Glacier – travellingzombie.com

Emerald Lake

Avoiding visitors to Emerald Lake in Canada

It’s in all of the travel pictures – stunning, calm, serene emerald waters, but what is Emerald Lake really like?

On our road trip around parts of Canada, we took some time to visit Emerald Lake as a stop off en route towards our next location.

The first thing that struck us about this place was the different approach it had taken towards visitors to the lake. Many of the other places we had stopped at were full of cars, visitors and camping vans, parked up as close as possible to the edge of the water. Whilst this is great for getting a viewing spot, it’s not so great for trying to find a calm, quiet place to absorb the beauty of the view. Some of the places we visited were busier than their town centres!

Emerald Lake differed in this respect, as cars were not allowed over the small wooden bridge towards the accommodation. Instead, a car park and shuttle bus was provided to support people too and from the cabins. This resulted in the lake being a little less crowded – not that it wasn’t busy (it certainly was), but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as some of the places we visited (Lake Louise we’re looking at you!).

The trip over the little bridge was also quite exciting, it made the lake feel a little more hidden and cut off from the rest of the world.

We were staying in one of the cabins alongside the lake and they were beautiful! Looking out of the window, past the balcony (yes we had a little balcony!), the colours of the lake were so vivid, even from a distance. The rooms were basic but fairly spacious and included a little log fire which would be lovely in colder weather. They were beautifully designed to blend in with the blue skies and green waters.

The main lodge was a great place to hang out in the evenings – a mixture of pool, beer, TV and music made sure that we were all well entertained (one night a little girl jumped on the piano and she was incredible!).

The path around the lake is the jewel in the crown when visiting Emerald Lake. We only did the lake circuit (you can head up to the basin for more stunning views) but it was one of the most memorable walks of our trip. The lake trail is around 5km and is a fairly easy walk in most places – although there are some muddy, forest parts which would be challenging for someone with accessibility needs.

The start of the path takes you out on to a gravel path and as soon as you get past the first couple of yards, most of the visitors to Emerald Lake fade away. We only saw one or two other people for the rest of the walk – this was brilliant as the escape from the crowds left us feeling much more immersed in nature.

The first half of the walk keeps you close to the shoreline on a gravel path and gives a close-up view of the path the glacier follows as it melts down to the lake. Whilst making our way around the lake, a fire helicopter made numerous visits, filling up the water bucket on the way to a nearby forest fire.

The wooden bridge at the far end of the lake marked the start of the return journey. The path ran through a forest area for most of the walk home, giving very different views. This was my favourite part of the walk as it was fairly dense and almost had a jungle-like feel to it.

Staying on the lake is an excellent idea if you want to grab some photos that don’t include 20 other visitors. Once everyone goes home, you get a much more natural experience of the environment.

Evenings by the lake were beautiful, particularly once most day visitors had gone home. We were lucky enough to find a pier without anyone around and sat looking out on to the lake in silence, admiring the colours and stillness in the early evening.

When the place you discover by accident becomes one of the most beautiful places you have visited: Tioga Pass / Tenaya Lake

Most of you know by now that Yosemite is my favourite place in the world (so far!). You can read our posts on Mirror Lake and Camping for some background on our trips. I’m working my way up to a big post on the Half Dome hike – there is so much to share on this topic that it has been in progress for a while!

Around every corner is a stunning new view and the way the park has retained its ‘wildness’ just adds to its allure. Even after a couple of visits to the park, we have still found something new each time.

On our last trip, we were leaving Yosemite by a different exit, crossing Tioga Pass to make our way towards Death Valley. We had passed over Tioga Pass before, but we had done it at 2am in the thickness of night and therefore missed the views. This time, we were leaving Yosemite in the early morning and had enough light to see all of the sights on offer.

Tioga Pass is the highest highway pass in California and the Sierra Nevada. Due to its height, it’s usually the last road to open in summer and the first road to close in winter due to the ice and snow. On the journey, our ears were soon popping and the first time we made the trip, our bag of crisps burst open due to the altitude pressure: making us pull the car over, half in shock, half grateful that it wasn’t the gas canister for the camping stove!

On this trip in the daylight, the trip probably took us twice as long as we stopped every ten minutes or so to pull over and admire the surroundings.

