Rocky Mountain Adventures

3 août 2017 19:51 Published by Sydney Goward 2 commentaires

Rocky Mountain Adventures

One huge bonus of living in Hinton is the close access we have to the Rocky Mountains. This was a huge selling feature for me when I decided to come to Hinton for the summer. I touched on some of my local explorations in a previous blog, Finding Home in Hinton, but today I want to take you a bit further, into one of the World’s most iconic hot spots for adventure, the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Whistler Mountain, Jasper National Park

To enjoy this breath-taking view, the Jasper Sky Tram will take you up to 2263m in elevation, and a short hike will have you at the summit, overlooking the beautiful town of Jasper and the surrounding mountains. This was one of many adventures my boyfriend, Danny, and I embarked on during his May-long weekend visit.

Image 1. Myself looking over to the mountains that stretch into British Columbia. This view made me feel close to home!

Valley of Five Lakes, Jasper National Park

Another summer student, Ryan, and I took on this pleasant 5km loop early in the season. As the name indicates, the hike takes you around five lakes, all a stunning turquoise colour.

Image 3. A wide angle shot that showcases the true colour of the lakes!

Image 4. The final rewarding view of the hike.

Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park

Image 5. Pyramid Lake and some of its surrounding mountains.

A quick drive from the town of Jasper, this bigger lake flaunts a brilliant blue colour. There are some short hikes near the lake, but Danny and I spent our time walking around in the lake to cool down on the hot May-long weekend!

Image 6. Me enjoying some sand between my toes in Pyramid Lake.

Patricia Lake, Jasper National Park

A next-door neighbour to Pyramid Lake, Patricia Lake also boasts beautiful, clean water. Danny and I hiked the Patricia Lake loop, stopping for lunch right on the beach. We also had a positive but scary encounter with a young grizzly cub on our hike, forcing us to back track most of the trail to get out safely!

Image 7. Lunch break on the beach at Patricia Lake!

Talbot Lake, Jasper National Park

This roadside lake, approximately 30km east of Jasper, is a great place to take a break from travelling and enjoy the rolling sand dunes. These sand dunes extend west into the community of Brule, and are a unique montane feature to this area.

Image 8. Talbot Lake in the back ground with some sand dunes in the foreground.

Jasper Lake, Jasper National Park

Across from Talbot Lake is another water body that you can walk clear across in low water. This was a unique and relaxing experience to say the least!

Image 9. Danny standing almost in the middle of Jasper Lake. At the deepest point, the water only came up to our knees!

Overlander Falls, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Ryan, my hiking partner from Valley of Five Lakes, took me on this trip back to British Columbia for the day! The falls themselves are just a quick jaunt from the highway/parking lot, but there is a lot more to the trail if you choose to continue. The trail winds along the cliffs above the Fraser River, with lots of opportunities to sneak right down to the river off the main trail.

Image 10. Overlander falls.

Image 11. Ryan sitting on a cliff edge at the falls.

Image 12. A view of the Fraser River, downstream from Overlander Falls. The Fraser River flows to the Pacific Ocean and runs through Williams Lake (my hometown) on its journey. These two sections of the river are totally opposite! It is very wide and light brown colour by the time it gets to Williams Lake, so it was neat for me to see it this far upstream!

Sulphur Skyline, Jasper National Park

My favourite adventure to date! This hike is highly regarded as one of the most picturesque panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains. I had the pleasure of experiencing this hike with both Danny and best friend, Ashley. The Sulphur Skyline trail head can be found in Miette near the hot springs. It is around 8km round trip, but you gain about 700m in elevation. I highly recommend this grind of a hike!

Image 13. The alpine meadows before heading up the final leg of the hike to the summit.

Image 14. Ashley and I on a cliff edge at the summit

Image 15. Danny and I at the summit.

Image 16. Ashley and I looking towards Miette, taking our traditional hiking picture!

In summary,

Living so close to these areas has been a huge highlight in my overall summer experience. I can’t think of a better way to spend my time than enjoying the places around me with the people I love. It isn’t always easy to convince yourself to wake up early on a Saturday and go hiking, especially when you work in the outdoors all week, but this truly is an incredible lifestyle that I am grateful to enjoy.