Canadian Summer: Jasper & Athabasca Glacier

Travel Journal

Apr 19

As a person who doesn’t drive myself, I don’t know if I’d ever have had the chance to explore Jasper, if I didn’t go with my cross-Canada Contiki group. But the advantages of having our tour bus and a group of new friends to travel with were undeniable.

I began our day in Jasper feeling a little bit of relief from one of the Worst Colds I’ve Ever Had, so I was able to enjoy our sight-seeing!

First thing in the morning, we hopped on the bus and headed to Maligne Canyon for a beautiful morning hike. It wasn’t a long hike, but walking next to the rushing waters of the canyon was such a refreshing way to start our day.

Then we got back on the bus and headed toward Maligne Lake for a short cruise out to Spirit Island – a culturally significant island in Jasper National Park.

But on the way, we stopped at another gorgeous lake that I can’t believe I’d never heard of before: Medicine Lake. The water was so colourful and bright, I wish we could have spent more time there.

When we arrived at Maligne Lake, our group split up and we got on small boats for the 90-minute cruise out to Spirit Island.

The cruise director told us all about Maligne Lake and how Spirit Island is a spiritual place for the Stoney Nakoda First Nation because it is surrounded by the same mountain range on three sides. I couldn’t wait to see it in person. And the views were absolutely breathtaking.

We had some time to observe Spirit Island (no one is permitted to walk on the island itself) before getting back on the cruise boat and heading for shore.

By the time we got back to the hotel, I was starting to feel quite ill again. My cold was back with a vengeance. I wrapped myself in sweaters and blankets and spent the rest of the afternoon hoping to sweat it out.

At one point, I had a foggy head and stuffed sinuses so bad that I remember thinking I’d have to take a flight back home from Jasper, because I’d be too sick to continue on.

Thank goodness I woke up the next morning feeling a lot better. I took a Tylenol and brought along another couple of bottles of Gatorade to keep me going until I was back to 100%.

I’m extra grateful that I was feeling better for this day, because we would be visiting the Athabasca Falls and Glacier.

First thing in the morning, we stopped at Athabasca Falls for a quick View Appreciation on the way to the glacier.

As we approached Athabasca Glacier, our tour manager told us that it’s a Contiki tradition for visitors to strip down to their underwear on the glacier – in case any of us felt the desire to join in on that tradition.

If you’ve read through my travel journals, you might know by now that I love to grab a (non-risky) experience by the horns and jump right in. So, Sophie and I agreed that we would do the glacier undies tradition together.

This is one of my favourite moments on this trip. Only a couple of people out of our very large (50-ish person?) group stripped to their undies on the glacier. But I’m so glad that we took the leap together.