As planned, I got up early and headed out. It was frigid, but the weather was looking good. I made the last-minute decision to make the 65-mile drive to the Columbia Icefield and hike the Wilcox Ridge Trail.
But, before I got out of the campground, I was delayed by elk.
Several cows and calves crossed right in front of me and prepared to cross the highway.
I was about to drive on when I looked over and saw a large bull walking through the woods, so I waited. He crossed right behind me.
Traffic stopped and he never hesitated.
As he crossed the road, he let out that primal elk bugle - awesome.
Nice start to the morning.
With the colder temperatures and the rain, the tops of the mountains were dusted with snow this morning. I stopped a lot to take photos.
The low fog just added to the mystic quality.
So pretty.
Just as I got to the Columbia Icefield, it started raining pretty hard. I drove all that way, and I didn't want to go back, but I didn't want to hike in the cold rain, either. I decided to leave the trailhead and returned to the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre .....
to check out the RV "camping" there.
The setting is certainly gorgeous, even on a rainy, cloudy day.
It's a no hook-up parking lot that is very unlevel. The few spots in the upper corner (center right in the photo above) are really the only decently level sites.
But you can see why people would stay there as you can park and look at the Athabasca Glacier and other glaciers in the icefield.
It's $15.70 CAD per night (about $12 USD). It's first come, first served and there is no water and no dump station. There happens to be good Verizon roaming 4G service there, and there is Wi-Fi at the visitors centre which you may be able to get in the RV parking area with a good booster.
I had planned on staying there, but at that elevation, it was going to be around 20 degrees fahrenheit for the nights we would have been there, so we stayed back in warmer Jasper.
The rain let up after a half hour or so, and I went back to the Wilcox Pass Trailhead which is located on the first part of the drive leading to the Wilcox Creek Campground. I got started about an hour later than I had planned due to wildlife, scenic photo ops, and weather, but I was glad that I hadn't driven all the way back for the Plan B hike.
In the online resources I consulted, there are lots of different distances quoted for the hike I intended to do. The sign at the trailhead says that the round-trip hike to Wilcox Pass is 8k or about 5 miles (2.5 each way). But then there is a spur trail to Wilcox Ridge which is another 1.4k or 0.9 miles one-way. By my calculation, to the Ridge and back is 6.8 miles using the park's numbers, although some websites say it's 6 miles and others say it's over 7 miles. And the elevation change is listed anywhere from 1,200 feet to 1,700 feet on these various websites - that's quite a difference. Some sites rate it as easy or easy to moderate, but I'd call it moderate.
The first part of the hike is uphill through the forest and the trail has lots of roots.
The rain hadn't quit completely, so I stopped to exchange my down coat for my rain gear.
The trail opens up a couple of times, and then comes out to the "red chairs" at about a mile.
The Red Chair Experience was started in the National Parks of Canada a few years ago.
The Red Chair Experience is all about connecting Canadians with nature in our country's most unique and treasured places. Whether it's a quiet place to enjoy an awe-inspiring view or an "I made it!" marker at the end of a rugged hike, a Red Chair offers you a place to relax and truly discover the best that Parks Canada has to offer.
You can go to the Parks Canada webpage here to get locations of "red chairs" throughout the park system.
Lots of people just hike up to the red chairs, take in the view, check them off their list, get photos and return for a fairly quick two-mile round-trip hike.
Beyond the red chairs, the trail is open to views all around, ....
including Athabasca Glacier.
A zoom in shows the "Ice Explorer" tours that drive up on the glacier.
That tour also includes a walk on the glass-floored Skywalk, which is about three and a half miles north of the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre.
Moving on up the trail, which has a few very steep sections, I was hoping to see some Bighorn Sheep. That's a good reason to do this hike, as the sheep are commonly sighted. Some descending hikers indicated there were sheep ahead.
As a crested a ridge, I saw three rams lying to the left of the trail.
And a fourth was standing nearer the trail on the right.
I was pretty close, and I was the only one around, so took lots of pictures of these wonderful creatures.
Wanting to get Athabasca Glacier in the shot, I worked around to the other side of the three.
I spent several minutes with the sheep admiring them and the views.
Then, as I took a shot of this ram in mid-chew, it started to snow.
I had off and on flurries the rest of the hike.
Eventually leaving the sheep, I continued on up the trail as Mount Wilcox was trying to shrug off the clouds.
That next section of the hike, what I called the "middle" section, wasn't as good as the rest. Not long after this stream crossing ....
I came to the sign for the Wilcox Pass which was basically out in the middle of a rocky meadow.
