Plain of Six Glaciers Hike / Icefield in Jasper National Park
August 31, 2001

Valley of Six Glaciers
from the Teahouse

I started driving towards Lake Louise around 6:25am. The weather report said it would be rain or thunderstorm. I did not expected to see any morning glory today.

The Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier from the Highway. The only time I could see them in the morning sunlight.

When I was right around Lake Louise on the Hwy-1, I saw a wonderful sunlight. That looked like almost miracle. When I arrived at the Lake Louise shore, the light was all gone. The lake was still beautiful. But I missed a great chance.

Today's main even would have been the Ten Peaks Trail near Moraine Lake. But I found the trail was restricted because of bear threat. It must be at least the group of 6 to hike this area. The weather was gloomy, wind was blowing, and temperature was chilly. In a day like this, there were very few hikers. And these guys were serious hikers. After waiting for 30 minutes, we had 7 hikers. Three of them were heading to Mt. Temple. The rest were going the other side: Paradise Valley. There were nobody coming back. And they walked really fast. They were just too experienced for me to hike with. I decided to turn back to other trail for the day. But I would come back here since quite a few people told me that this was their favorite hike in the area.

Another look at Six Glaciers from the teahouse.

Yellow flowers and Lake Agnes at the back.

Plain of the Six Glaciers: I went to the Plain of the Six Glaciers trail instead. Here, there were no restrictions. And it should be pretty as well. It was already 9:20am, and the lakeshore was filled with people. After walking about 30 minutes, I was almost at the other side of the lake. And there were only a few hikers. Along the way, the glacier became larger and larger; there were a good look at the Chateau from the opposite side of the Lake Louise. At the famous teahouse, I had coffee. They had sandwiches as well. I did not have to bring a lunch to this trail. The view from the teahouse was pretty impressive.

Looking down Chateau Lake Louise from Big Heehive.

Big Beehive to Lake Agnes to Mirror Lake: After 15 minutes of rest, I set out for more walk. Somehow I did not go to the viewpoint. I should have. Anyway, I headed back the trail a bit, and I took the trail to Big Beehive. I almost exhausted to get to the Big Beehive; the endless switchbacks almost killed me. It rained a little during this part but it was not that much. Soon, the blue sky came through the clouds. The day turned out to be a nice one. The top of the Big Beehive had a good view of the Bow Valley, and the Chateau Lake Louise from the top. On the other side, there was a bird eye view of the emerald green Lake Agnes. Not bad at all. It was too bad that only handful of people reach this point. Most of them stop at the teahouse at Lake Agnes. Although the view from the lake was not bad, it pales compare to the view at the Plain of Six Glaciers. I am afraid most people who visit here with bus tour will never have enough time to hike to the Plain of Six Glaciers. The trail to the Chateau from the Lake Agnes was filled with people, again. I must have looked strange with a big backpack filled with camera gears. I was really tired; it was about 15.5 km, which is only 10 miles. When I did the 11-mile hike in the North Cascade a month ago, I felt fine. I wonder what made me this tired this time.

It was a rainy day; I explored Columbian Icefield in Jasper National Park.

I was not really planned to wake up early but my eyes were wide open before 5:00am. I looked up the sky to see if there were stars above me. Yes, the sky was clear. I decided to check the sunrise at the Lake Louise again. This time, I set out the Banff at 6:10am, arriving at the Lake Louise around 6:45am. This should be early enough to see the sunrise. While I was standing at the lakeshore, the cloud got slightly red. But the color soon disappeared; the thick cloud must have blocked the sunlight. Now that I missed the sunrise twice, it has become my duty to see the Lake Louise in morning sun.

Panoramic View of the Columbia Icefield from the Icefield Parkhouse.

The Icefield Parkway (or Hwy93) heads directly north from the Lake Louise, and it was a very scenic drive. It was definitely one of the most scenic road I've ever driven; others maybe Utah-12 and Ca-1. But the weather was getting worth very quickly. This morning the weather forecast was partly cloudy. Last night it was sunny in the morning, 30% chance of rain in the afternoon. When I got to the Columbian Icefield, it was a pouring rain. I gave up hiking today. Instead, I hanged around Columbian Icefield Information Center for 2 hours. It was a well-civilized building with restaurants, exhibits, and souvenirs shops. I slept for 30 minutes, had lunch, and watched exhibits and people. Boy there were a lot of people. But I heard there were even more people during the months of July and August. This place must be too popular among tourists.

The rain, wind, and melting glacier made the experience very freezing...

Snowcoach is used in Alaska's military base. Huge tires makes it possible to ride on the icefield.

Snocoach must be the most popular activity around here. A bus leaves every 10 minutes, or even more frequent, from the Icefield Center. The bus shoveled these tourists (including me) right next to the Athabasca Glacier. Here, we changed to another bus, called Snowcoaches, with gigantic tires for driving on the glacier. In about another 15 minutes, I was standing at a parking lot build on top of the glacier. It was chilly, just below the freezing point. The rain made it worse. The wind was strong; yet they said it was better than usual. The glacier was not that beautiful; it was covered with dust. No, you won't see crevasse nor water pot. It was just a field of dirty ice. But I still say this tour was worth it. How many chances have I had to walk on a glacier? This was the first time, and could be the last chance.

The pouring rain continued all the way back to Banff. I asked a few more people about the weather. Everybody said, do not trust weather report in the Rockies. In Banff, I went shopping for a rain gear. I hoped this works for tomorrow.

After the dinner, I quickly went up the Norquay Mountain just north of Banff. It was 8:00pm, and the sun was already behind the mountain range. I was a little too late for the sunset. The view was not bad. It could have been a much better scene if the Mt. Rundle was lit by the sunlight. Until I see it, I do not know how to rate here.