If the ride up the Icefield Parkway was any indication of how beautiful Jasper was going to be, we were in for a perfect trip. Check out this map-there are so many mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers and wildlife on this section of the parkway; it will blow your mind.
It is named one of the top ten most scenic drives in the world. It does not disappoint. On our ride up the parkway from Revelstoke to Jasper we encountered some weather issues. I guess you should expect snow in mid-May. The journey took us 6 hours to reach to the town of Jasper. We decided that due to the weather conditions we would not be camping in Jasper and decided on the "Swiss Chalet" hostel. (Chalet is being used loosely). We became intimate with our 40 hostel mates in our bunkroom. Thankfully no one snored!! Several of our housemates were from England and Australia. The English boys were enthralled with the guys from Holland and could not stop talking about how awesome they were because they were from Amsterdam. (the alcohol talking). The hostel had a big kitchen so everyone was able to do his/her own cooking. Roby and I made several good dinners. On the first full day the weather was not cooperating. We would get some sun sneaking through and then five minutes later it would start snowing, then the rain would come and then the hail. We were hoping to get on our mountain bikes but instead we decided to take a scenic driving tour of the area. Safer and drier. Of course once we got out and about the weather cleared. The number of lakes in the area is mind boggling, let alone the size of each one. The Maligne Lake also called Medicine Lake disappears at points due to the underground aquifers. The aboriginals thought it was a magical lake before they figured it out. Pyramid Lake is at the end of the road and has the perfect cabin lodge right on its banks. You get a unique perspective because many of the lakes are still frozen this time of year. We then headed into town and had a few beers at the Jasper Brewing Company and watched what else but hockey. Jasper is much bigger than Revelstoke and definitely has more of an Aspen feel to it whereas Revelstoke is more of a "locals" town. Definitely more money and tourism in Jasper, but it still has a quaint feel to it.
We were glad that we waited until our second day to test out the trails. The weather improved dramatically and we had the perfect riding weather-65 and sun. The hostel employees recommended the Old Fort Trail #9 which runs near what else but "Five Lakes". The trail had a great mixture of climbs and drop offs. Unlike the other forest trails in Washington where we had to maneuver around tree stumps and roots, we now were dodging big boulders. I am getting much better at riding the narrow wooden bridges across the rivers. Just keep your eyes focused on where you want to go and not where you are going (like in the water) and you will be fine.
After encountering quite a bit of wildlife in the middle of town (elk, bighorn sheep and deer)Roby strapped on his dive knife for his battle with the bears while we were on our ride. We put in a full day about 4 1/2 hours on the trail before we headed down the Icefield Parkway to Chateau Lake Louise. We had already checked out of the hostel so we whipped off our biking outfits at the trailhead on put on some "clean" clothes and headed to our 5 star rendezvous.
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