Fortunately the weatherman’s predictions of dastardly weather in Jasper proved false. My friend David and I were headed there for a couple of days of photography in the mountains.

Dave specializes in landscape photography and does some beautiful work. You can find samples of his work on his website buzzeophotography.com or on pBase When he mentioned he was headed up to Jasper for a couple of days it seemed like a great opportunity to perhaps learn a tidbit or two. Having spent a fair amount of time in Jasper, Dave is pretty familiar with great sites for photography.

We were scheduled to leave from my place at 8 last Friday morning. Dave arrived a few minutes early so we were easily underway on time. After a quick stop to pick up a coffee to go we settled in for the drive to Jasper.

Hiking Overlander Trail

By the time we reached the Park gates, the cloud and drizzle we had driven through had cleared away and we were greeted with a mixture of sun and cloud. About halfway between the gates and the townsite we pulled off the road and spent the next 4.5 hours hiking out and back along the Overlander Trail. While the lighting wasn’t necessarily the greatest for photos, the scenery was spectacular. We even paused midway for a snack and a wee dram, all supplied by David. He even supplied fine metal stemware from which to quaff the Scotch he had brought along in a hip flask. “This lad travels in style” thought I.

Some of the trail was wide …

And some was narrow

Signs of Spring

Is it alive?

Lichens

View of Yellowhead Highway

Our next stop was the Hostel to check in, then it was off for supper at the “Atha B”.

Pyramid Lake

Our final destination for the day was Pyramid Lake where we hoped to get some good sunset photos. Unfortunately the sun and clouds had other ideas but it was a beautiful evening none-the-less.

Up the next morning by 5:30, we were at the bakery when it opened for a coffee and scone to go. I can see my TdC riding buddy Elaine will be rolling her eyes and thinking that somehow I had to work a bakery into this trip!

Medicine Lake

Dawn found us at Maligne Lake where a heavy cloud cover eliminated any chance of decent shots. We had noticed that the sky had been clearer at Medicine Lake on the way up so we retraced our route to the end of that lake. Again the light wasn’t great but we spent an enjoyable hour so so crunching around on top if the frozen snow taking pictures.

Maligne Canyon

Our next stop was Maligne Canyon. In the middle of summer this trail would be teaming with bus loads of tourists. We were very lucky to have the trail to ourselves. The canyon was gorgeous with waterfalls, icefalls, and beautiful colours in the moss, lichens, trees, and rocks.

Colours in Maligne Canyon

Maligne Canyon waterfall

Another Maligne Canyon waterfall

A hearty breakfast back at the Athabasca Hotel and we were off for our final stop at the Pyramid Mountain picnic area. The lighting was pretty flat and with dark clouds and an icy wind blowing in our stop was not long.

As the saying goes, “you pays your dime and takes your chance”. While the lighting could have been a lot more cooperative, it could also have been a lot worse. The rain and heavy snowfall that was being warned of never materialized. It was a great couple of days in the mountains.