Canadian Rockies: Yoho National Park

Driven out of Banff by forest fires (smokey skies, closed trails, and too-near fires), we headed west to Yoho National Park.

Once again, we lucked out, finding the last available campsite in the park at Monarch Campground.  Of course, it was a walk-in site, but with several trips using the wheelchair as packhorse, we were able to walk and roll in, as we watched the parking lot and roadside fill up with less lucky last-minute campers in tents and trailers.

Natural bridge

A paved path leads from the parking lot to a bridge with a view of the rushing river eroding the rock to form a bridge.  

  

My main memory of this stop was busloads of tourists who disembarked, stepped onto the bridge, snapped a photo, and got back on the bus.  This was especially memorable, because the natural bridge for which the stop was developed, was actually only visible from the far side of the bridge.  Thus they probably checked it off of their list and took a photo of lovely rocks and water, but never saw the natural bridge itself!

In this parking lot is one of the area's of the few truly accessible outhouses!

Takakkaw (Tak) Falls

Among the highest falls in Canada, Tak Falls tumble high above the valley floor over 800 feet in one stretch for a total of over 1200 feet (numbers from Wikipedia). A paved path connects the parking lot with the waterfall lookout, about 1/3 mile away (number from my estimation).  The trail is often in the midst of mist and spray, so wear a raincoat or be prepared for a chilly soak.  The way is hilly, so a wheelchair probably needs assistance.  There is also a longer, non-accessible trail with great views of Daly Glacier.

In the parking lot, there is another disabled outhouse conundrum. An outhouse designated "disabled" is on a 6" high concrete slab; meanwhile, the women's washroom next to it has 2 too-small stalls with a ramp poured to get up to door. Go figure.

Ted and two happy rock climbers/photo bombers

Jenny showing off the
paved path in front of
the falls

Emerald Lake

Emerald Lake

We met several people who said they preferred Emerald Lake in Yoho to Lake Louise, because it offered the same brilliantly-colored water and towering mountains with much fewer people.  Similarly, it also offered canoe rentals, a lodge, and a lakeside trail.  The water is usually emerald green (thus the name), but for some reason, it shows up brilliant blue in our photos.

Trail around Emerald Lake 

The lakeside trial goes 5.2 km around Emerald Lake.  Some of it is paved and accessible to all wheelchairs.  On the resort side, the paved trail is above the lake, and on the opposite side it's paved or hard-packed gravel, with small ups and downs, next to the lake.  At the end of the lake, past the resort, the trail becomes a narrow dirt path full of roots, with some boardwalks.   

Emerald Lake at sunset

Having spent so much time in the Rockies, we had to trade our idea of a leisurely camping- and hiking-filled trip home for a one-day race to Seattle.  Turns out not to have been a bad turn of events after all, since most camping and hiking areas in southern BC were closed or covered with acrid smoke as a result of BC's onslaught of forest fires.

Canadian Rockies: Lake Louise (Banff)

Map of Banff NP, including Lake Louise region

Dinner this year &
view we had 20 years ago

Our view this year

We spent our honeymoon hiking in the Canadian Rockies.  We even stayed one night at the luxurious Chateau Lake Louise.  This past summer, 20 years later, we went wheelchair hiking in the Canadian Rockies.  We even had dinner at the Chateau ... before going back to our campsite!

Moraine Lake

Moraine Lake

In the Lake Louise region of Banff National Park,  Moraine Lake is another lake with brilliantly colored water surrounded by mountains and glaciers. This lake also has a luxury lodge, and one can rent canoes and kayaks for the lake.  There are several hiking trails in the area.

Mountains surrounding Moraine Lake

Lakeshore Path at
Moraine Lake

The only path that is slightly accessible is Lakeshore Path. The surface is hard-packed gravel, but but there are steps after a short while, and they can only be circumvented by a short steep hill. These steps are followed by several bridges that you have to step up then down to get on and off. In addition, there are scattered minefields of roots and rocks in the trail, and the trail (as per usual) slants significantly toward the lake.  With serious help, I was able to maneuver past all of these obstacles and get in a lakeside hike with an outstanding view, but we finally had to turn around at bridge too narrow for the wheelchair. 

Lake Louise

Lake Louise is famous for good reason.  It is a brilliantly-colored glacier-fed lake in the middle of the Canadian Rockies, surrounded by mountains and glaciers.  Full of tourist opportunities, there is a stunning luxury chateaux at one end (complete with daily alphorn performances), non-motorized boat rentals on the lake, and hiking trails around and beyond the lake.  The details of this lake are truly best told in pictures (below).

Lakeshore Path at head of lake

Lakeshore Path about 1/2 way down lake

The large visitor parking lot includes disabled parking spots and a disabled washroom, with a good paved path that runs past the chalet (you must only dodge the hundreds of tourists).  Past the chalet to about halfway down lake, the path is still paved, but not in as good condition, and it includes root bumps, bumps and holes (this part would be inappropriate for a power chair, requiring a manual chair with a third wheel).  For the last half of the lake side, the trail surface then turns to hard-packed gravel and dirt to the end of lake, with smatterings of roots and/or rocks.  At the end of the lake, the trail continues into the wilderness, but it is possible only for an all-terrain wheelchair, like my Freedom Chair, and serious assistance (like my husband).


Why Lake Louise is so famous:

Lake Louise from head of lake

Lake Louise at head of lake in afternoon

Lake Louise from head of lake in evening

Lake Louise from midpoint

One more Canadian Rockies blog to go!  Stay tuned for "Beyond "beyond the pavement"" or something like that, dedicated to the trails I did only because of Ted's help and the Freedom Chair.  Soonish ...

