Aug. 29th, Wilcox Pass
Initially it looked like another nice day and we decided to head back to the Columbia Icefield and Wilcox Pass. The closer we got there the more clouds appeared. It was dry on our leisurely 1 to 2h hike up (maybe 300m elevation) and the views were relatively nice despite the cloudiness. Halfway down it started to rain intermittently. We were a bit too late in the season for the flowers. Wilcox Pass is definitely worthwhile a hike given the views across the valley towards the icefield.Afterwards the kids wanted to walk from the parking lot to the icefield. I decided to skip that because it looked as if rain was coming very soon. And indeed by the time the three were back at the car it rained heavily.
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| Half-way up on Wilcox Pass: View towards Columbia Icefield |
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| A big horn sheep |
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| Halfway up on Wilcox Pass: View towards Columbia Icefield |
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| It is a pretty civilized area: There are even some Adirondack chairs ... |
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| Another view towards Columbia Icefied further up |
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| View towards south towards Banff National Park in the far distance |
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| We made it to Wilcox Pass: Rain is in the air ... |
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| The kids walked up to the icefield from the parking lot. I avoided the rain and stayed in the car. |
It is amazing to think that some 100 or so years ago Wilcox pass was the route folks would take because sunwapta pass below was completely cut off by the glacier which now doesn't even extend to the middle of the pass
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. I read the story as well at the parking lot. I assume the Athabasca glacier filled up even some of the upper valley towards where this funny tourist structure is probably within the last 1000 years. Climate change is definitely visible here. I came across a book in the library during the last month on one of their exhibition shelves which showed identical pictures from Rocky Mountain glaciers 100 years or so ago beside one from recent years. Beside the Athabasca glacier they also had pictures from Yoho valley and its glaciers, from the Assiniboine area and also from the Berg Lake area. The book was interesting to leaf through because I have seen a number of the glaciers in the book in August and 3 years ago on my hikes..
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