Icefields Parkway

I woke to a rainy and very cloudy day. I had hoped to do several hikes as I headed south on the Icefields parkway but the weather put that in doubt. As I drove through the deep glacial valleys much of the scenery was obscured by cloud. Needless to say I as a little sad as I hadn't spent much time taking photos on the way up. I stopped and checked out the Athabasca Falls which were pretty impressive and I saw a coyote right on the road.

From Icefield Parkway

Luckily, the Columbia Icefields were not covered by cloud. I took a few photos, spoke to the information desk and headed out to hike to Wilcox Pass. It was a nice hike. The views of the glacier were good but the cloud was closing in. As I approached what I believe was the end of the trail the drizzle of rain turned into a gush. I also heard a loud crack which was either a big avalanche or thunder. I took this as a sign to head back. On the way back I spotted some big horned sheep on the hillside. They were too far away for a photo but I could check them out with my scope. There were also lots of pretty wildflowers on the way. On the way down it stopped raining and I started questioning my decision to turn around. As I got to my car it started pouring down so it turns out that I did make the right decision. I drove in the rain for quite awhile. I had to cancel my plans to hike in various other areas. On the upside, I spotted a "bear jam" - a bunch of cars pulled over to check out a bear. It was a black bear walking parallel to the road. It was pretty cool.

Check out the rest of the full size photos here or view the mini slide show below.