At that point, I should have been 2.5 miles in. At that point, you can turn around and go back, continue hiking through the pass .....
for another five or so miles until you intersect the Icefield Parkway at Tangle Falls, or take the spur trail to the left that goes 0.9 miles to Wilcox Ridge and the viewpoint that overlooks the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre and several glaciers.
Of course, I took the spur trail which hooked back around toward the Columbia Icefield.
Whereas the trail to the pass, was pretty much all uphill, the spur trail to the ridge was a series of ups and downs, ....
a couple of which were quite steep. I popped out on one of the hills and could see people in the distance on the ridge silhouetted by Athabasca Glacier.
It was quite windy and cold up there, so I changed into a fleece, my down coat, and hat and gloves for the remaining trek. I made it to the viewpoint on the ridge and took several photos of course.
Athabasca Glacier (upper center) and the Discovery Centre (lower left).
Dome Glacier was to the right.
And to the left was this view of the Icefields Parkway where I had started the hike.
It was snowing pretty good up there, so the views were limited, but at least it was clear enough to see the highlights.
A lady came by, and she took a couple photos for me after I reduced a few layers for a few seconds.
The sky was trying to clear over Dome Glacier, ....
and Mount Wilcox behind me.
I tried to wait it out to see if the clouds would lift offering even more stunning views. But it was not to be.
I took a couple of zoomed shots of the Discovery Centre and the RV parking way below.
And I spent a few minutes chatting with a couple from England before we all tired of the cold, windy conditions and started back following the stacks of rock cairns marked with little yellow diamonds.
Making my way back toward Wilcox Pass.
I made tracks through that somewhat less interesting middle section. The sheep were still hanging around, but they were now about 50 yards or so off the trail.
I took a few more photos on the way back.
Here's a shot of the red chairs from above.
A couple more shots on the descent.
And here are some folks using the red chairs.
As with all the popular hikes, I try to get out early so at least I can have that wilderness experience in the morning, and then I usually encounter lines of hikers on their way in as I'm leaving.
From there, it was a quick hike back through the woods to the parking lot.
The hike took me a little over four hours, which wasn't bad considering the amount of time I spent with the Bighorn rams on the way up. I was glad I chose this one even though the weather wasn't ideal. Can you imagine the views on a perfect day? Wow.
Back on the Icefield Parkway, there was road construction near the Skywalk and a stopped line of traffic, so I had the opportunity to snap a quick photo of the Skywalk.
It was late afternoon by the time I got back home, and Linda had pretty much finished another rug.
We had some dinner, and I decided to forgo a night drive. I think I had seen enough for today.
Tomorrow, we leave Jasper National Park and head to the neighboring Banff National Park. We have reservations for three nights at the RV campground in Lake Louise. We've heard the crowds there are much bigger than in Jasper, but Lake Louise has been on my radar for a long, long time, so I'm looking forward to seeing it in person. I'll get up even earlier if I have to.
Linda and Howard thank you for sharing your Alaska adventure. My DW and have really enjoyed your blog. I have followed your blog for about 3 years. We have a Tiffin gasser that we use part time. I noticed that most of your pictures have class C Motorhome. Would you have attempted this same trip, I know there may we some restrictions, with your former 5th wheel and truck or a class A motorhome?
Posted by: Don Gerhart | Monday, September 23, 2019 at 12:22 PM
Hi Don,
We definitely would not have done the ferry portion of our journey with our old fifth wheel set-up or a longer motorhome.
And our approach to camping would have been a lot different. It would have taken a lot more planning, and we wouldn't have wandered into some of the places or campgrounds we went with the Class C.
Also, taking our truck places that we took our Jeep on this trip just wouldn't have been possible or practical.
One of the reasons we purchased the Class C was because of our desire to go to Alaska in something smaller, and even at 30 feet, there were places we were considered big.
So, the short answer is no, we wouldn't have done the same trip. But lots and lots of people do a slightly different version with big rigs. We just preferred having the flexibility of the smaller unit, but I would never discourage anyone from making the journey in any rig they wanted. The roads are much better than they were in the past, but caution in certain areas is required.
I don't know if that helps or not, but feel free to email us with any specific questions you may have.
Posted by: Howard | Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at 12:03 AM
Hi Howard
Thanks for the reply. As I said we enjoyed following your travels so much so that my DW went out and bought Milepost and another Alaska camping book. We will probably be downsizing in a few years and will probably make some sort of trip north. Wife’s bucket list is to see Northern Light so we may be around in late September.
Again, thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Don Gerhart | Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at 05:42 PM