To Sing Better Songs: Where the Wild Things Are

If it hadn’t been for Jordan’s eagle eyes spotting the moose in Northern Ontario, driving across the country would have pretty much been a bust when it came to spotting wildlife. One of the more exciting wildlife moments for the girls was a bunny rabbit at the children’s park in Winnipeg. It was hardly wild, although it was alive, albeit quite dopey.

The last breakfast in Jasper.

Jasper was initially a disappointment with respect to wildlife. Most, if not all, of my previous visits, I could count on seeing bighorn sheep at a specific spot between the gate and the town. On Sunday there was none. On most of my trips I saw elk. Sometimes only a couple, other times hundreds. On Sunday and Monday, there was a grand total of zero.

Of course, even without any wildlife, the park is beautiful. The views are stunning in every direction. The lakes are emerald green. The shallow, silty ones Jordan described as ‘shimmering gold’. The snowcapped peaks are enchanting. Everything is picturesque.

That doesn’t diminish, at all, the desire to see some wild animals. Perhaps it is something innate, the ancient hunter within, looking for the next satiating meal. Or perhaps it is something more profound, about our connection with nature and our biological ancestors. Either way, we want to see something wild.

Today Jasper delivered. It really started last night with the bear I mentioned in my previous post. As I hadn’t uploaded the pictures from the evening to my computer when we went to town to post yesterday’s blog, I didn’t include the picture of the bear we saw. Here it is:

Bear number one - a few miles down the road from where I was running.

After parting ways with Seth and Kayla and Dan and Sharline, following some delicious baked goods and coffee, Leia and I headed to Maligne Lake with the kids. Maligne Lake is a special place, if for no other reason than it is home to one of the trailheads for the Skyline. The Skyline is Jasper’s highest trail, and one of the most popular and exciting. Everyone who is able should hike the Skyline. I owe Rob a trip still. I have attempted the Skyline three times, completing it only once. The first time, I attempted it in the fall of 2008. Hours before leaving for the trail, I learned by payphone from Leia that we had apparently been evicted from the University of Alberta’s residence, Newton Place, as we were expecting Jordan. Long story short, we were stayed until April, before moving into Rob’s place (different Rob). That was a fortuitous move, as it meant Rob moved in with Kim. They later got married. Yay. Everything worked out. Except for the Skyline.

Our campsite at Jasper.

Rob and I reached the Notch, an infamous part of the trail, and I bailed. I had been hiking with a sore ankle. I had twisted it in the last few kilometers of an 82 km hike at the end of July with Kevin and Dan (the Brazeau Lake – Jonas Pass Loop). That sore ankle plagued me all summer. The news, and worry, of being evicted, coupled with a lingering injury, took their toll. For me, hiking, much like running, is a mental game. I’ve improved my mental game considerably since then.

And also since attempt number two. This time with Isaac the next year (2007). We made it to Little Shovel Pass. Being out of shape, and being completely and utterly mentally spent, having dealt with far too much nonsense from Leia’s family that year, I simply did not have the resolve to move another step. I made it less far this time, and at least didn’t have to torture Isaac with a view of the Notch, as I did Rob. After we bailed, Isaac and I decided to go to Grande Prairie. Seth and Kayla were located there for the summer. We went into town and wasted about an hour trying to find out where their base camp was. Once we had an idea, we tried to find it. We got really close, but gave up, and drove back to town. With new resolve, we tried again. This time we were successful. Had we driven another few hundred meters, we would have been there. Doubt took us back to Grande Prairie. It also made us miss Seth and Kayla. They went into town that night for a Tragically Hip concert. Seth (or was it Kayla?) thought he (she) saw Isaac and I driving, but given that we weren’t supposed to be there, dismissed the thought. Isaac and I spent several hours driving back and forth looking for them only to miss them by a few minutes. We ended up sitting outside of the Hip concert, hoping to catch them leaving, but eventually bailed. Seth told us we should have called. We told him that he should have had his cell phone on. Oh well. The good news was that Isaac and I stopped to fly fish the Kakwa River on the way to Grande Prairie, and I caught a bull trout on a fly – an amazing experience.

Attempt number three I was finally successful. Dan, Isaac and I hiked to Little Shovel Pass the first day, and then hiked out the second. We had planned to stay another night, but bugs, and Dan’s fear that were his boots to come off that his feet would swell so big that they would never get back on, kept us trucking. Day one was around nine kilometers; day two was over thirty-two – carrying fully loaded packs. It was a great hike. I owe another one to Rob. Perhaps next year?

Maligne Lake

Anyhow, I love Maligne Lake because it reminds me of those trips – and many more memories about the trips that perhaps will one day make an appearance in the blog! On the way to Maligne Lake, nature put on a bit of a show. We saw black bears twice, one a cub. There was likely more than a cub, but we only saw it in passing. Stupid tourists had gotten out of their vehicles – around 15 of them – and appeared to be following the cub up the cliff. I reminded one tourist that bears can run up to 35 mph for a short distance – an admonition worth listening to if mama bear is around – to which he responded, “That’s why I got my wife here, I’ll push her in the bear’s way” – or something like that. Touché.

Bear #2.

After the bears we saw four bighorn sheep. They were just loitering in a parking lot. Punks! We saw three of them again on the way back from Maligne Lake. This time they got a bit closer, much to our delight. Marley could have grabbed one of them by the horns, had she wanted. Clearly, these ladies were used to being fed from car windows.

Big horn sheep on the way up.

On the way down, strutting towards our truck.

Finally, at the top of Maligne Lake we saw a little deer. All in all, it was great to see so much wildlife in such a short time.

But wait, it wasn’t over! While at Maligne Lake, I was talking to a gentleman who had taken a chartered fishing trip and caught a beautiful brook trout. Even though they had had a slow day, and it was the only fish they caught, they were looking to give it away. When a family going on a canoe trip for a few days turned it down as they didn't know how to keep it cold, I quickly jumped in and requested it. Best late night snack ever? Maybe. It certainly is up there with Cheeses Murphy! All that was required was a fire, a pan of butter, and some salt. Mmmmm.

A late night treat: fresh, wild brook trout over a fire!

And there is more! We went to Whistlers, another campground, to shower. A few days of bug spray, suntan lotion, smoke, dirt, sweat, and food, meant the girls were a mess. After our showers, when we were leaving the campground, lo and behold, there they were, two elk. Again, they were close enough to our truck that Leia could have probably reached out and hit one.

Elk!

Finally, as we returned to our campsite after spending some time in town looking for souvenirs for the kids, we saw two deer. Deer are all over the place, and thus really not that special. It was still exciting for the kids to watch the deer prance about. Evelyn was very concerned that the deer didn’t look both ways when they crossed the road. We sat on the road for a few minutes just observing them.

Remember the story I told about Jordan being a baby camping in Jasper and having a hard time adjusting to solid foods? Remember I said how I would never forget her little face as she tried to poop?

Her face wasn’t as funny as this one!

In addition to seeing animals, today we explored Maligne Canyon. One of the greatest parts of this little hike was the scramble Jordan, Marley, Evelyn and I did. While not huge, it was still challenging – especially bringing Evelyn down the steep face. I elected to take Jordan and Marley down the safer route, as I feared one of them rolling down the hill and being battered. We ate well tonight, with homemade spaghetti sauce just like we do at home. The girls also explored the river while I cleaned up.

And then I set up the hammock. I bought some new ropes for the trailer. Some cheap, for a clothesline, others better, for jobs like hanging a hammock. When I landed on my back on the ground, I knew I mistook the better rope for a clothesline.