In Jasper: Day One - An American Summer, 2023 - CycleBlaze

July 30, 2023

In Jasper: Day One

Maligne Lake

Somehow, with all the time in the world I still manage to get behind here.  It’s easiest to write up the day in the morning when I’m fueled with a bit of caffeine - somehow this is more effective than an IPA for this purpose - but today’s another hiking day at a popular location when we want to get an early start to beat the crowds, so I’m time boxed.  I’ll see what I can bang out in twenty minutes.

Today’s forecast is for intermittent showers and thunderstorms, but we’ve got several hours at the start so we drive out to Medicine Lake for a ride out to Maligne (pronounced Maleen, I think) Lake and back.  The plan takes a hit though when partway there I start musing about whether I’ve forgotten my cycling shoes - I’m wearing my sandals for the drive because they’re more comfortable.  

Unfortunately I’m right, we find when we arrive at our starting point at the near end of Medicine Lake.  I tell Rachael I’ll just bike in my sandals.  It won’t slow her down after all because she’ll just be biking off the front of the pack anyway.  But it’s pretty cold, and it starts showering just as we arrive at the lake so the bike plan is bagged.  We continue driving out to Maligne Lake for the views, which are spectacular - and once there we enjoy a short walk along the shore to a stunning view of the mountains at the far end of the lake.

Afterwards we drive home, stopping a few spots for the views, taking note of the fact that this would work much better on a bike when you can stop anywhere instead of the few pull offs that exist, and the fact that the crowds are arriving and there’s ten times the traffic that was present when we first arrived.

So that’s the morning.  Ten minutes so far.  Right on track.

Medicine Lake.
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The far end of Maligne Lake.
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Mounts Charlton and Unwin, from Maligne lake.
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Bunchberry again, in bloom this time. It’s easier to see here that bunchberry is a member of the dogwood family.
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Larkspur with fly.
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Bill ShaneyfeltMight be a Sarcophagid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesh_fly
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1 year ago
The drive back gives us a dramatic view of the Colin Range. Astonishing geology. Look at those dipped beds!
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Keith AdamsIt's always astonishing to see ripped, torn, and folded rocks and to consider the time and forces involved to get them that way.
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1 year ago
The upper end of Medicine Lake.
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Fire, or pine beetle devastation?
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Keith AdamsI'm no expert but it looks more like insect damage to me: I don't see any evidence of charred trunks here, just standing timber. It's ripe for destruction by a fire, though.
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1 year ago

Around town

Afternoon gives us more of a break in the weather, so we decide to scrap plans for an afternoon lunch and explore the lakes close in to town on the opposite side of the Athabaska.  We explore them in our own way, each taking an out and back.  Rachael takes a horseshoe-shaped walk, crossing the river a couple miles east of town and then looping back to about Mildred Lake before backtracking.   I take the bike and approach the lakes from the opposite direction.  She puts in a brisk and impressive ten miles, while I rack up a very pokey 18.  The colors are stunning.  I see a new bird.  Done!!

Rats.  The captions slowed me down, so I’m ten minutes over.  Now I’ll have to rush through breakfast.  Chow.

Pyramid Mountain, the iconic peak just north of Jasper. The shot is taken from in front of our house.
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Crossing the Athabaska. Oh, wait. It’s Athabasca. Just read the sign, dummy!
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The Athabasca and Pyramid Mountain. We’re looking straight at Jasper.
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OK, so not alders then. White though. Aspens or birches?
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Bill ShaneyfeltNot birch... I think you can tell them by their bark.

Arf! :-)

Birch bark is the absolute best backpacking fire starter!

http://naturalhomes.org/permahome/birch-bark.htm
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1 year ago
Kelly IniguezDo birch grow in the wild?

I asked google - birch are mostly in the east (although they will grow if planted in most areas) and prefer river banks.

Google also says that aspen has the largest natural range of any tree in North America.

