Our first stop was Patricia Lake and on this day we could see the mountains! While at the lake we could hear a male elk that seemed rather close. As we were heading back to our bungalow to grab our packs we decided to drive through the grounds to see if we could spot the elk.
Patricia Lake
Pano of Patricia Lake
PS - Joe really, really, really wanted to jump off the dock. I advised against it...
The female and young were in the road.
All photos were taken from the safety of our car (FYI).
The male, he was rather large...
It was rather cold so you could see his breath, but what you can't see in this photo is the people in that particular bungalow looking out the screen door at the elk in there 'yard'.
He stomped and snorted at them and they shut the main door rather quickly.
Medicine Lake
It reminded me of The Lord of the Rings movies for some reason... It was very ominous (while it was the entire day) and many burnt trees in the area.
Malign Lake
Our first hike for the day was around Moose Lake.
We were told there was a moose somewhere in the water...
Next trail was Bald hills Trail (13k or ~ 8 miles). The beginning of the hike, I thought - hey this isn't too bad. Then it took a turn into steep climb. The sign at the bottom of the trail said 4-6 hours. However, we had to be on a cruise in a few short hours, so Joe said let's power through as fast as we can. We made it to the top in 1.5 hours. My knees let me know that on the way down... As you will read later, we apparently didn't need to rush the hike like we did. sigh...
We didn't make many photos up... Steep hikes give me a new appreciating for hiking poles. I always thought they were sort of dumb, but now I get it. PLUS it helps with my hand swelling that I seem to get from hiking or walking (anything that keeps my hands low for long periods of time).
Breath taking views of the mountain ranges and Maligne Lake
Pano of Maligne Lake & Ranges
Here is where we took a quick break to have lunch.
I will say the view down was much more enjoyable than the view up. Neither of us realized what was behind us!
Maligne Lake Cruise
When we arrived for the Maligne Lake cruise we made a quick stop in the lodge and Joe said, meet me outside RIGHT HERE. So I come out and waited and waited and waited. This was the second time I felt like he abandoned me on this trip (with no cell phone service). I kept thinking we are going to miss the cruise. I even went down to the gates and asked them to wait as I was waiting for my husband... We needed to leave 3 minutes ago! I kid you not it was like a half an hour later and Joe comes waltzing out with a donut in hand. Yep our cruise tickets were for the day prior. However, they kindly exchanged our tickets for 30 minutes later. (shaking my head)
Random facts about Maligne Lake:
22km long ~ 13.67 miles
largest lake in Canada
90% glacier water
deepest part is 300 meters deep
the range is the longest continuous peaks without valleys
Portion of the range is called the "Queen Elizabeth Ranges", the giant rock was a gift to the Queen.
The central white area are glaciers
Here we were venturing ON spirit island. It's very small and really a peninsula.
One of the most famous photographed places in the Canadian Rockies.
Panoramic of Spirit Island
The return trip...
As we were getting close to shore there was a moose spotting! Of course I was like UGH 85mm lens is useless here. It's like a dot!
However, he was still there munching when we got off the boat, so we made a quick run to the moose. A park ranger was there to guide us as to where we were allowed to be. He wanted to make sure the the moose had enough space when he was ready to get out of the water.
Bird friend as we were leaving
Pitstop
Previous Jasper National Park posts:
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little eloquent notes... ❤