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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Take a walk on the wild side

Jasper's hiking trails a great escape from crowded tourist nature sites

By: Andrea Hill

Posted: 08/21/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Inspired by views like this, hikers on the Overlander trail declare Jasper to be one of the world's most beautiful places. (CNS )

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Mountain sheep are a familiar sight for visitors to Jasper.

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An Alberta rose provides the setting for a life-and-death struggle between two bugs.

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A red fox crosses the road near Maligne Lake in Jasper. (CNS )

JASPER, Alta -- Eight kilometres into Jasper's Overlander trail, my feet were becoming hot and cramped in my dusty shoes and my camera seemed to weight heavier around my neck.

My dad and I had just hiked along the east bank of the Maligne River, inadvertently terrifying a family of wood ducks as we walked through marshland and admired a silver and green willow forest. Our path was now blocked by a small stream, which I doubt existed when the trail had been reviewed for the Hike Jasper National Park website.

While we could easily have waded across, neither of us fancied attempting the rocky bottom in bare feet, or on the other hand, hiking another six hours in wet socks. Grabbing logs cut from felled trees, we rolled them into the running water to form a makeshift bridge.

We inched across, grabbing onto thorny wild rose bushes for support. Somehow, my feet still got wet.

Once safely on the other side, my dad was fascinated by a grotesque burl disfiguring the profile of a fir tree and I was trying to remember pictures of bear scat my natural-history professor had posted in PowerPoint presentations and decide whether they resembled a large pile of dung beside us on the trail.

The Hike Jasper website warns that bears frequent the trail, and I had developed a crick in my neck from frequently looking over my shoulder to check for signs of movement. However, although we saw deer tracks littered along the trail, shed antlers poking out from the underbrush and an elk skeleton a short distance from the trail, our journey had been devoid of bear sightings.

Instead, we gazed on vibrantly coloured wildflowers, transitioning forest and gorgeous mountain views. We even passed an old homestead -- now little more than a pile of logs overgrown by weeds and wild grasses -- that long ago housed a Métis family. I often became sidetracked, snapping photos of trees, mountain views and the life-and-death struggles of bugs on wild roses.

The picturesque Overlander trail starts at Jasper's Sixth Bridge picnic area and heads north, ending at the parking lot where Highway 16 crosses the Athabasca River by the Cold Sulphur Springs.

The trail is named for a group of 19th-century travellers, the Overlanders, who passed through the Athabasca Valley on their journey from Winnipeg to the goldfields of British Columbia. The well-defined trail rises gradually, with a few steep climbs and downward scrambles that make for varied hiking.

It is 16 kilometres long. The Hike Jasper website recommends bringing two vehicles and parking one at each end of the trail, but my dad and I chose to overlook this recommendation. We had been looking forward to a full-day hike as part of our weekend getaway and wanted to hike the trail both ways.

As we ascended through the forest, my feet began to dry as the day became warmer. The hike was silent except for the call of songbirds and the thud of our feet against the dusty ground. I found it pleasantly removed from some of Jasper's more crowded tourist nature sites, such as Athabasca Falls, where large coaches bring dozens of excited travellers for brief photo opportunities.

The hike was so secluded that we didn't encounter another human being until a group of teenagers ran past us in the opposite direction as we navigated our way carefully along the side of a cliff. I couldn't help but admire their ability to move at such a speed along a trail riddled with roots and rocks that could easily have tripped them and sent them plummeting down the side of a mountain.

-- Postmedia News

IF YOU GO

THE Hike Jasper National Park guide, available at hikejasper.com, gives information about many of Jasper's most popular hikes, including directions, distances, points of interest and estimated completion time.

There are five Hostelling International hostels in Jasper, though only the Jasper Hostel offers running water.

Hostel information can be found at www.hihostels.ca.

You need a park pass to stop in any national park and to access the Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper. Passes can be bought at the Jasper Park gates. A one-day pass for a group of up to seven people costs $19.60. Annual passes are also available.

Although it is possible to arrive in Jasper on a Greyhound bus and shuttle to some hostels or hotels, it is difficult and expensive to fully explore the park without a vehicle.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 21, 2010 E3

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