Hiker's Paradise

This photo was taken mid. Oct 1998 while hiking at Mt. Edith Cavell in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.  I look a bit cold but it was actually not as cold as you might think.  It was around the freezing point, which for me is quite comfortable!

Mt. Edith Cavell was named after a heroic British nurse who served in W.W.I.  The mountain has an elevation of 3336 meters and is a fantastic hike.  There are a number of ice caves to explore and plenty of great views to be had.  It is located only 29 km south of Jasper.  The town of Jasper is located roughly in the middle of Jasper National Park.  Jasper National Park is the largest and most northerly of the 4 area parks (Jasper, Banff, Kootenay, and Yoho) and has over 1000 km of trails to enjoy and explore.

At the boundary where Jasper National Park begins and Banff National Park ends, you'll find the Columbia Icefields. The ice covers about 325 sq. km (130 sq. miles), has a depth of 350 m (1148 ft), and is a remnant of the great ice sheet that one covered most of Canada.  In fact, it is today the largest ice mass in the Rocky Mountains.

If paleontology is your hobby (as it is mine), a quick hop across the border to British Columbia will take you to Yoho National Park (where you can hike 'till your heart's content) and  view the incredible Burgess Shale.  The shale contains fossilized remains of soft-bodied creatures from 515 million years ago.  To date, more than 120 species of marine animals have been found.   Some fossils are in such an amazing state of preservation that it is possible to see what the animals were eating just before they died!  Since this site is so unique and of such great importance to us all, it is off limits to unguided hikers.  To gain access to Walcott's Quarry and the Trilobite Beds, you must book with the park authorities for a guided tour.

If larger fossils are more your thing, head to the badlands (1 hr from Calgary) at Drumheller, Alberta (pop. 6,600).  J. B. Tyrrell discovered Albertasaurus here in 1884 while searching for coal deposits and the fossil hunt started.  To date, 35 species of dinosaur and more than 300 complete fossil specimens have been unearthed.  Great beasts such as flesh eating tyrannosaurs and their formidable cousins once ruled this area. This location is considered to be one of the richest fossil deposits in the world and is a World Heritage Site (UNESCO).   The Tyrrell Museum is one of the best museums I have ever seen and they have a superb web-site, definitely worth a visit.

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