For all its sophistication, Alberta is still oil country, it's like Texas north, complete with cowboys and "Alberta beef." The oil people decorated the lodge with an aquarium theme for a conference. Kinda odd.
Behind the town of Jaspar lies another network of recreational lakes. It's like their Mission Bay. This is Pyramid Lake, late in the day awaiting another storm.
We took a tram up to the top of some mountain where you get a view of the townsite. This is about 9am, as is a trend you may have noticed, we routinely hit the touristy spots early or late in the day. We have a clear shot of the town site, but the clouds add character.
From the tram station, C took a 1 mile hike up to the top of the summit for more views. I didn't wear the proper shoes that day so I had to stay behind. More shales. A 'moderate' hike is more like 'strenuous' to me.
From the town of Jaspar, tourists go to Maligne Lake, the tram, and hike to Angel Glacier. We did two and figure we'd do the third. We made it to the trailhead at about 10am and barely got a parking spot. This is Mt Edith Cavell. I think it's named for a nurse?
Angel Glacier and the lake it creates. The trail provides two options, up above the glacier but on the other side, and down at ice level. We did both.
The glacier could crack at any moment and kill you. Also, the bottom side is actually a very steep and very dense rockfield.
Here, we went off, way off the trail into the rockfield, past the 'do not enter or risk death' sign, to the ice cave. It funnels cold cold air out and is dark inside, not glowy blue like you see on tv. And if you went in, you would surely perish. My guidebook said that in the winter, when the ice is more stable, people go on ice hikes into waterfalls and glaciers and ice caves. I'd do that. Except for the death part.
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