Banff, Jasper, Waterton National Parks
Eureka, Montana July
10-15, 2011 Invermere on route 93/95 to Banff, Jasper, Lake
Louise, Waterton Glacier
The border crossing was quick and straightforward; “How long
will you be in Canada? Have you been
here before? US citizens? Show
passports." Done.
So July 11 found us
following rte. 93/95 N, a slightly winding, very scenic road we followed to the
town of Invermere, the first place we could change money, and then, before I even realized it from my perch on the back, we were in line to enter Banff. The Ranger asked, "How many days will you be spending in the park?"
After getting over the shock of $20 a day for
Park entry, plus $27.00 daily for a campsite and $8.00 extra for a fire ring (wood
included), the very most we had spent camping on our trip, (especially since US
Parks allow us to enter for free), we zipped into the Banff National Park for at least two days, and
immediately began to enjoy the high mountains behind greenstrip scenery and the
deer frequently seen along the side of the road. The road signs suggested more
wildlife to come; signs for elk and bear and warning signs for drivers to be
watchful for wildlife came into view.
Our heads swiveling like bobble-head dolls, both watching for critters, as we enjoyed the
open view from the bike. Banff and Jasper both consist of mountainous terrain
with glaciers, icefields, dense coniferous forest and alpine landscapes. The Icefields Parkway extends from Lake
Louise and connects with Jasper National Park in the north.
Mt. Rundle, seen from the town of Banff and Castle
Mountain are a few of the named mountains within the overlooking cambrian cliffs,
rising high above our heads. Our exploration took us past Kootenay Hot Springs, Attrude
Creek and to Tunnel Mountain Campsite for our first night in the park, where I
read there actually is no tunnel through Tunnel Mountain. A mining company wanted to put a tunnel there
but never did.
We were close enough to
the upscale tourist recreation town of Banff to ride in for a pizza, then
return to set up camp and start the fire to keep mosquitoes at bay. We met and
shared our pizza with a BMW rider from Maui, thinking it was strange that we
met two BMW GS riders on our trip and they are both from Maui! The second one told us he was only aware of
two GS bikes on Maui, his and a silver one.
I wondered if it was Pats'.
Next morning we awoke to cold, probably low 40's, so we stayed in the tent
awhile, then drove into Banff town again and sought out breakfast since we had
no cooking supplies with us- not even coffee! Fully geared up against the cold, we followed rt. 1A, the Icefield
Highway, all the way to Jasper Park, along the way stopping at intriguing
overlook and pull-offs, awed and gasping at the size and then increasing size
and isolation of these massive Rocky Mountains, their bases running with icy
streams, sometimes gushing torrents, of melting snowfall; a wonderful,
smoky-looking new-to-us shade of grayish-aqua. On our previous travels on Sea
Star we met astounding hues of blue, and here was a completely new one.
We drove down a dirt road and explored a small part of the Columbia
Ice Fields where tourists may walk, or take an ice shuttle to get a better
view of the many glaciers. There were
signs showing us the extent of glacial movement in previous years. We walked with bus loads of other tourists to Athabaska
Falls, a spectacular waterfall below the Athabaska Glacier and then headed for
a new campground, in the area of Jasper National Park-even less traveled than
Banff. Exhausted from a long day of riding, we went to the closest place we
could for dinner, a mile away Jasper Mountain Lodge. Jasper Lodge while quite attractive was, like many of our hotel choices in or near the parks, prohibitively expensive for a room. Typical tourists we figured might pay $150.00 per night to stay inside, so we were glad we had brought our gear with us. People camp with RVS or pop-up campers and they made up most of the campers we saw. We did learn that there are hostels and even some other accommodation choices that serve tourists who bike, hike or climb more cheaply.
In the morning, a late start again as we had to go to Jasper
town to eat, we traveled even more carefully because of fog and then pouring
rain, back over the mountain passes, this time using route 1 to Banff, then on
toward Lake Louise, where we wanted to camp. Along the way, in the rain we met
and talked to two kinds of recreational tourists. The first young woman turned her bike into
the pull-off where Dan and I were under a semi-shelter, and joined us. She was part of a mountain street bike trek,
freezing and waiting for a van pick-up to bring her the last 7 miles to
Columbia Icefield- an RV was there that she would stay in for the night. The
second tourist was a man our age who was also bicycling to the Icefield. He had an older bike, was dressed in a
typical poncho and carried his tent, etc.
