My alarm quietly went off as programmed at 01h45. I rolled over and silenced it, putting my headlamp on and unzipping the tent door despite the majority of my body begging me to go back to sleep. The moon shone brilliantly as I slid my shoes on, lazily stepping outside and fumbling to locate my camera’s tripod. I was immediately disappointed with the angle the moonlight was hitting Jasper’s mountains, but made a quick decision to change the angle of my intended shot for something facing more north. I framed the Big Dipper in my viewfinder, knowing that the nearby star Polaris would find the entire night sky circling around it. I adjusted my settings in accordance with the light I was working with, attached my remote shutter trigger, and went back to bed. Over the course of the next two and a half hours the camera would take roughly three hundred images of the night sky, hopefully leaving me with something beautiful to work with in the photo’s post-production phase; I was by no means let down. While I didn't attach the "star trails" image, I did include a single photo of the northern lights below.
Dani and I woke up at 08h00 to much colder temperatures than either of us had expected. With the day before peaking in the high 70s, I was a bit shocked to see the high 30s on my thermometer. She, a true Florida girl, was frigidly cold, lying in the sleeping bag with a long sleeve top, my REI quarter-zip fleece, and my Patagonia down jacket on, still on the verge of shivering. As the sunlight crept its way through the sky and began to cast shadows on the tent, I convinced Dani that we should get up and get a move on the day. We packed up lethargically, still in awe of the mountains that surrounded us, filtered another two liters of gorgeously clear and delicious mountain water, and headed up to the communal picnic tables to eat a small breakfast. We spoke again with Jessica and Jessica, the two women we had met the night before, and talked more about long distance trails, the National Parks we were visiting, and how it was absolutely necessary for Dani and myself to visit British Columbia for more exploring. By the time the two of us were on the trail it was nearly ten, but the opportunity to talk with two provincially-local hikers was unique, enlightening, and well worth the time.
Dani and I woke up at 08h00 to much colder temperatures than either of us had expected. With the day before peaking in the high 70s, I was a bit shocked to see the high 30s on my thermometer. She, a true Florida girl, was frigidly cold, lying in the sleeping bag with a long sleeve top, my REI quarter-zip fleece, and my Patagonia down jacket on, still on the verge of shivering. As the sunlight crept its way through the sky and began to cast shadows on the tent, I convinced Dani that we should get up and get a move on the day. We packed up lethargically, still in awe of the mountains that surrounded us, filtered another two liters of gorgeously clear and delicious mountain water, and headed up to the communal picnic tables to eat a small breakfast. We spoke again with Jessica and Jessica, the two women we had met the night before, and talked more about long distance trails, the National Parks we were visiting, and how it was absolutely necessary for Dani and myself to visit British Columbia for more exploring. By the time the two of us were on the trail it was nearly ten, but the opportunity to talk with two provincially-local hikers was unique, enlightening, and well worth the time.
Northern Lights over the Athabasca River
 Big Bend Campsite |  Ready to Go |
We climbed back out of the river basin as the air temperature began to rise, and I was immediately grateful to have shed all of my insulating layers before we left the campsite. I’ve found over the past few years of more aggressive hiking, mainly on Vermont’s Long Trail last winter, that keeping my SmartWool skull cap on and nearby is one of the easiest/fastest/lightest ways to adjust my internal temperature. It doesn’t involve taking my pack off, stuffs into my pocket, and has a surprising amount of sway in my overall warmth, while not being bulky or limiting my movement. I kept the hat on for the half hour or so before eventually taking it off as we began to climb out from the Athabasca River. While the majority was a gradual incline, there were a handful of sections that had rather steep ascents; we slowed on those parts, as the elevation (my maps say roughly 4,400’) were quite a bit over the sea-level elevations Dani is used to exercising at. Even with pacing ourselves and enjoying the morning hike, we were back into tourists and civilization by 11:30, packing up the car and heading up the road from the Sunwapta Falls trailhead to a small café for lunch.
After hot sandwiches, cold drinks, washing up, and a quick outfit change, we were turning out of the parking lot and making our way south on Alberta-93, or the “Icefields Parkway”. With over 200km until we reached Banff, the drive would take us on a winding route through some of the most impressive mountains and landscapes I’ve ever laid eyes on. The road changed elevation frequently, taking us from a just under a mile high to well over 6,500’. We followed different river systems, each seemingly more vibrant and turquoise than the last, and gawked out the window at the monstrous rock formations that make up the Canadian Rockies. As I drove, Dani used our dash-mounted iPad to reference GPS software for the heights of the peaks that surrounded us – many were well over 10,000 feet tall. About an hour into our drive we arrived at the Columbia Icefield Discovery Center, a jam-packed tourist destination where we had the opportunity to walk up towards the ever-receeding Athabasca Glacier. I was not surprised to see that despite multiple signs warning of crevices people have fallen down and died, visitors were still stepping well beyond the marked boundaries, crossing over ropes to get a “better” view or just to take a selfie. We snapped a few photos, spent a moment or ten in awe of the scale of the glacier and the impact it has had on the surrounding area, and then walked back to the car to carry on with our drive.
