Canadian Rockies 2016

Southwest Alberta and Southeast British Columbia

Thursday July 7 through Monday July 18

We flew from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Houston, Texas (Intercontinental Airport) to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Thursday, July 7. This was my first visit to Alberta and British Columbia in almost exactly 39 years (I was there, in roughly the same area, with my parents from July 8 through 11, 1977). We drove from Edmonton to Calgary, then visited Banff, Kootenay, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks over the course of about a week and a half. It rained almost every day, but we still managed to do a lot of hiking. We just had to carry umbrellas and hike through mud and puddles. On the last day, we visited the Edmonton, Alberta office of Environment Canada, and got a guided tour of the weather office there.

In the notes below, "(Jasper NP)" refers to Jasper National Park, Alberta. Visiting Jasper National Park was the primary motivation for this trip.

My Garmin Oregon 600 did the majority of the higher-quality tracking, and its tracks are presented here.

Unless specified otherwise, GPX tracks are unedited (beyond trimming extraneous points at ends of track).

Businesses are named below for reference only. No endorsement should be inferred. If you wish to see my opinion of the places mentioned, see TripAdvisor (for those that I have actually rated).

Overview

Overview map—This is a composite map of all the GPS tracks on a blank U.S. + Canada states/provinces map, with the state and provinces we visited highlighted in yellow. (Close-up of Alberta and British Columbia)
All GPS tracks / view map—The whole trip, including hikes, driving, etc. May take a few seconds to load the track overlay.

Thursday, July 7

GPX / view map—KOKC to KIAH (Will Rogers World Airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport), our flight from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Houston, Texas.
GPX / view map—(Most of) Our meanderings at the Houston airport.
GPX / view map—KIAH to CYEG (George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Edmonton International Airport), our flight from Houston, Texas to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
GPX / view map—Driving from the airport to the (Hampton Inn Edmonton South) hotel in Edmonton, Alberta. Missing first part of track.

Friday, July 8

GPX / view map—Driving from our hotel in Edmonton to an electronics store in Calgary (to buy an additional media card for my camera!).
GPX / view map—Continuing (driving) from Calgary, through Banff, to Johnston Creek in Banff National Park, Alberta.
GPX / view map—We hiked up Johnston Creek (Banff National Park, Alberta) to the Lower Falls and to another waterfall upstream (not quite to Upper Falls)...and back.
GPX / view map—Driving from Johnston Creek to our motel (Crystal Springs) in Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia.
GPX / view map—Driving around Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia in search of a restaurant for dinner. We settled on The Old Salzburg, an Austrian-style restaurant.
GPX / view map—Driving back to the motel from the restaurant, plus a small amount of exploring (and a stop at an ice cream place near the restaurant.

Saturday, July 9

GPX / view map—Driving from the motel in Radium Hot Springs to the Paint Pots in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia. Also included is a stop at the information center in Radium Hot Springs, and a pullout along the Vermilion River (at about the 2/3 point).
GPX / view map—Hiking in the Ochre Beds and Paint Pots area of Kootenay National Park, British Columbia.
GPX / view map—Driving from the Paint Pots area to the Marble Canyon area in Kootenay N. P., B. C.
GPX / view map—Hiking in the Marble Canyon area of Kootenay N. P., B. C.
GPX / view map—Driving from near Marble Canyon to Rockies Pizza (dinner) in Radium Hot Springs, B. C.
GPX / view map—Driving from restaurant to motel in Radium Hot Springs, B. C.

Sunday, July 10

GPX / view map—Driving from Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia (motel) to the parking lot for Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park, B. C.
GPX / view map—Hiking (clockwise) around Emerald Lake in Yoho N. P., B. C.
GPX / view map—Driving from Emerald Lake to dinner at Truffle Pigs Bistro in Fields, B. C.
(Unavailable)—Driving from the restaurant in Fields to the Lower Spiral Tunnel Scenic Viewpoint nearby. No usable GPS tracks were obtained here.
GPX / view map—A very short walk at the Lower Spiral Tunnel Scenic Viewpoint in Yoho N. P., B. C.
GPX / view map—Driving from the Spiral Tunnel viewpoint to Takakkaw Falls in Yoho N. P., B. C.
GPX / view map—Hiking up to near the base of Takakkaw Falls and back, Yoho N. P., B. C.
GPX / view map—Driving from Takakkaw Falls back to our motel in Radium Hot Springs, B. C.

