Our family is mesmerized with the Canadian Rockies! It is hard to beat the four hour non-stop flight from Houston to Calgary with quick access to National Parks, lower elevations that prevents altitude sickness, perfect hiking weather in the summer time and stunning jaw-dropping views of glacier blue waters bordered by jagged mountains and canyons everywhere you look.   The Canadian Rockies offer huge rewards with minimal effort.

August 2011-Catching a late flight with low airlines miles, we flew into Calgary to begin another Canadian adventure. Heading up the Icefields Parkway, wildflowers were still plentiful in mid-August.   Our first stop was a short but steep hike on an old logging road to Mistaya Canyon in Banff National Park. The Mistaya River has cut rounded pockets into the slot canyons as its blue waters have rush through over time. This lesser known canyon has impressive views with much fewer crowds. We continued on to our lodging for the week to Best Western in Jasper. There are not many hotel options in Jasper and this particular hotel had suites with a kitchen to accommodate our family of five.

The next morning we headed south of town to the Valley of the Five Lakes trailhead for a 3-mile trail loop that borders five lakes which have different blue-green hues due to their different depths. We were grateful to get there early since the parking lot was small.The hike did not disappoint us, as we were amazed at the unusual fluorescent green colors.After our morning hike, we headed out to Lake Beauvert for a picnic lunch. Looking across the lake you could see Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. There is a trail around the lake leading to a boathouse with paddleboats and canoes for rent. With plenty of time left in the day, we opted to drive further out to canoe on Maligne Lake, the largest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies and famous for its views of Spirit Island. Unfortunately, a passing storm kept us from being out on the lake, so we made the best of our time by enjoying fresh baked goodies at the Maligne Lake Lodge. On the return drive home, wildlife was plentiful after the rain and we enjoyed watching a family of black bears and a fourteen point elk! Determined to canoe, we decided to visit Pyramid Lake not far from the town of Jasper. We donned life jackets, grabbed a paddle and headed out. As the winds increased, the effort to canoe discouraged us one by one. With the sun setting, we bid farewell to the lake.

The next morning we started off early to drive across the Continental Divide to British Columbia for a longer 7 mile hike to Kinney Lake at Mount Robson Provincial Park. We began at the Berg Lake Trailhead and crossed over the Robson River. The trail is well maintained and meanders through beautiful forests with the sound of the rushing water nearby. The reflections on Kinney Lake provided a peaceful lunch spot. After returning to the car, my husband and two sons decided that they wanted to head back over to Pyramid Lake to do a 5 mile mountain bike ride. My daughter and I opted for some shopping in town before dinner.

We got another early start for our last full day to try and beat the afternoon rain that was forecasted. We drove out to the Cavell Meadows trailhead and donned several layers of clothing due to the brisk temperatures and the mosquitoes. The 4.5-mile hike had an elevation gain of over 1200 feet, which proved to be our most challenging hike yet. Mount Edith Cavell means “White Ghost” and we saw the Cavell glacier feeding into the Cavell Pond below. With stunning views of the melting frozen lake below and fields of wildflowers along the trail, we didn’t seem to mind the unending steep climb.   A marmot greeted us as we wandered into the meadows, which provided a panorama of Angel Glacier. Rain kept us from lingering too long at the top and we hurried down the trail to view the chunks of ice still thawing in the pond. As we headed back to the hotel we drove by another family of bears climbing in the trees and saw a rainbow spanning the sky. It was the perfect ending for our time in Canada before returning home.

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks” John Muir