Day 98 - Jasper Indian Ridge

The Skytram near Jasper Town carried me up 1000 meters to the near-top of Whistlers mountain (named for the whistle call of marmots). I then hiked to the summit 150 meters up further but then struck off down the other side toward Indian Ridge.

I passed through the wet valley and ascended the ridge on the left, making the my way up quickly, with the only challenge being a scramble detour to avoid snow, up loose rock to the left of the peak. The view was great in every direction but I especially loved the mountains to the south, with Mount Edith Cavell as a main actress.

As I slowly tramped along the wide ridgetop, sharp arete mountain ridges to the south and the snowy cone of Mount Robson, tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies, far in the distance, came into view.

Arriving at the far right ridge peak after an hour or so, I began my descent, following the guidebook instruction to "walk down the shale slopes to the stream." About a quarter of the way down, I realized I had descended one chute too soon as this route was too steep for waking, more like controlled sliding. I brought out my hiking poles and skied down the rock, letting my feet slide like you would on snow. This was my first real test using this technique and it worked brilliantly. Once down, I crossed boggy fields then countless little streams, climbed the hill back to Mount Whistlers and returned down the Skytram express to the van.

Still with daylight left, I drove the 75 km west to Mount Robson, the snowy cone I had seen in the distance. The cone was much larger from just below.

Comments

Day 51 - Canyonlands Needles Pt 3

A deep connection to the nature surrounding you comes from the solitude of solo travel, but sometimes it is nice to have a companion! I ran into David, a retired telecom exec from Canada a few days ago on the Syncline Loop trail at Canyonlands Island in the Sky. Then I ran into him again halfway through my Chesler Park hike two days ago, then again later in the hike, finishing the last two miles together. David hiked his favorite trail, the Peekaboo trail yesterday, and said I could join him, but my heart was set on confluence trail, so we hiked separately. We did share a campsite though and exchanged travel stories. David was 55 and had retired at 50 from a high-level international job with Nortel and was now traveling full-time. We instantly bonded over our solo travel style. He outclassed me by leagues. He had trekked one month in Nepal, then another month in India, then some months in Asia. He had hiked and skied and adventured all over the western U.S. and Canada....

Day 40 Escalante Hole-in-the-Rock Road

I woke up late following a lovely slumber in a REAL bed-- such a luxury. I stayed in bed reading my maps and guidebooks, trying to put a plan together for the next months travels. I decided I would spend two more weeks in Utah and add on two weeks in western Colorado instead of spending all four weeks in Utah-- I was starting to tire of the desert and Colorado seemed like a good mix of backcountry beauty and civilization proper. The last must do in Escalante was Coyote Gulch, so I read and reread the route description in my guidebook and went to the visitor center to get my permit. I was going to do a loop down Hurricane Wash to Coyote Gulch to the Escalante River and then up Crack-in-the-Wall overland back to my car. Permit in hand, I lingered by the Outfitters wifi emailing and blogging and then drove out Hole-in-the-rock road forty miles to my trailhead. The road was dirt but well graded in most parts. A high-clearance vehicle was recommended for the last five miles but my Dodg...

Days 89 and 90 - Waterton

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet! I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception. I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton. The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district. Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...

Road Trip Daily

Search This Blog