Once again we started early. The time difference to home is still helping us to get up at dawn. So getting up early is not difficult at all.
We wanted to visit Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake. As parking is limited in these areas we wanted to beat the crowds by arriving early.
The Maligne Canyon hike is divided by seven bridges. Many people stop after bridge two or three making it a short hike. But we wanted to walk all the way down this stunning canyon. You can return via a path through the woods but we decided not to complete the loop. Instead we doubled back and came up the same way.
On our way up the mountain to Maligne Lake we drove past Medicine Lake without stopping. But when we saw several cars halted in the middle of the road we knew that we had encountered more wildlife in the area. Indeed, a black bear was crossing the road between the cars. It walked right past my car window.
Maligne Lake is stunning but also very crowded so we hiked up to Moose Lake, a wonderful small lake. People were waiting to see moose there and the atmosphere was very quiet. But the timing was off. We saw a lot more moose driving back to the ranch later in the day.
We returned to the lake and walked along the lakeshore around Maligne Lake taking in the stunning views.
Maligne Lake drains into Medicine Lake below which in return feeds the river flowing through Maligne Canyon.
This area of the Jasper national park is very beautiful but more crowded than we like.
The ranch we stayed at only offers breakfast no dinner. So on the way home we stopped at Folded Mountain Brewery for fantastic pub food and excellent beer- just to replenish those fluids lost hiking of course.
On the way back we got stopped again in traffic right in the middle of the highway by these fellows:
