Ted went down to the falls near the campground before I was awake this morning. A little later he rode around the campground to check on potential campsites that we might fit into. We stayed around until after one when the woman we talked to yesterday came on duty. Ted went to talk to her and changed our reservations to a different site after Friday in case we can't find a place to stay closer to Jasper Town which is about forty miles from here. The lady called other campgrounds for us and we think we can get a site with electricity in a few days nearer to town.
We then drove down to Maligne (means evil or wicked) Canyon just this side of Jasper. On the way we saw six elk and four longhorn sheep. I had read that you should start near bridge five so we drove in there but the trail was closed. We drove further up the road and parked near the top of the gorge. Unbeknownst to us we started near bridge two. The gorge was so deep at over a hundred fifty feet that we could barely see the water. We hiked down the trail with many other people until we got almost to bridge four. We decided to take the upper trail which showed on a sign that it passed by another gorge which we never saw. The trail was much higher than the other trail and much flatter with way less traffic. In fact we only met two other couples on the trail. We could usually see the other trail below us as well as the river flowing beyond the trail. This trail met up with the lower trail that follows the river near where the bridge five trail was closed so we returned by the river trail. This trail was more up and down over slippery rocks but closer to the water so we got some great photos of various falls including ones that come in from caves at the sides.
There is an extensive drainage system that connects Medicine Lake to Maligne Canyon which could be the largest undiscovered cave system in Canada. The area is a karst system of a maze of canyons, caves, sinkholes and springs. At the water falls near the First Bridge, the Maligne River flows at a few cubic meters per second during an average June day. Up to forty-five cubic meters per second can pass out of the canyon below the sixth bridge during the same day. Much of the additional water comes from springs between the fourth and fifth bridges, turning the meandering river into a torrent of rushing water.
Climbing up we were by the fourth bridge before we realized we had missed it. Ted went back to see what we had missed but I had to use the facilities so headed up what seemed much further and steeper than what we had come down. I was huffing and puffing by the time I reached the parking lot by bridge two and was out of water. Summer has finally arrived up here and it was hot and dry. I ditched my backpack and walking sticks in the car and walked to the bathrooms (pit toilets). When I came out, Ted had caught up to me so we went in to the Maligne Canyon Gift Shop. There were more than a dozen cases of sculptures by this one artist, mostly of wildlife but carved from all types of beautiful stones. At times like this, I'm glad to live in an RV as it saves me lots of money knowing I don't have room to display or even store these incredible pieces of art.
We decided we needed to walk to the first bridge that we had missed and were glad we did. In a short distance we watched a normal river that you could walk along its banks, drop to over a hundred fifty feet through a narrow gorge rubbed smooth by the action of corrasion (grinding by water carried sand and gravel). We walked as far as bridge two and returned to the parking lot.
On the way home we saw another female elk and two more sheep. We also saw the first passenger train we have seen since we have been out west. We have often talked about taking the train across Canada and would still love to do it some day.
Tally for the day: Elk, 7; Longhorn Sheep, 7.
We then drove down to Maligne (means evil or wicked) Canyon just this side of Jasper. On the way we saw six elk and four longhorn sheep. I had read that you should start near bridge five so we drove in there but the trail was closed. We drove further up the road and parked near the top of the gorge. Unbeknownst to us we started near bridge two. The gorge was so deep at over a hundred fifty feet that we could barely see the water. We hiked down the trail with many other people until we got almost to bridge four. We decided to take the upper trail which showed on a sign that it passed by another gorge which we never saw. The trail was much higher than the other trail and much flatter with way less traffic. In fact we only met two other couples on the trail. We could usually see the other trail below us as well as the river flowing beyond the trail. This trail met up with the lower trail that follows the river near where the bridge five trail was closed so we returned by the river trail. This trail was more up and down over slippery rocks but closer to the water so we got some great photos of various falls including ones that come in from caves at the sides.
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| Lilies at Our Campsite |
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| Elk Beside the Athabasca River |
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| Maligne River Before it Starts Carving Canyon |
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| Starting to Carve |
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| Getting Deeper |
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| Forming Potholes |
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| Rotate your viewer |
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| Near Bridge 2...rotate your viewer |
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| More Potholes Forming |
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| Canyon and River from Upper Trail |
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| Deep Canyon |
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| Bright Hiker |
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| Upper Trail |
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| Looking Down on Lower Trail and River |
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| Falls by Lower Trail |
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| More Falls |
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| Falls From A Cave |
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| Carved Smooth |
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| Caves in the Canyon Walls |
There is an extensive drainage system that connects Medicine Lake to Maligne Canyon which could be the largest undiscovered cave system in Canada. The area is a karst system of a maze of canyons, caves, sinkholes and springs. At the water falls near the First Bridge, the Maligne River flows at a few cubic meters per second during an average June day. Up to forty-five cubic meters per second can pass out of the canyon below the sixth bridge during the same day. Much of the additional water comes from springs between the fourth and fifth bridges, turning the meandering river into a torrent of rushing water.
Climbing up we were by the fourth bridge before we realized we had missed it. Ted went back to see what we had missed but I had to use the facilities so headed up what seemed much further and steeper than what we had come down. I was huffing and puffing by the time I reached the parking lot by bridge two and was out of water. Summer has finally arrived up here and it was hot and dry. I ditched my backpack and walking sticks in the car and walked to the bathrooms (pit toilets). When I came out, Ted had caught up to me so we went in to the Maligne Canyon Gift Shop. There were more than a dozen cases of sculptures by this one artist, mostly of wildlife but carved from all types of beautiful stones. At times like this, I'm glad to live in an RV as it saves me lots of money knowing I don't have room to display or even store these incredible pieces of art.
We decided we needed to walk to the first bridge that we had missed and were glad we did. In a short distance we watched a normal river that you could walk along its banks, drop to over a hundred fifty feet through a narrow gorge rubbed smooth by the action of corrasion (grinding by water carried sand and gravel). We walked as far as bridge two and returned to the parking lot.
On the way home we saw another female elk and two more sheep. We also saw the first passenger train we have seen since we have been out west. We have often talked about taking the train across Canada and would still love to do it some day.
Tally for the day: Elk, 7; Longhorn Sheep, 7.
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