He chatted with us a bit and off he went. That evening he would sleep at a hostel near
the Icefield, because of the wet. He did his own planning, used no high tech
clothing or technology. I was impressed,
because even on the BMW we were still barely surface covering the parks. More time, more time is needed.
When the rain
stopped, well, actually it didn’t, we were soaked, but we continued on toward Lake Louise. After a bit of confusion about where the
camping was, we put up our tent and built a fire. Now was the time to dry our riding clothes and
boots over the fire. Lake Louise town
and wild areas were having some problem with black bears. It was Spring there and the bears were coming
out. To cope with bears that might come in the campground smelling for food, the fence encircling the campground is electrified. We
had no problem and only saw roadside bears as well as elk and black tail deer.
Leaving the Parks we headed for a road on the map that Dan
thought “looked interesting” and perhaps it would have limited traffic. He was correct on both counts. Driving rt 11
then 40 through Kankanasus Wilderness Road allowed some great wildlife
sightings and was more fun motorcycling- even given driving cautions to warn drivers that the creatures could easily be running across the road, which we learned we
had better heed. Kankanasus area
included fabulously green, stick straight expanse of evergreen trees and aspens. Acres of flowers infused the alpine meadows.
The roadside information podiums tell of the unbelievable age of the
stunted trees and meadow vegetation.
After crossing a place named Highwood Pass at about 10,000 ft., where wild mountain goats were grazing, then many
more miles of travel, we found a tiny
store where we had a yummy supper of microwaved cheeseburger, and Klondike
bars, found a roadside campsite where we were the only campers. The cotton plants were exploding pollen everywhere and ground squirrels were as plentiful as ants but our spot on the river was very pretty.
Next
morning we headed on towards Waterton. We passed lots of interesting sights. We tried to visit the Buffalo Preserve as we
came back in sight of the Montana Mountains.
It was pretty but, unfortunately, we did not see buffalo. It was strongly
suggested that motorcycles not enter the preserve. I wonder why?
Waterton National Park is the Canadian portion of the
combined Waterton Glacier Peace Park. We
camped one night in the Canadian section, then drove the bike back into the US
so we could enter Glacier National Park from the east. We had been without our internet or phone
while in Canada and wondered if the Glacier National Park Road to the
Sun had yet opened for the season.
If it had not we would have a long drive to return to Eureka, Montana
and the car. We would have to check
later, closer to the Park entry.
Some Canadian Park, information from internet sites or maps we were given.
In the fall of 1883, three Canadian Pacific Railway
construction workers stumbled across a cave containing hot springs (these
natural hot mineral springs are among the top attractions in the Canadian
Rockies. Banff Upper Hot Springs offers a splendid historic bathhouse located
in Banff National Park. Radium Hot Springs in BC’s Kootenay National Park is
famous for its canyon setting. Jasper
National Park contains Miette Hot Springs with the hottest mineral water in the
Rockies. - we visited none of these-very commercial).
From that humble beginning was born Banff National Park,
Canada's first national park and the world's third. 2,564 square miles of
valleys, mountains, glaciers, forests, meadows and rivers, Banff National Park
is one of the world's premier destination spots.
Banff National Park is divided into units based on
vegetation, landforms and soil. This system of land classification is used to
identify and inventory similar regions within the park in order to better
manage park ecosystems. The park is classified into ecoregions, which are
further divided into ecosections and ecosites. There are three ecoregions in
the park: montane, subalpine, and alpine.
Jasper is the gentle giant of the Rockies, offering visitors
a more laid-back mountain experience - with equal options for adventure,
discovery and relaxation.
As one of Canada’s oldest and largest national parks,
established in 1907, Jasper was once seen as an island of civilization in a
vast wilderness. More recently, it has become a popular getaway from urban
life, and a special place to reconnect with nature.