Monday, July 11

GPX / view map—Driving from the motel in Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia to Sunwapta Falls Rocky Mountain Lodge near...Sunwapta Falls, in Jasper NP, Alberta. We also took a spur into the village of Lake Louise, Alberta, where we attempted (unsuccessfully) to find a place to park near Moraine Lake. Finding it (and everything else in Lake Louise) full, we opted to head for the lodge and return the next morning to Lake Louise. We also stopped at Saskatchewan River Crossing, in Alberta (at the only highway intersection between Lake Louise and Sunwapta Falls) for supplies.
GPX / view map—Driving the very short distance from the lodge to the falls (Sunwapta Falls).
GPX / view map—Hiking to the upper falls, then on to the lower falls on the Sunwapta River, Jasper NP. We didn't anticipate hiking that far (only planned to visit the upper falls), so didn't bring umbrellas. It started raining as we returned upstream. Of course.
GPX / view map—Driving the very short distance back to the lodge from Sunwapta Falls, Jasper NP.

Tuesday, July 12

GPX / view map—Driving from Sunwapta Falls Rocky Mountain Lodge to Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta. We left very early (for us), and arrived at the parking lot around 9 a.m. MDT. Unlike the previous day, the parking lot was nowhere near full.
GPX / view map—We hiked from Lake Louise to the end of the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail, including a stop for lunch at the tea house along the trail. The hike took about 10 hours, about half of which was stopped (for lunch, photos, or resting).
GPX / view map—Driving from Lake Louise (the lake) to Lake Louise (the village). We stopped for dinner at Lake Louise Village Grill & Bar.
GPX / view map—Driving back to Sunwapta Falls Rocky Mountain Lodge from (the restaurant in) Lake Louise (the village, not the lake).

Wednesday, July 13

GPX / view map—Driving from the lodge at Sunwapta Falls, Jasper NP to Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre, also in Jasper NP.
GPX / view map—Driving the short distance from the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre to the parking area to hike to near the end of Athabasca Glacier.
GPX / view map—Hiking near Athabasca Glacier. We walked partway there, then returned to the car, then back toward the glacier. We went clockwise through the loop by the glacier. We were amused by the warning signs advising against climbing the trail at this altitude (50 m climb at about 2,000 m) if not accustomed to the altitude. See yesterday's hike at Lake Louise for comparison (about 500 m climb at similar elevations)!
GPX / view map—Driving from Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre and Athabasca Glacier to Tangle Creek (Jasper NP). We stopped briefly to view a nice waterfall there.
GPX / view map—Walking around the scenic turnout at Tangle Creek, Jasper NP.
GPX / view map—Driving from Tangle Creek to Athabasca Falls (Jasper NP), including a brief turnout near Tangle Creek, and a short stop at Sunwapta Falls Rocky Mountain Lodge (shopping).
GPX / view map—Walking/hiking in the general vicinity of Athabasca Falls (Jasper NP).
GPX / view map—Driving from Athabasca Falls to the town of Jasper, Alberta.
GPX / view map—Walking between the parking lot in Jasper, Alberta and the restaurant where we had dinner ("Something Else"), including spurious tracks recorded in the restaurant.
GPX / view map—Driving from Jasper, Alberta to our motel (BCMInns) in Hinton, Alberta. "BCMInns" = "Best Canadian Motor Inns," a small chain found only in Alberta and Saskatchewan as of the time of our visit.

Thursday, July 14

GPX / view map—Driving from the motel in Hinton, Alberta to the parking lot for Moab Lake and the much longer trail that goes by the lake (Jasper NP).
GPX / view map—Hiking to/near/from Moab Lake.
GPX / view map—Driving from Moab Lake to Jasper, Alberta.
GPX / view map—Walking in Jasper, Alberta, including visiting several businesses and dinner at Raven Bistro. There are many spurious points in this track because of the amount of time we spent indoors.
GPX / view map—Driving from Jasper, Alberta to near Mount Edith Cavell, and the trailhead for the Path of the Glacier Trail (Jasper NP).
GPX / view map—Hiking the (remaining part of) the Path of the Glacier Trail. The loop trail is mostly closed now, because a few years ago, part of Ghost Glacier fell into the tarn, flash-flooding the (now closed part of the) trail.
GPX / view map—Driving from the Path of the Glacier Trail area to the (same) motel in Hinton, Alberta.

