June 16, 2023
I decided that the weather was just not looking great for the next few days, and that I’d have to limit myself to one day in Jasper. I decided to make the most of the day I had and started early, walking into town to get breakfast.
The weather remained “unsettled” as it has been for much of the trip, with clearing promised in the afternoon. I took my discount from the hostel to the Jasper Skytram to get a view of the area from above. It was a nice ride in light drizzle to the tram base, then a quick ride to the top. It’s a small tram and they ask you to book your times up and down in advance, so I booked myself an hour on top, and departed on the next one available.
In better weather it’s possible to ride one way and hike the other. There is also a hike up from the top of the tram to adjacent higher peaks. I briefly considered both, but the weather on top was cold and windy with the peaks often obscured by clouds. I quickly retreated to the warmth of the summit house. There isn’t much there if the hikes aren’t feasible, so I rescheduled my descent to the next available tram car.
With that behind me I rode back to the hostel where I had stashed some food for lunch. This gave the weather enough time to change again, leaving me faced with a long bright afternoon. While I had only one day, the days are very long in June. I had as much time as my body could handle.
I rode out of town again, this time to the northeast, towards Maligne Canyon. There are six footbridges across the lower Maligne River, with the canyon between the 1st and 5th bridges. and relatively flat terrain lower down. There is parking at the top of the canyon (1st-2nd bridge) and at the bottom (5th) as well as near the 6th, where the Maligne River flows into the Athabasca. Most people park at the top, where there is also a restaurant and other facilities, and never descend past the 3rd bridge. I initially thought about hiking the entire canyon, starting from the very bottom, but decided that I’d start at the 5th, hike up and take a different route down, completing the entire Maligne Canyon Loop.
There was plenty of space in the parking lot to shed my riding gear in favor of something more suitable for hiking and I started up. Glad I did as the terrain below the 4th bridge was spectacular and included “the prettiest little waterfall in Jasper” (my name, you won’t find it anywhere else). Past the 4th bridge the surface slopes up significantly, and the canyon narrows. It becomes a slot canyon through granite, often barely visible from above. You climb up and over the canyon, while the river cascades through the deepening chasm, well below you and often completely invisible. This section of canyon freezes in the winter and can be hiked then. I may have to come back for that.
I walked back on a different route, a bit away from the canyon and the crowds. Made it back to my bike, changed, and rode back into town. As on previous days, I was tempted to dunk myself into the cold water where I could, but the weather wasn’t quite warm enough for dunking myself with no reasonable way to dry off quickly.
I made it back to the hostel, then walked into town for dinner. After dinner I sat in the lounge for a while and chatted again with some new friends. It was quite nice and I really like this place. I got to bed at a reasonable hour. Tomorrow will be a long day.