Monday, July 16, 2012, Jasper to Maligne (Ma-leen) Lake and back

Monday, July 16, 2012, Jasper to Maligne (Ma-leen) Lake and back

T= 5:36, Mx= 41.4, Av= 12.2, El Gain= 3718, Mx Altitude= 5500, ODO= 3070, D= 68.5.

A hard day on the saddle. It was a climb to Maligne Lake, primarily around 5% gradient but it kicked up to double digits on a few short climbs. My average for the climb to Medicine Lake was 10.8 mph which is respectable but I proved myself correct when I estimated to myself it would be a 3 hour ascent. I believe the road followed Maligne River which was full to the gills and twice as fast.

Shortly after the above picture we came to Medicine Lake.

 Up until this point our route was defined by the river cutting its way through the forest. Medicine Lake redefined the route. The Colins Range on our left and the Maligne Mountains on our right as we ascended rose almost straight up from the lake.

 Colins Range

Medicine Lake is only a lake during the summer. By the end of August it may be a slow moving stream way out in the middle of a field of mud. Only when spring and summer run-off occurs is there a lake. There is no visible outlet. Where does the water go? The native indians thought the preceding to be bad medicine, which makes me wonder why the lake is not named 'bad medicine lake.' Anyway, it has been discovered there are underground seep holes forming an underground river reputed to be the longest underground river in Canada and perhaps a larger area. The river comes to ground at Athabasca Falls where we will stay after our first day of the tour. I have forgotten how far Medicine Lake is from Athabasca Falls. the picture above the Colins Range picture shows how far the lake stretches.

After Medicine Lake it was more climbing with the same mixture of gradient as stated above. I did see one Elk cow with a homing collar around her neck.

  

Turned out she was a sort of greeting party to Maligne Lke. As the resort was only a 1/2 mile further up and around the corner. A welcome sight. Geno had already scoped out the food supply and was impressed. It was a buffet. I started with barley and meatball soup, added a turkey and cheese on rye, which I did not eat until this evening, a giant macadamia and white chocolate cookie (I mean Giant!), a chocolate and banana cream tart, all washed down with water and hot tea. 

After the above meal I took the pictures below of the lake and mountains. Herb took a picture of me.

 

This picture was taken by accident, but coincidentally is a young lady from London, England who was staying at the Jasper Hostel also. She and her group were taking a bus tour of BC and Alberta starting and ending in Seattle.

 

The touring boats' dock at Maligne Lake.

Maligne Mountain is the mountain on the left.

 

Peaks to the left of the pictures above.

 

Geno, back to us, taking a picture of Herb, in red vest, on stairs. The lodge we ate lunch in is behind Herb.

Herb took this picture of me.

After we left Maligne we stopped several times to take more pictures.

 

Mike taking a picture of Colins Range.

 

The Colins Range with afternoon light illumination.

Down the hill we rolled.

 

Medicine Lake

Peaks above Medicine Lake in the Maligne Range.

When we got to Medicine Lake information point I rolled on as I had checked out the information and taken pictures. I kept my eyes peeled into the woods as best I could, considering the faster speed, for a sign of Caribou. Never saw one but I did see these two bull Elks grazing by the road. Shortly after I stopped cars coming along began to stop to see why I had stopped. I took the pictures below and skeedaddled.

 

I didn't stop again until a scenic overlook road seemed inviting. I also noticed my front fender was rattling and I wanted to adjust or tighten it. To fix the fender I realized I would need to shed some clothes as the temperature was quite a bit warmer at the lower elevation, so off came the vest and the knee warmers. The valley Jasper sits in was formed by two glacial moraines, the Athabasca and the Maligne, and the Athabasca won when they collided. The collision created some sort of hanging moraine for the Maligne. 

All the pictures below were shot from the same scenic overlook.

Maligne Canyon or gorge.

 

Dominant peak on the south side of Jasper.

 

Mountains to the north of Jasper, in the foreground. Our hostel is located in the forest about 500 feet above Jasper on the flank of those mountains.

Canyon wall, Jasper way back there and the mountains above Jasper.

Jasper is the light spot on the far middle left.