Jasper National Park

Peyto Lake

On our last long break, Kendall, Michelle and I took the long route from Brooks to Edmonton to see Jasper.  Meeting up with some of the northern crew, we spent a few days camping and hiking in yet another spectacular mountain park.

Peyto Glacier in the background

I stopped at Peyto Lake along the way, as Melissa and I had done a project on the receeding glacier at McMaster, and I wanted to check up on it.  As many of the glacial lakes filled with fine rock powder, the water was an unbelievable blue.

For our first day in Jasper, we took a hike near Pyramid Lake, to an overlook on a mountain side.  It was a sunny, lazy day, and we sat and appreciated the view for a long time.

As a trio of biologists, we also had a bit of fun with some lichen.  It started innocently enough with tufts of the hair-like species wrinkled under our noses...

But escalated to full facial hair glued on with sap:

Meadow in the mountains

By the second day we were ready for a solid hike up a mountain.  We drove to the Maligne Lake area, passing through the region that was on fire just a week or two before.  The entire forest was black, with trees tumbling down the valley.  It was an eerie sight, made even more so by the abrupt stop and return to healthy forest down the lake.  While a forest fire can bring devestation to many species, there are also many others that rely on it for regeneration, or for a chance to get some sunshine and a clean slate for ecological succession.

Our hike was up Opal Hills, with some rapid elevation gain to the mountain meadows, where we napped and picnicked among the alpine plants after a tough ascent.

Team A attempted to scramble up the steep mountainside

Team B tried to race them up, but both abandonned the effort when it proved too steep and slippery

In the meantime, we climbed a small hill and got a great view of Maligne Lake

And looked back at the mountain they were climbing

We are now in Edmonton, working in the lab at the University of Alberta.  It has been a tough adjustment to urban life and regular work hours, stuck inside for a month, but we're living it up in the city.  This weekend is a four day Folk Music Festival.  Last night I saw my first ever Northern Lights dancing over the main stage, followed by one of my favourite bands, Lord Huron, putting on an amazing performance.  From my perch on our blanket on the hillside, I shivered from the poetic perfection of it all.

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