Welcome to the Alberta Rockies. This is a country where mountains soar like spears to the sky and lodge pole pine grow straight up. This is a country of wild beauty and deafening silence. This is where Mrs. Moose and I like to hike.When you are attuned to the silence you can hear the birds chirping and cawing and twittering to each other. You can also watch eagles and hawks soar and screech their hunting cries. You can listen to the trees blow and scrape against each other in the wind. The babbling of small brooks and streams making their way to larger rivers can be also heard. As you listen carefully, you can hear the sounds of rock splintering off mountains and crashing to their deaths as dust at the base of cliffs. You can become one with nature in such a place
When ones hikes here, you let the park rangers know where you are going and how long you should be. This county belongs to nature. It is the home of elk, deer, Big Horn sheep, and mountain goats. It is also home to cougars, wolverine, black bears and Grizzlies. When we hike, we carry dried food(n0 smell), lots of water, a compass and water-proof matches. We use hiking poles to make the climbing easier, for we are no longer young moose. We also carry a machete and bear spray. I hope I never have to use them.
The pictures at the left are of the lake at the base of Angel Glacier. The glacier itself is shaped like an angel and is on Mt. Edith Cavell. This is only a short hike of about 45 minutes from the parking lot to the lake. It is actually a very easy hike and only 9 miles south of Jasper town site.
The lake itself is glacial water and extremely cold. It melts off the glacier, down under the moraine and into the lake. The icebergs, like the ones in the back of the top picture, can be 50-100 ft long and 30 ft. high. The ones in the foreground are about 15-20 ft long and 5-8 ft high. They come in a myriad of shapes and like snowflakes ,no two are alike. And what you can see is only 1/10Th of what is actually there. The rest is underwater.The water is a gorgeous aquamarine colour and very very clear.
These pictures were taken on a beautiful, mid-July day. The temperature was a warm 23Celsius(73F) and a great day for shorts and T-shirt.
If you like to hike and camp, come to the Rockies of Alberta. Come to Alphonsedamoose country!
6 comments:
I wish we could, but the problems of being an old fart make it virtually impossible. I have been in the Canadian wilderness areas in my younger days and they are beautiful.
But if I could do it, I would. And grumble about a passport to go where I used to visit just to wander around.
Cat, Isn't the passport thing a great way to treat good neighbours. If you do come up, write me first and we'll maybe going hiking together.
Okay, where do I sign up for this potential Old Fart's Hiking Fest? I can probably haul the old Catmoves along with me, at least when going downhill. I promised Anne D that I would make it up there for the Calgary Stampede someday, too. One of these days I'll have to get a passport though.
You , my dear, are already signed up. Get your passport and get hold of the old fart Cat.
Do I need a passport to enter Alberta from BC? Just kidding but you already know that.
Speaking of which, I want to take a trip to Australia to see my son but need to get a passport. Because of the recent passport requirement to get into USA, the line-ups at our passport offices in the Vancouver lower mainland are 5 - 6 hours long !! And after waiting all that time to get in the door, it takes weeks and sometimes months to get the actual passport.
Moose, your hiking story is beautiful. I can smell the fresh air and hear the sounds of nature. (Not the growls of a bear, I hope)
Babzy:Getting a passport here is the same way. Hours of waiting in line and then months of waiting to receive it. Ridiculous.
so glad you like the hiking story. Sometimes Mrs Moose and I are gone for 10-12 hours and see no one. It is terrific.
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