the Via Ferrata – we were both pretty tired and sore, and we kept saying we would take an easy day to recover…but then there was just too much to see and do! Every day we said, “tomorrow, tomorrow we will take it easy” but we never did. The next day we drove to Lake Louise, stopping to do the Johnston Canyon hike and a few other small walks. The Johnston Canyon hike is supposed to be pretty amazing. I would call it “fair” compared to the other truly spectacular stuff to see. But, it was still worth seeing for sure.At Lake Louise, we hiked to the Lake Agnes teahouse and had lunch and tea before hiking back. This was a “short” 6+ mile hike, but it was tough. It was a constant climb up to the teahouse and then back down, with some sections covered in snow and ice for extra fun. Lake Agnes was still about 2/3 covered in ice and it was incredibly scenic as we sat in the teahouse having tea, soup and biscuits. It was a hard day on already sore and tired legs but another highlight of the trip. Oh, and we saw a black bear on the drive to Lake Louise – he was just chilling out eating dandelions on the side of the road.
The next day was a 12 hour long drive up the Icefields Parkway – known as one of the most scenic drives in the world. I agree. It is non-stop breathtaking and awe-inspiring views of mountains, glaciers, rivers, and waterfalls. We turned a 3 hour drive into 12 by stopping at many places to hike and experience everything. The most memorable are the waterfalls, the Mistaya canyon, and the glaciers. Oh, and don’t do the skywalk at the Columbia Icefield Discovery Center – it’s a total tourist trap and complete waste of time (in my opinion). But definitely stop and do the hike to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier – wear a good parka because the wind created by the glacier is fierce and icy! We rolled into the campground in Jasper at 10 pm. Even though it was late, we had a nice dinner for our last night together (on this leg of the trip), and got a tiny bit of sleep before getting up at 5am. During the drive we saw mountain goats, big horn sheep, elk, and a bald eagle. Alas, no grizzlies.
The next morning was tough, but we got up early so that we could see the Beaver Boardwalk in Hinton before Bastien caught the shuttle to the Edmonton Airport. We didn’t see any beavers, but the lodge and dam there was impressive! After I dropped Bastien off, I had another 4 hours of driving to reach my next stop, Grande Prairie. Once I got there, I snagged lunch and found a place to camp so that I could get some much needed REST. I was downright exhausted.
The past few days I have done all the same things a younger me would do…but this older version needs more rest between all these activities!!This morning I did the very short drive to MILE ZERO of the Alcan Highway, Dawson Creek, BC. I did see a beaver on the drive today, but it’s not really what I am looking for 🙂 I checked out the town with some pretty cool murals and spend the rest of the day doing some van maintenance and writing this blog post. Tomorrow I finally embark upon the true Alcan highway.
