Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Our trip continued largely as before as we drove from Banff to Jasper. We continued sleeping in the car for most nights, although around Jasper we stayed in designated campsites. And we combined our drives with stops for short walks and long hikes, seeing waterfalls, mountains, lakes, forests, and – to our amazement – a whole lot of wildlife.
Spotting wildlife
The thought of coming across a bear in the wild, particularly a grizzly, terrified me. Yet, I still sorely wanted to see one. On every hike I listened intently with anticipation, and dread, for the sound of sticks and twigs breaking under a giant grizzly paw, coming through the dense forest to make short work of two helpless hikers. My illogical vision of a marauding man-eating bear did not come to fruition. We did not see a bear on any of our hikes and we didn’t have to use our bear spray.
Fortunately, we saw bears – and many of them – from the safety of our vehicle. We soon learned the best way to find wildlife was coming across other visitors who had already stopped to observe an animal or two. Otherwise, it’s down to pure luck of being in the right place at the right time.
Grizzlies
Barely half an hour outside of the town of Jasper, on way to Mount Robson across the border in British Columbia, we spotted our first bears – yes, plural. We stood amazed as a large female grizzly, alongside her near-fully grown cub, grazed a few metres from the side of the road. Keeping a safe distance, of course, we spent a few minutes watching these giant creatures, that took almost no notice of the small crowd, munch away on dandelions.
The bears appeared again when we returned the same way the next day, and I managed to quietly watch from around 50 metres for a good 20 minutes until a park ranger – sensibly – dispersed the crowd and told us to move on. The short time made me think the threat they pose must be overstated, since the bears were happy to ignore humans within a reasonable distance. Having said that, their sheer size brought a realisation of the power and destruction they could cause, in the rare instance of human and bear conflict. I wouldn’t want to see one up close.
Mount Robson
Between the two sightings of the grizzlies, we drove closer to Mount Robson – the largest peak in the Canadian Rockies. Driving past a layby, we saw two men – with sizeable cameras – who appeared to be acting inconspicuously (as it turned out, so as not to attract other drivers). My suspicious instinct paid off on this occasion, as we pulled over to investigate if these two men had stopped for a reason. And they had – near the forest, stood a sole black bear feeding on some spilt grain.
The two men welcomed us two Brits and we quietly watched the bear together. After a short while, from the overgrowth, emerged a tiny cub alongside its mother. Stunned and delighted, we watched as a second – then a third – joined their mother. We seemed to be stood far enough away so as not to disturb them, as the mother fed happily, and the young even played between themselves – fighting and climbing trees. This felt like something out of a wildlife documentary.
More bears
We could not have been luckier on our first day in Jasper. Our evening ended with a cooked meal under Mount Robson – the peak hidden by the clouds – and we slept soundly in the car, to the sound of rain on the roof. Searching for places to sleep up until this night had gone very smoothly, and although we spent a little longer on this evening, the only difficulty we had was around the town of Jasper – where rangers move on those look to ‘free-camp’. There are plenty of authorised campsites, at a very reasonable rate, to rest at in and around Jasper, which we utilised several times on the following nights.
The next day, we headed back towards Alberta, and found there was a newcomer to the layby with the spilt grain. We believed it to be a grizzly when, in fact, black bears are commonly a brownish colour – known as cinnamon bears. This larger male had scared the mother and its cub high into the trees, as it gorged on the food. The cinnamon-black bear didn’t stay as long. But when it harmlessly darted off into the forest, it gave us the fright we had built ourselves up for when we imagined a bear encounter – and we sprinted into our car. We then foolishly watched it disappear into the trees. This led to the female black bear climbing back down to feed again. The cubs, more timidly, took their time to clamber down – providing great entertainment for the onlookers as they did so.
Leaving the Rockies
After the second run-in with the grizzly pair, we headed east of Jasper, to Maligne Lake and the Bald Mountains. We spent a few days in the area, hiking up the mountains, observing wildlife – more black bears, bald eagles, deer, elk, mountain goats, and cayotes. The weather stayed largely dry, with only short spells of rain, although often overcast which kept the temperate at a comfortable level. We enjoyed a relatively simple hike around Maligne Lake, then another on the boundaries of the park as we had to say goodbye to the mountains.
Elk Island
Our final stop was past Edmonton – Elk Island National Park. Despite the name, it’s known for the bison herd within its boundaries. These huge ungulates, that once roamed the continent, are now making a recovery in numbers. Seeing them up close is remarkable for their size – their head, their shoulders and shaggy mane around their neck. They appear docile, but it would be foolish to mistake their passive appearance as harmless. As newspaper reports show, they will react to perceived danger. We stayed at a safe distance, or in the car.
Beavers also call Elk Island home. And if you can brave the mosquito swarms, you might be lucky to observe them building their impressive dams in the ponds in the park. We camped for two nights in the park, and the designated spaces were more sheltered from the mosquitoes that plagued the walking trails. Again, it was relatively quiet, and we didn’t have to book ahead. I can imagine the park is very busy during July and August, though, given the proximity to Edmonton.
End of the road
Our last night was in Calgary, where we sampled the food and bars in the city. I expected to be sadder at the prospect of leaving. Instead, and this may be why I describe this trip as my favourite, I felt a deep satisfaction for the past two weeks. I started the trip with huge anticipation and yet it still turned out to surpass my expectations.
I had only loosely planned the route and itinerary. The route worked well as we had plenty of time to rest between long drives. Although some of the hikes were much more difficult than anticipated, they were extraordinary challenges. And we saw a variety of places and things. The wildlife encounters couldn’t be planned. I’m just grateful these parks are protected, and luck shone on us – we were very fortunate to have so many sightings of amazing animals, in one of nature’s most spectacular sceneries.