One place in particular really captured our attention: Tenaya Lake. Located at an elevation of 8,150 feet, this alpine lake is incredible. As we drove towards it in the car, both Wandering Beeb and I were lost for words, with “wow” being the only thing we had to say.

Set back from the road, the little sandy beach and picnic table framed the water perfectly. The lake was formed by a glacier and the cliffs in the background stood out against the blue of the waters.

We didn’t know the lake was there, we hadn’t read any reviews and we certainly hadn’t built our route around visiting the lake. This was one of those occasions where going with the flow and meandering to our next destination had paid off, revealing a view we’d never intended to see and one that never left our minds.

Day Trips from Jasper National Park

Places to visit from Jasper National Park

Last year, we were lucky enough to spend some time in Jasper National Park.

Waking up early one morning, we heard hushed voices right outside the cabin. Peaking out, a herd of elk were lazily wandering down the embankment. We must have watched silently with about ten other travellers as they made their way from the river to the thick tree coverage.

What a beautiful way to start the morning!

Although we weren’t in Jasper for long, we did get chance to take a couple of day trips. These are our ‘don’t miss’ suggestions:

Athabasca Falls

A furious waterfall on the upper Athabasca River, this was a great way to spend a morning. It was only around a half hour drive from our base in Jasper and was fairly easy to find. The force of the water is incredible, as is the noise as it crashes down into the gorge below. Over the years, the water has channelled a way through the softer cliff walls, creating a twisting, turning chasm.

The viewing areas for the waterfall are well thought out, jutting out at a variety of places across the water. Athabasca Falls is located just off highway 93A, making it a great little stop if you are visiting the Athabasca Glacier or driving down the Icefield Parkway.

Jasper Town Centre

If you are heading through Jasper, you can’t miss a trip to the town centre. Set out on a long stretch of road, multiple little shops await, full of the usual souvenirs and bear spray. This is not why you should visit the town centre. I have a bit of a pet hate of natural parks and remote places adding lots of shops (I’m looking at you Banff). I can completely understand the need for a couple of little stores, stocked with essentials and set up to blend in with the surrounding area – however national parks don’t need shopping complexes in my opinion. Anyway, with that in mind: go to Jasper town centre, find the shops and then turn your back on them. Look in exactly the opposite direction and you will be greeted by an incredible view of the Rockies.

I’m not sure if it was the contrast of the mountains against the shops and cars, but this was truly an amazing view. It looked just like a cardboard cut out of a storybook skyline and it was breathtaking.

Athabasca Glacier

This was a slightly longer drive from where we were staying (about two hours). Try to keep your eyes peeled on the drive down the Icefield Parkway as early morning trips are likely to reveal lots of wildlife spotting opportunities.

The weather change from Jasper town centre to the glacier is huge – we started in shorts and ended up wrapped up in layers and winter coats! You can read all about our Glacier Trip here.

Maligne Lake

This was the underdog of the day trips from Jasper. I didn’t know much about the lake and we’d not really done much research about the visit, deciding our destination on the spur-of-the-moment.

If you plan to visit the lake, it’s worth trying to have as long there as you can – you won’t want to leave! What a setting this place is! Emerald waters stretch away from the sandy shore, framed by the glacial mountains in the distance, it’s clear why this location is one of the most photographed in the Rockies.

One of the main attractions is Spirit Island – reachable by one of the many over-priced boat rides on the lake. The Stoney Nakoda First Nation believe that the Island is a spiritual place, particularly as it is overlooked by three of the glacial mountains, which they believe to be their ancestors. As you can’t actually set foot on Spirit Island, we chose to do a walk around the lake instead.

A trail follows the outline of the lake, giving glimpses of the mountain range through the tree line.

I found Jasper to be far prettier and much more relaxed (and cheaper!) than it’s much-discussed Banff neighbour. Lots of other travellers told us to spend longer in Banff than Jasper, but I’m going to be rebellious and suggest that longer in Jasper would have been better. This might have been something to do with our little log cabin stay at Jasper House Bungalows which, although fairly expensive, were in a gorgeous setting, looking out over the Athabasca River.

We had some incredible sunsets here too, it was such a tranquil setting.

Walking the Athabasca Glacier

Was it cold? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

It’s not every day you get to walk on a Glacier! I’d planned really well for this trip, even bringing thermals because I knew that the glacier would be cold, and I really struggle with the cold! I’d love to say that my preparations left me toasty warm whilst on the glacier……but stupidly I was tricked into a false state of security due to the hot weather when we left Jasper. This meant that my thermals stayed firmly in the cabin whilst I froze!

