by Brian Patton | Jul 29, 2015 | Banff National Park, Canadian Rockies, hiking, Jasper National Park, Wildflowers
It should come as no surprise that the best hikes to alpine wildflowers would be from the Icefields Parkway—Canada’s longest and highest year-round roadway. And this summer is producing one of the earliest blooms ever in the high country. First off, let’s...
by Brian Patton | Jul 26, 2015 | hiking, Jasper National Park, Wildlife
Some of Jasper Park’s most popular trails reopened this week as the danger from wildfire and rogue bears subsided. Rain and cooler weather dampened the Excelsior Creek Fire in the Maligne Valley, and allowed Parks Canada to lift travel restrictions for the...
by Brian Patton | Jul 23, 2015 | Kananaskis Country, Wildlife
A grizzly bear moved into the Chester Lake cirque in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park on Sunday (July 19), resulting in the indefinite closure of that trail. It was a prime example of what happens when too many people wander into a grizzly’s dining room, and we...
by Brian Patton | Jul 20, 2015 | Jasper National Park, Wildlife
The Jonas Pass-Brazeau Lake Loop, one of Jasper Park’s most popular backcountry trips, has been closed for a month by an aggressive grizzly bear. It is a closure that extends from Nigel Pass on the park’s southwest boundary with Banff Park and around the...
by Brian Patton | Jul 10, 2015 | Jasper National Park
A wildfire in Jasper Park’s Maligne Valley has resulted in the closure of the Skyline Trail and the evacuation of several hiking parties from that popular backpacking route, several by helicopter. A number of other trails that originate from the Maligne Lake...