We have previously visited the Canadian Rockies three times (2009, 2006, 2005) and loved the majestic mountains, impressive glaciers, and beautiful turquoise lakes. We were excited to return in late summer of 2015 for a two week adventure in Mt. Robson Provincial Park, Jasper National Park, and Banff National Park. We did our due diligence and booked our permits at the first opportunity and lined up a fantastic itinerary of four different backpacks: Berg Lake in Mt. Robson, the Skyline trail in Jasper, and N. Molar Pass/Fish Lake/Devon Lakes and Baker Lake in Banff.

Best laid plans and all of that, right? Our first two backpacks went off without a hitch (with the minor exception of some hazy days from wildfire smoke) and we had a fantastic first week. The variety of the landscape, the stunning scenery, and the amazing day hike to Snowbird Pass solidly puts Berg Lake in my top ten backpacking trips. We followed Berg Lake with the above treeline, barren-but-striking Skyline Trail, which was a nice contrast to the more lush Berg Lake trip. Our last day on the Skyline held a final surprise when we saw a grizzly bear on the trail.

After completing the Skyline trail our trip veered off its plotted course. The weather took a turn for the worse and our second week was mostly cloudy, chilly, rainy and snowy. We know that mountain weather can always be unpredictable, but I admit we got pretty grumpy at times with the long streak of poor weather days (Steve was even driven to proclaim that he would not visit the Canadian Rockies again until he was retired). It is vacation, however, and we had to make the best of it. We did manage to hike most days, altering plans as rain came and went. Our primary hikes in Jasper were Bald Hills, Cavell Meadows, and Sulphur Skyline and we visited Pyramid Lake, Athabasca Falls, Maligne Canyon, Miette Hot Springs, and the Icefields Center. On the day we drove to Lake Louise we had a surprise sunny afternoon and hiked to Lake Agnes and the Beehives. Steve hiked to Plain of Six Glaciers and Sentinel Pass (Norah and I turned around in Larch Valley when it started to snow) and we all walked to Consolation Lakes. We took the opportunity on the rainiest day to visit Upper Hot Springs in Banff and walk around the townsite. A highlight of my time in Lake Louise was a gorgeous morning at Moraine Lake for sunrise; otherwise it was a tough week for pictures.

All things considered, it was a great vacation. Maybe not exactly as we had planned, but the mountains were still beautiful and we had some good times on the trails. Our final itinerary:

Day 0: depart NY, overnight Edmonton (Renaissance Hotel at the airport was a good stay)
Day 1: drive to Mt. Robson Provincial Park and start the Berg Lake Trail, overnight Kinney Lake
Day 2: Kinney Lake to Berg Lake
Day 3: day hike to Snowbird pass, overnight Berg Lake
Day 4: Hike out, overnight Whistler’s Campground outside Jasper townsite
Day 5: Begin the Skyline Trail, overnight Snowbowl Campground
Day 6: Snowbowl to Tekarra Campground
Day 7: Hike out (grizzly!), visit to Miette Hot Springs, overnight Whistler’s Campground
Day 8: Hike at Edith Cavell and visit to Athabasca Falls, overnight Whistler’s Campground
Day 9: Maligne Canyon and Bald Hills hike, overnight Whistler’s Campground
Day 10: Thwarted attempt to hike Wilcox Pass/Parker Ridge on the Icefields Parkway, Norah and I did the Glacier Adventure tour (snowcoach ride on Athabasca Glacier), evening at Pyramid Lake, overnight Whistler’s Campground
Day 11: stop at Pyramid Lake in the morning, Sulphur Skyline hike and Miette Hot Springs, much to Norah’s delight - the Mission Impossible movie, overnight Whistler’s Campground
Day 12: Drive to Lake Louise, Lake Agnes and Beehive