As we headed out towards the glacier, the temperature dropped steadily and we all counted down the numbers on the dashboard display with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. The change in landscape was stark – from the green grass and trees of Jasper to the increasingly snow-topped mountains of the Icefields Parkway. The scenery was simply stunning.

Unbelievably, as we pulled into the parking lot for the glacier trip, it actually started to snow! I was first out of the car and it was absolutely freezing! It was hard to believe we had gone through such a temperature change during the drive up! Hoods up and heads down, we ran over to the main visitors centre to try and get warm. The gift shop was full to bursting of other travellers trying to do the same thing and it was chaos! Having not anticipated the number of people visiting the centre, we had quite a wait a while until we actually started our trip out on to the glacier.

What to take when you are walking the glacier:

A book /IPod – it gets busy at the ticket booth for the glacier & getting there early is a must. We arrived at 12.30pm and our ticket time was 4.45pm so there was a lot of waiting around. Alternatively, you can book your slot in advance which is highly recommended.

Bring some food / drink for whilst you are waiting. It will save you lots of money (the restaurant is fairly expensive) and a flask of something hot will warm you up on the ice.

Waterproof coat – it was snowing when we were up on the glacier and my huge waterproof hood came in handy for staying dry and keeping my ears warm. Of course, you might have beautiful sunshine whilst you are up there but it will still be fairly cold!

Base layers – as I mentioned, I left mine in my case as it was sunny when we left Jasper. By the time we hit the glacier, I was freezing and wishing for a good pair of thermals. I was kicking myself for the rest of the day for leaving them back in the cabin.

Gloves – goes without saying, when you get cold, fingers and toes are the first to feel it!

Sturdy boots – walking boots if you have them, paired with thick socks. I had Vibram soles and was still feeling like I could slide over at any point.

Nerves of steel – the Ice Explorer used to transfer you from the road to the glacier takes some fairly steep hills (45 degree angle at some points) and for someone who isn’t keen on edges, it’s pretty scary!

An empty water bottle – so you can drink some of the glacier water – on the day we went, there was a smoky tinge to the water due to a recent forest fire.

Sunglasses – although it can be cold, if the sun is out, your eyes will thank you for some relief from the glare of the snow!

A camera! The views are stunning and you won’t want to miss them!

The only way on to the glacier is via the Ice Explorers, operated by Brewster. These are huge machines and whilst they are designed for all terrain, it was still pretty scary to be moving down to the glacier at 45% angles! Sharp drops, rubble and rising snow drifts rolled past the windows, my stomach lurching each time the Ice Explorer tilted or rocked. The Explorer works on engine braking, rather than using its actual brakes down the steep slopes. The driver (a guy from Wales who seemed like a knowledgable, friendly dude) told us all to buckle up, laughing as we all reached for the non-existent seat belts.

Stepping out on to the ice was amazing. The wind and snow was biting and it was instantly hard to catch my breath. Although the area on the glacier designated for visitors was fairly small and the time spent out on the ice was short, it was absolutely incredible. The sheer size and scale of the mountains, coupled with the intense weather made me realise just how harsh and unforgiving this type of landscape is. Encouraged by the guide, we filled our water bottles with the glacier water, tasting the smoke from a nearby forest fire and wandered around the surface of the glacier, snapping pictures with shaky, cold hands.

The visit to the glacier is topped off with a ‘Skywalk’ experience – a walkway suspended over a 918 foot drop with a glass floor. I’d been on something similar at the Grand Canyon but it didn’t stop the ground spinning dizzily away as we made our loop of the structure. Valleys and canyons below us, we focused on the waterfalls in the distance, being fed by the glacier above.

Although most of the day was spent feeling freezing cold, wet and uncomfortable – not to mention fairly scared (me and heights don’t mix), it was completely worth it. There are few places that truly make us realise how much we are at mercy of the elements. Sure, some people do get to go on expeditions and explore the places we only see in pictures, but Athabasca Glacier is one of those places that allows us mere mortals to feel like we are right there with them, grasping adventure by the scruff of the neck and doing something that truly is a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience.

Have you visited the glacier? Share your experience in the comments!