Jasper National Park is the largest of Canada's Rocky
Mountain Parks and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site with 4335 square
miles of broad valleys, rugged mountains, glaciers, forests, alpine meadows and
wild rivers along the eastern slopes of the Rockies in western Alberta. There
are more than 660 miles of hiking trails (both overnight and day trips), and a
number of spectacular mountain drives. The largest Dark Sky Preserve on the
planet, there are endless ways to enjoy the magic of Jasper National Park.
Jasper joins Banff National Park to the south via the
Icefields Parkway. This parkway offers unparalleled beauty as you travel
alongside a chain of massive icefields straddling the Continental Divide. The
Columbia Icefield borders the parkway in the southern end of the park.
Large numbers of elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer and other
large animals, as well as their predators make Jasper National Park one of the
great protected ecosystems remaining in the Rocky Mountains. This vast
wilderness is one of the few remaining places in southern Canada that is home
to a full range of carnivores, including grizzly bears, mountain lions, wolves
and wolverines.
In such a large and spectacular area, there are many sights
to see and plenty of stories to be told. A few of the highlightes are listed
here:
The highest mountain in Alberta, Mt. Columbia
The hydrographic apex of North America (the Columbia
Icefield) where water flows to three different oceans from one point;
The longest underground drainage system known in Canada (the
Maligne Valley karst);
The only sand-dune ecosystem anywhere in the Four Mountain
Parks (Jasper Lake dunes);
The northern limit in Alberta of Douglas-fir trees (Brûlé
Lake);
The last fully protected range in the Rocky Mountains for
caribou (Maligne herd);
The most accessible glacier in North America (the
Athabasca).
Waterton-Glacier Park
The park's variety of vegetation communities provides homes
for many animals, including more than 60 species of mammals, over 250 species
of birds, 24 species of fish, and 10 reptiles and amphibians. Large predators
include wolf, coyote, cougar, grizzly bear, and American black bear. The
grasslands are important winter range for ungulates such as elk, mule deer, and
white-tailed deer. In the fall, the marsh and lake areas of the park are used
extensively by migrating ducks, swans, and geese. Some animals found here are
considered rare or unusual eg. trumpeter swans, Vaux's swifts, and vagrant
shrews.
Waterton Lakes National Park also has global importance
because of several key international designations:
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (1932) - The Peace
Park was originally created as a symbol of peace and goodwill between the
United States and Canada, but has now evolved to also represent cooperation in
a world of shared resources. Both parks strive to protect the ecosystem through
shared management, not only between themselves, but also with their other
neighbors.
On December 6, 1995 UNESCO designated the Waterton-Glacier
International Peace Park as a World Heritage Site because it has a distinctive
climate, physiographic setting, mountain-prairie interface, and tri-ocean
hydrographical divide. It is an area of significant scenic values with abundant
and diverse flora and fauna.
Criteria (revised in 2006)
(vii) Both national parks were originally designated by
their respective nations because of their superlative mountain scenery, their
high topographic relief, glacial landforms, and abundant diversity of wildlife
and wildflowers.
(ix) The property occupies a pivotal position in the Western
Cordillera of North America resulting in the evolution of plant communities and
ecological complexes that occur nowhere else in the world. Maritime weather
systems unimpeded by mountain ranges to the north and south allow plants and
animals characteristic of the Pacific Northwest to extend to and across the
continental divide in the park. To the east, prairie communities nestle against
the mountains with no intervening foothills, producing an interface of prairie,
montane and alpine communities.
The international peace park includes the
headwaters of three major watersheds draining through significantly different
biomes to different oceans. The biogeographical significance of this tri-ocean
divide is increased by the many vegetated connections between the headwaters.
The net effect is to create a unique assemblage and high diversity of flora and
fauna concentrated in a small area.
Waterton Biosphere Reserve (1979) - As Canada's second
biosphere reserve, Waterton was the first Canadian national park to take part
in this UNESCO program. Biosphere Reserves are created to achieve a better understanding
of the relationship between humans and the natural environment by integrating
knowledge and experience from both natural and social sciences. Major goals are
to support information exchange, research, education, training and improved
land management; largely through cooperation and shared projects with local
private landowners and government agencies.
Enjoy Canada's beautiful, and protected scenery and maintained National lands and Reserves:
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| 16 Canada Banff, Jasper wildlife reserve |
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