Over this past summer I managed to get up to Jasper National Park in Alberta several times.
The first time was in early June, a trip that was partly a reconnaissance trip for a visit by a couple of my California camera club friends. My sunrise shoot along the Athabasca River was a bit lack lustre as there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I did get a view of the moon, though, as the rising sun lit up the mountain peaks.
At one of the many lakes in Jasper, I did catch a nice mountain reflection as a thin layer of fog covered the water.
The following morning, sunrise was an even greater bust but early morning reflections were gorgeous. I also found a nice river shot along Hwy 93A.
I capped off the day with a hike to a waterfall above Miette Hotsprings followed by a nice afternoon soak in the hot pool.
At the end of July I returned to Jasper to meet up with a couple of my camera buddies for a couple of days of camping and photography. It was a lot of fun showing off the park to two friends who had not been there before, as well as enjoying two full days of photography.
A foggy morning led to some playing around with other subject matter to photograph.
We visited Athabasca Falls early in the morning before the tour buses and the hordes of tourists showed up.
Over the years of visiting Jasper, I had never hiked the Valley of the Five Lakes but I will definitely do it again. The lakes are beautiful!
And, yes, there was wildlife (click on the gallery below to see the full-sized images).
Wapiti 
Wapiti 
Wapiti fawn 
Mama Grizzly 
Mama Grizzly and cub 
Wapiti
My final visit was a five-day canoeing trip on Maligne Lake in September with friends James and Garry. As has been our custom on the several previous times we have done this trip, we spent the first night at Fisherman’s Bay, roughly half way down the 21 km lake. I am not a fisherman but one thing I have learned on these trips is how tasty Brook Trout is when it goes pretty much from the water into the frying pan!
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Early morning view as we started out 
Our loaded canoe 
Fisherman’s Bay 
Fisherman’s Bay 
Fishing 
Happy James with a Brook Trout 
Brookie appetizers 
Fisherman’s Bay
Since our last visit, the campground had been upgraded with new tables and bear lockers. Also new was the “high tech composting outhouse” (R) replacing the “barrel biffie” (L). I was very impressed with ALL of the improvements!
Our next two nights were at the Coronet Creek Campground at the far end of the lake. This campground had also been upgraded with new tables and bear lockers (but same old “throne with a view”). This gave us a full day to explore. James and I took the canoe across the bay and hiked inland up a valley following a stream. With no trail, the hike involved a bit of bushwhacking and a lot of guessing as to the best way to proceed. We had a great hike and saw a number of nice little waterfalls along the way.
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On the water 
Dock at Coronet Creek Campground 
New tables and bear lockers 
White-winged Crossbill checks out fire pit 
Mule Deer 
Mule Deer 
Scene from hike 
Scene from hike 
Scene from hike 
Scene from hike 
Scene from hike 
Scene from hike 
View from campground
Nothing like a margarita by the fire to end the day!
Oh the way back up the lake we spent another night at Fisherman’s Bay. The following day we battled a headwind for about an hour before calmer water gave us an easier paddle back to Home Bay.
Wind At Your Back 
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