Jasper/Wilcox Pass

I may have mentioned that we went to Jasper.  I was prepared to be impressed, but all I really remember is how crowded it was.  Most of the trails were closed (tsunamis caused by glaciers breaking apart, rockslides, grizzly bears and flooded trails) and there were more tourists in Jasper than I have seen any place else in the Rockies.  By the end of the weekend - after I had taken only one photo worth publishing -

Medicine Lake

I wanted - no I needed to get back into the mountains.  I needed not to be near them.  I needed to be in them.  So on the drive home we stopped and strolled up Wilcox Pass.  This is a highly recommended trail from my favorite guide book that I absolutely ... did not love.

I think I am getting spoiled.  I hike so often and see such amazing things on a weekly basis that I no longer am impressed by things like glaciers viewed from 7500 feet.  It wasn't an awful hike ... it was nice and pretty simple.  Very little serious elevation gain.  Views of the Columbia Icefields.  And People.  Lots of people.  And views of the highway.  It is billed as a 4 star hike, but I would give it only three.

Columbia Icefield fromWilcox Pass

Mary Schaffer Loop/Maligne Lake/Jasper NP:

Distance: 2 miles

Elevation: negligible

Miles hiked in 2012: 61

Miles hiked since arrival in Canada: 130

Wilcox Pass:

Distance: 5 miles

Elevation: 1100 feet

Miles hiked in 2012: 65

Miles hiked since arrival in Canada: 135