Friday, July 15

GPX / view map—Driving the short distance from the motel to Tim Horton's in Hinton, Alberta for breakfast.
GPX / view map—Driving from Hinton, Alberta to Maligne Canyon in Jasper NP. (Maligne is pronounced: ma-LEEN [IPA: mə'lin].)
GPX / view map—Hiking the Maligne Canyon Trail. We went west first, to the far end of our hike, then returned on a slightly farther west track (going north from the turnaround point), then took a more southerly trail in the eastern part...to the gift shop (easternmost point of the hike), then back to the parking lot.
GPX / view map—Driving from Maligne Canyon to Maligne Lake (also in Jasper NP), near the boat docks.
GPX / view map—Walking, shopping, and waiting in the dock area of Maligne Lake.
GPX / view map—Riding the tour boat from the dock to Spirit Island in Lake Maligne. Spirit Island is a very famous photography subject.
GPX / view map—Hiking the short loop trail to several photo vantage points to take pictures of Spirit Island.
GPX / view map—Riding the tour boat back to the dock from Spirit Island in Lake Maligne.
GPX / view map—Walking from the boat dock to the parking lot.
GPX / view map—Driving from Maligne Lake to Jasper, Alberta.
GPX / view map—Walking around/exploring Jasper, Alberta. We also stopped for dinner at Kim Chi House (a Korean restaurant). As usual with long periods spent indoors, there are numerous spurious points in this track.
GPX / view map—Driving from Jasper to Hinton, Alberta (to the same motel).

Saturday, July 16

GPX / view map—Driving from the motel in Hinton, Alberta to the parking lot for the various trails on the west side of Maligne Lake in Jasper NP.
GPX / view map—Hiking the Moose Lake trail, including a spur on an unofficial trail along the north side of Moose Lake. And yes, we did see several moose at Moose Lake...and a couple of them approached our location on the trail to an uncomfortably close distance (less than 20 meters) as we retreated back along the trail. We took the overall trail in a counter-clockwise direction.
GPX / view map—Driving from the Moose Lake area to Jasper, Alberta, then to the south shore of Pyramid Lake (exploring options for Sunday's hiking expeditions), and back to Jasper.
GPX / view map—Walking around Jasper, including the train station and our dinner stop: Downstream. Again, lots of indoor tracking = many spurious points.
GPX / view map—Driving from Jasper to Hinton, as before.

Sunday, July 17

GPX / view map—Driving from the motel in Hinton, Alberta to the (abandoned and now park attraction) Pocahontas Mine in Jasper NP.
GPX / view map—Hiking/walking in the Pocahontas Mine area. The parking lot is at the northern point. We walked to near the first intersection, then returned to the car, then walked south to the second intersection, taking the southern loop counter-clockwise (including the spur to the southeast to a small, hard-to-see waterfall). Finally, we took the northern loop, also counter-clockwise.
GPX / view map—Driving from the Pocahontas Mine area to Punchbowl Falls nearby.
GPX / view map—Walking in the area near Punchbowl Falls in Jasper NP. One of the Pocahontas Mine trails (previous entry) goes to near this small waterfall, but well above it, and many trees block the view. The vantage point at this lower viewing area is much clearer.
GPX / view map—Driving from the Punchbowl Falls area to Pyramid Lake, near Jasper, Alberta. Our parking spot at Pyramid Lake is about 200 m south of the northernmost point of the track along the lake shore. We also stopped briefly along the shore of Patricia Lake.
GPX / view map—Walking to/around (counter-clockwise) Pyramid Island in Pyramid Lake, near Jasper, Alberta.
GPX / view map—Driving from Pyramid Lake to Jasper, Alberta.
GPX / view map—Walking around Jasper, Alberta. We stopped at Evil Dave's Grill for dinner.
GPX / view map—Driving from Jasper, Alberta to the Hampton Inn Edmonton South in Edmonton, Alberta.

Monday, July 18

GPX / view map—Driving from the hotel in Edmonton, Alberta to the Environment Canada building, also in Edmonton.
GPX / view map—Driving from the Environment Canada building to the Edmonton International Airport.
GPX / view map—CYEG to KDEN (Edmonton International Airport to Denver International Airport). Our flight from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Denver, Colorado. Note the 4.5 loops northwest of Laramie, Wyoming...that's where we went into a holding pattern until thunderstorms at Denver cleared up enough so we could land there.
GPX / view map—KDEN to KOKC (Denver International Airport to Will Rogers World Airport). Our flight from Denver, Colorado to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.