Friday, September 02, 2005
Wilcox Pass, Jasper National Park
My co-favorite hike of the year (See Nualolo hike in Kauai). We waited for several hours at the Icefields Visitor Centre and it seemed hopeless that we could dry out and that the clouds and rain would lift enough to make this hike worthwhile. After a lunch of soup, PB & J, and hot chocolate though there seemed to be a momentary break in the weather and we decided to go for it. Rain seemed to threaten the entire hike, and we kept joking about the patches of blue sky being sucker holes, but we were enjoying a blessed afternoon. The hike gets down to business quickly through forest, but quickly enters meadowlands. We stopped to watch some bighorn sheep just across the valley and continued up. By the time we reached the pass we had beautiful views of the Athabasca Glacier and the surrounding mountains. The passing clouds and changing light made the views even more interesting. Alas, it was windy at the pass (the pass area is actually a quite large flat area which we didn't fully explore) so we snapped a few photos and headed back down. This time the sheep were on our side of the valley, and towards the end of the meadows there were two sheep about 20' off of the trail to our left. To the right was a cliff, which made me quite nervous since I'm not nearly as nimble on cliffs as the sheep! However these guys were calmer and more disinterested in me than a playboy model would be.
Length: 5 miles
Vertical Gain: 1,100'
Weather: We were in a sucker hole the entire time
Dog Rating: I doubly hate you guys (stuck at the kennel and I eat baby sheep every day!)