The rest of our drive was continually gorgeous and relaxing as we made our way south. We’ve been making the most of my Sirius XM satellite radio, not having to worry about switching out iPods or CDs, and settled on “Siriusly Sinatra”, a station dedicated to Frank and the rest of the Rat Pack. The sun shone through the open sun roof and Dani took a brief nap as the car began a 2 mile climb to the Bow Summit parking lot for Peyto Lake. After a short hike up a paved path we found ourselves on a wooden deck overlooking Peyto itself; one of the most vibrant lakes in the Rockies, it boasts an incredible turquoise hue that stands out against blue skies and evergreen trees surrounding it. I snapped a few photos and we bathed in the sunlight before walking back down to the car for the final stretch to Banff.
After hot sandwiches, cold drinks, washing up, and a quick outfit change, we were turning out of the parking lot and making our way south on Alberta-93, or the “Icefields Parkway”. With over 200km until we reached Banff, the drive would take us on a winding route through some of the most impressive mountains and landscapes I’ve ever laid eyes on. The road changed elevation frequently, taking us from a just under a mile high to well over 6,500’. We followed different river systems, each seemingly more vibrant and turquoise than the last, and gawked out the window at the monstrous rock formations that make up the Canadian Rockies. As I drove, Dani used our dash-mounted iPad to reference GPS software for the heights of the peaks that surrounded us – many were well over 10,000 feet tall. About an hour into our drive we arrived at the Columbia Icefield Discovery Center, a jam-packed tourist destination where we had the opportunity to walk up towards the ever-receeding Athabasca Glacier. I was not surprised to see that despite multiple signs warning of crevices people have fallen down and died, visitors were still stepping well beyond the marked boundaries, crossing over ropes to get a “better” view or just to take a selfie. We snapped a few photos, spent a moment or ten in awe of the scale of the glacier and the impact it has had on the surrounding area, and then walked back to the car to carry on with our drive.
The rest of our drive was continually gorgeous and relaxing as we made our way south. We’ve been making the most of my Sirius XM satellite radio, not having to worry about switching out iPods or CDs, and settled on “Siriusly Sinatra”, a station dedicated to Frank and the rest of the Rat Pack. The sun shone through the open sun roof and Dani took a brief nap as the car began a 2 mile climb to the Bow Summit parking lot for Peyto Lake. After a short hike up a paved path we found ourselves on a wooden deck overlooking Peyto itself; one of the most vibrant lakes in the Rockies, it boasts an incredible turquoise hue that stands out against blue skies and evergreen trees surrounding it. I snapped a few photos and we bathed in the sunlight before walking back down to the car for the final stretch to Banff.
The Athabasca Glacier
 Visiting the Columbia Icefield |  Ten Thousand Foot Mountains |
Dani fell sound asleep as we merged off AB-93 and onto AB-1, again finding ourselves on the Trans Canada Highway with an hour to our destination. As we approached Banff the blue skies gave way to a murky cloud that soon consumed every inch of space above us. I had heard of regional wildfires, and we had heeded the “fire bans” in Jasper, but this was the first I was seeing real evidence of the matter. Around 17h30 we arrived at Tunnel Mountain Campground, checking in with a park ranger while simultaneously witnessing a woman back a 34-foot rental RV into a Forestry Service pick-up truck. We found our campsite quickly and were immediately disappointed in the lack of privacy between sites that Jasper had offered us. Fifteen feet to our left was a tent, ten feet behind us was a tent, and fifteen feet to our right was a third. There’s very little vegetation, and infinitely more children running and screaming throughout the park. We decided against setting up the tent immediately, and instead hopped back in the car and went to downtown Banff for a nice dinner at Earl’s. It’s an American chain, and we have one in Boston, but their gluten free menu was more extensive than many other local restaurants, so it fit the bill for the night.
Setting the tent when we got back to Tunnel Mountain, we climbed in and heard the sounds of other campsites still milling about. Darkness settled earlier over the camp than it had further north in Jasper, but it was a welcome change for my body clock. We’ve got no immediate plans for tomorrow, and I think we’ll make use of that fact to have a more relaxing day in town and around the immediate area. I hope Banff is as incredible for us as everyone who has been here says it will be, but so far I’m just wishing we were able to spend more time in Jasper.
Setting the tent when we got back to Tunnel Mountain, we climbed in and heard the sounds of other campsites still milling about. Darkness settled earlier over the camp than it had further north in Jasper, but it was a welcome change for my body clock. We’ve got no immediate plans for tomorrow, and I think we’ll make use of that fact to have a more relaxing day in town and around the immediate area. I hope Banff is as incredible for us as everyone who has been here says it will be, but so far I’m just wishing we were able to spend more time in Jasper.
Afternoon at Peyto Lake
 Evidence of Wildfire |  Rental RV vs. Ranger Truck |
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