2012, Athabasca Falls - Getting There
Day one was Sharon's and my travel day, making only a couple of stops along the way for picture making. Only two stops would normally be unheard of if not for the fact that we have driven along this road quite a few times before and so it is like, "been there, done that". Besides, I made almost a third of these photographs from the passenger seat while Sharon was driving, which to me is quite rewarding in its own sense.
Six hours and a little bit more from Calgary, we turned onto the access road leading into the hostel. Here we will meet up with four of our friends, and tomorrow we will connect up with four others who are staying at a nearby campsite.
In the upcoming postings will be more excerpts from our adventures, including a chilling dip into a mountain lake, and the discovery of some women's clothing just strewn about in a very suspicious manner. But for now here is Day One. Enjoy.
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From the passenger seat, I always have my camera at the ready. Lots of interesting subjects happen along.
Fireweed.
Fireweed and Crowfoot Glacier.
Continuing north, we are driving passed the Athabasca Glacier. This ice sheet is one of 34 outlet glaciers fed by the Columbia Icefield, and one of three valley glaciers visible from the highway. This outlet contains the largest sheet of glacial ice in the interior of North America. Ice from the top of this glacier takes about 150 years to reach the toe (bottom).
Interesting.
Our cabin. Got to get some sleep. It will be a busy day tomorrow.
Looking up from lake level.
Us and the Bow Glacier.
Leaving the lake.
Along the shore of the Athabasca River.
The maid service is pretty slow.
Waiting for some words of wisdom.
Tons of photo-opps.
We have hiked to Bow Glacier, in the distance, on a few occasions and ate our lunch just out of reach from the spray coming off of the water fall.
Sharon and I spent the 45 minutes before 5pm to do some exploring on foot.
Heading towards our cabin, it's time for bed. It is less than a minutes walk to both the kitchen and the outside bathrooms. With the light from a few strings of white Christmas tree bulbs hanging near the parking lot - see last photo - it is not too difficult to find our way in the dark.
Hmm!
We're good.
View towards Crowfoot Mountain and the ever shrinking Crowfoot Glacier.
Having some photofun.
Checking out another potential hostel get-a-way.
Later this day - the sun sets early in the mountains - I spent a few moments getting familiar with the hostel grounds. The kitchen and car taillight trails.
Three hours out of Calgary, we pulled up along side Bow Lake on highway 93. The lake is fed from the Bow Glacier and these waters are the main source of Calgary's drinking water.
Next stop, not too far up the road. We are in search of a good view of Bow Glacier.
So there!
Its a busy glacier. In 1975, the first year I walked to the toe of this glacier, the ice went further than the bottom of this picture.
Six hours from Calgary we pull into our hostel entrance.
This is not a big room. It sleeps six comfortably though.