Canadian Rockies: Icefields Parkway

Icefields Parkway is a two-lane, paved highway paralleling the Continental Divide for 140 miles from Jasper (in the north) to Highway 1 (in the south, on which you can either drive west to Yoho National Park or east to Lake Louise and Banff National Park.  A Canadian National Parks permit is required for the drive.  Most places have a speed limit of 90 km/hour --  rarely a problem due to the abundance of landscape and wildlife views.

Links:
https://icefieldsparkway.com
http://www.icefieldsparkway.ca/Travel_Cards.pdf
http://banffandbeyond.com/attractions-along-the-icefields-parkway/




The parkway is aptly named for the glaciers and and icefields above.  The Columbia Icefield, which is 125 square miles in area and up to 1200 feet deep (according to Wikipedia), feeds eight major glaciers and includes some of the highest mountains in the Canadian Rockies, many towering
near 12,000 feet.

In July and August, the busiest months, up to 100,000 vehicles per month compete for these views, highway, and parking space.  Since most of these vehicles are busses, holding dozens of tourists, the actual number of summer visitors is astounding, and the parking lots can be buzzing.  Luckily, relatively few of these tourists actually venture beyond the parking lots, simply stepping off of their bus to snap a photo and check a sight off of their lists.  We were able to escape the crowds and explore the area at several sites, going beyond the parking lots.


Unlike the tour buses, we did not complete even a one-way trip in a day.  In fact, we didn't finish in even two days.  Our first campground in the Icefields Parkway was Wilcox.  The campground was full but for one campsite -- the one designated as a wheelchair campsite.  There was a small written
notice requesting that only campers with wheelchairs occupy this site.  Only in Canada would that request have been honored!  But it was!  So, we took the site, and we swatted bugs as we quickly set up our tent.  Despite the fact that I needed to use my all-terrain wheelchair in order to wade through the loose gravel surrounding the nearby "disabled" outhouse, the existence and availability of these things was an unexpected convenience.



The next night, our camping luck finally ran out, and we joined the many similarly luckless and
siteless campers in the parking lot of Mosquito Creek . We celebrated Ted's birthday with pecan tartlets, eating dinner in the dirt parking lot between the car and the tent.  The next day we finished our jaunt down the Icefields Parkway.


The following is a list of most highlights -- from north to south -- on the Icefields Parkway, along with descriptions, photos, and notes about accessibility

* Valley of the Five Lakes

We didn’t stop for this hike.  A ranger said she'd heard of someone in a wheelchair getting up to the second lake, but no farther.

Athabasca Falls --
accessible till it's not!

Athabasca Falls

* Athabasca Falls

Water tumbling through carved rock pathways. A small, paved hill leads from the car parking lot to the paths, so wheelchairs either need strength or an assist getting up.  You could also park in the lower, bus parking area.  The first lookout is accessible via a paved path, but the second lookout is not, due to steps.

*Goats and Glaciers

Lookout into mountains, glaciers, river. Maybe goats.  Short paved path from car to view. Short hill.

*Sunwapta Falls

Missed it.  Read you could take wheelchair to lower, but not upper, falls.

*Mushroom and Diadem Peaks Lookout

Roadside pull out with views of mountains, glacier.

Stutfield Glacier

*Beauty Creek.  

Hike. Didn't go, but ranger said it might be good.

*Stutfield Glacier. 

Roadside pull out with views of mountain and glacier.

Angled viewpoint at Tangle Falls

*Tangle falls

Wide water falls on the east side of the  highway. Parking lots are on the west side of the  highway, with a disabled spot near the out houses on a dirt, upper lot.

*Icefield Center

Center with a restaurant, hotel, a view of Athabasca Glacier from the porch, wifi for all, bathrooms, a trailhead to hike to the glacier, a tour on big trucks that drive onto glacier, a tour that you can walk to overhang with glass bottom a thousand feet above ground, and tons of people.  Didn’t go on any tours, but read that the glacier trucks are wheelchair accessible. Bathrooms are kind of accessible. (One large designated family and accessible stall is separate, but has no grab bars. In large women's room, there is one large stall,  but grab bars either run into toilet paper holders or else are out of reach on wall very far away from toilet.)

Icefields Centre with view of Athabasca Glacier

Athabasca Glacier

Athabasca Glacier

*Bridal Veil Falls

Overlook at highway pull out 

*Canyon with Waterfall and gushing waterfall

We tried, without success to find the name of this unmarked pull-out on the west side of the highway.  A gushing waterfall jumps out of the rocks of the cliff is above you to the south. In the distance, across a field of rocks, is a canyon carved by a stream.  If you can get across the rockfield, there are beautiful views of the canyon edge, but you must climb a steep and narrow cliff to reach the view of the small waterfall beyond.  

*Peyto Lake Overlook

Short hike to overlook with view of valley far below, with bright blue lake and mountains with glaciers.  The hike goes on a short but steep paved trail from the upper parking lot with buses and handicapped parking (you can reach it from the lower car parking lot as well, but that requires more hills). 

*Bow Summit 

At the same parking lot and trail, past the turn-off to the Peyto Lake Overlook is short interpretive trail, paved but with roots and very steep.  After a little way, you meet up with an old fire road and eventually a dirt trail (both of which are very steep for a wheelchair), carrying you past snowfields, marmots, and wildflowers galore, up into mosquitoes and flies, views of mountains and glaciers, Bow Summit, and Bow Lake.

Next stop Banff and a hotel with a bed and a shower!