Saskatchewan Glacier from Parker Ridge, Banff National Park

The switchbacking trail to the alpine summit of Parker Ridge in northern Banff National Park has a reputation for being the most scenic short hike in the Canadian Rockies. On Sunday, July 28, 2013, I recorded my 57^th “ascent” of the ridge.

Most of my Parker Ridge trips were completed when I worked as an interpreter in Banff’s north country for three seasons. I usually led walks to the ridge twice a week, and a visitor once asked if I ever got bored. “Never,” said I. At that elevation, the growing season is so compressed that flowers are bursting into bloom every few days. Every trip was a surprise.

The primary attraction at trail’s end is the view of the Saskatchewan Glacier flowing from the Columbia Icefield. And the biggest surprise on Sunday was the size of the meltwater lake at its toe: It seems to have grown significantly since we last visited several years ago.

The next couple weeks, before the first hard frosts of mid-August, should be outstanding for flower watchers. The subalpine meadows on the lower slope are already in the peak of bloom, purple hedysarum is flooding the mid-elevation slopes, and forget-me-nots, white mountain avens and moss campion are starting along the summit ridge.

And don’t ask me how I know I’ve climbed Parker Ridge 57 times.