You must have grown up in the east? I wouldn't think birch at all - but I grew up in the west - my mind automatically goes to aspen. Aren't they beautiful trees?
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1 year ago
Bruce LellmanOK, so this has led me to some googling and also to some laughs out loud. I'm from Minnesota where I thought there were no aspen. I think of Colorado and mountains for aspen. But Mr. Google tells me that there are more aspen in Minnesota than any other state!!! I always knew them as poplars because that is what my parents always called them. Mr. Google has now taught me that aspen ARE poplars! I've had a lot of laughs to myself over this but my biggest laugh was when I read Kelly's question, "Do birch grow in the wild?" I guess it's where you grow up!
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1 year ago
Bruce LellmanAnyway, these are definitely aspen/poplars and not birch. You would see at least some flapping-in-the-wind pieces of bark if they were birch.
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1 year ago
Ben ParkeTo Bruce LellmanAs a fellow Minnesotan, and one born and bred in the north of the state, I also grew up calling them poplars. Quite abundant. Birch have declined rather a lot I think. Most stands are Aspen I guess.
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1 year ago
Andrea BrownLook for the eyes in the bark. When you see them, and they see you, it's aspen.
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1 year ago
Bruce LellmanTo Ben ParkeI love Minnesota, especially the north. It's so sad about the birch trees dying. I like Oregon too, where I have lived for the past 40 years! But I still miss many aspects of Minnesota like all the lakes and canoe country. And Lake Superior is one of the most amazing things on earth.
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1 year ago
Pyramid Mountain again, from across Beauvert Lake.
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A view from the same spot, with a wider perspective. Directly across the lake is the famed Jasper Lodge, surrounded by a golf course, an excellent use of land here.
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Always nice to see a friendly face in a strange place. We’d stop to chat more, but then I see a bird I’ve been watching out for over her shoulder so she continues on.
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#177: Red-breasted nuthatch. A poor but definitive shot. Hard to confuse with any other bird.
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Rachael’s shot - a view from a different bridge across the Athabasca.
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Another of Rachael’s shots. This formation is amazing, showing strikingly different colors in different lighting.
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Bruce LellmanRachael's camera is great. There is something about the way it processes color and sharpness that is exceptionally good. Or, maybe it's Rachael's eye for lighting and composition.
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1 year ago
Scott AndersonTo Bruce LellmanShe’s definitely becoming a better photographer, but her phone camera really is impressive. It’s a real quantum jump over the previous generation. If it had as powerful a zoom as mine I might consider just using a phone.
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1 year ago
The Fifth Bridge, across Maligne Creek. There’s a famously beautiful hike here through Maligne Canyon that draws the crowds, but we won’t be taking it. We might have done this morning, if I’d remembered my shoes.
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Maligne Creek. Just upstream the canyon narrows and deepens, the deepest canyon in the national park. We really should walk it sometime.
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I think this is the river, but looks like a lake here. The lighting is incredible here, the plus of being out later in the day.
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Bruce LellmanOK, that's enough. I guess I need to travel to this part of the world soon. So beautiful. Thank you for showing us.
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1 year ago
Scott AndersonTo ann and steve maher-wearyYup. I was stunned myself. It’s remarkable how much it changes with the lighting. It didn’t look like this five minutes later.
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1 year ago
Scott AndersonTo Bruce LellmanDefinitely worth a road trip. September would be perfect.
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1 year ago
Beauvert Lake?
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From the same spot.
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Ghostly. Grisette Mountain, I think. It looks snow-covered in this light.
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Beauvert Lake? Mildred? Could be either.
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Now this is Beauvert for sure. That’s the Jasper Lodge again.
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Such a strange formation.
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Keith AdamsFrom this angle that dark patch looks like Abe Lincoln's face, leaned back and staring at the sky. Who needs Mt. Rushmore?
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1 year ago
Scott AndersonTo Keith AdamsOh, great observation!
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1 year ago
Cliffs along the Athabasca.
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This evening’s feature, a Moraine IPA. The next day’s journal will have to wait.
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____________________

2023 Bird List

     177. Red-breasted nuthatch

Today's ride: 18 miles (29 km)
Total: 1,058 miles (1,703 km)

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Kelly IniguezStunning photos!
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1 year ago