Day 42 - Thursday June 29/17

We breakfasted, showered, and then went to the Lake Louise Info centre for advice about getting a campsite further up the Icefield Parkway, rather than driving up to the Columbia Icefield and then back to Lake Louise.  

Based on encouraging information from a very helpful Parks Canada person about probable campsite availability, we revised our travel plans and decided to move up towards the Columbia Icefield today rather than tomorrow - so it became a 'travel day' as well as a 'touring day'. (map)

We tried to do some blogging, but again the internet was very slow and our attempts were  frustratingly unsuccessful. So we cleaned up, packed up, and hooked up, and were on the road at 11:30 am.

The Icefields Parkway was lined by a parade of fabulous mountains! (photos)

We got to Wilcox Creek Campground at 1:30 pm, found a campsite, and self-registered, Then we had lunch, and headed off to the Icefield Centre. 

We barely found parking, as the place was chock-a-block full; we felt traumatized by the hordes of tourists; and it took us some time to get oriented and find our way around. Finally we found out where to go for our glacier tour, and were able to relax. We also found that we were struggling a bit with thinner air at higher elevation (we think).

It was rather neat that when Michael wanted to do the ‘flattened penny’ machine for a souvenir “I stood on a glacier” coin, and Michael wasn’t sure how to use the machine, a young Asian woman, who barely spoke English, came and gave Michael directions about how to use the machine. Even after she walked away, she looked back and waved to make sure he’d gotten it right! Kind of a neat ‘role reversal’ situation.

We travelled out on to the Athabasca Glacier on special ‘purpose-built’ buses which can traverse both the lateral moraines on 35 degree hills, and the glacier ice on soft (15PSI) tires; (photos)

What a unique and exciting experience it was to stand on and walk on a glacier. It is melting and retreating yearly (photos)

Michael leapt like a mountain goat over the crenellated surface; worried about possibly slipping and falling, Nancy often relied on Michael’s studying hand, but also managed some solo walking if not leaping (photos)

We were surprised to learn that the small lake forming at the toe of the glacier from meltwater was actually shrinking rather than getting bigger, due to the amount of silt being washed down from the melting glacier.

We went to the Skywalk - a first experience for both of us; Nancy was very brave, and the second time that she walked out on the transparent floor she didn’t even have to hold on the the railing or Michael! The Skywalk projects out over a river canyon. We were a little disappointed as we had thought that it was over a glacier. (photos)

That's a tree between the toes of our shoes, on the canyon floor below!

We are amazed to learn about the ‘Three-way Continental Divide’ in this location, with five glaciers in the Columbia Icefield which is fed by the ‘Snow Dome’, and from here the rivers flow East to the Atlantic, West to the Pacific, and North to the Arctic. (photo) 

Returned to Wilcox Campground had supper and then roasted marshmallows over the campfire (photos)