It wouldn’t be a vacation for us if we didn’t have to reconfigure at least some portion of our itinerary on the fly. Our original plan had us completing four backpacking trips. We managed the first two, Berg Lake and the Skyline trail, and they were fantastic. The fate of the last two, Devon Lakes and Baker Lake were to be determined. Before hiking the Skyline Trail we noticed the long term forecast didn’t look favorable. Upon completion of the Skyline we went straight to the visitor’s center for a weather check and unfortunately the forecast still looked poor. Additionally, the smoke was much worse as you traveled south towards Banff National Park. So it was with reluctance that we decided to forgo Devon Lakes and instead camp in Jasper for some day hiking and make a call on Baker Lake later (spoiler: it too was cancelled).

There were plenty of tent campsites left at Whistler's Campground and we got a site for the next five nights. It was still early in the day and we decided to make the ~ one hour drive to Miette Hot Springs north of Jasper. Great choice - it felt good to soak and relax after seven days on the trail. We talked about hiking options for the next few days and crossed our fingers that the rain wouldn’t be too bad to keep us from the trails.

The weather didn’t exactly cooperate. We weren’t completely defeated though; we managed to slip in some hiking and find ways to fill our days. We hiked around Edith Cavell, Bald Hills and Sulphur Skyline (followed by another soak in Miette Hot Springs), visited Athabasca Falls and Maligne Canyon, strolled around Pyramid Lake Island, and took a drive on the Icefields Parkway. We had hoped to hike Wilcox Pass and/or Parker Ridge and promptly abandoned this plan in the face of rain/sleet/snow and freezing temperatures. Norah lobbied for a snowcoach ride on the Athabasca Glacier and I obliged. She was tickled to set foot on the glacier. We rounded out our time by seeing Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, visiting the shops in Jasper, and having several terrific meals at Famoso.

Resources:

Jasper National Park website (hike descriptions, basic trail maps, and a printable day hiking guide): Hiking in Jasper National Park

Miette Hot Springs info: Miette Hot Springs

On all four of our trips Brian Patton and Bart Robinson’s book has been indispensable in planning: Canadian Rockies Trail Guide

Favorite food: Bear's Paw Bakery for coffee and breakfast goodies and Famoso Neapolitan Pizza (can't believe I'm recommending a chain, but it was great!).