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Days 3-4
After a good nights rest and a full breakfast we spent the third day exploring Jasper, starting with a trip
on the Tramway, followed by a climb to the top of Jasper summit.
Although partially clouded that day, the views of the Rocky Mountains remained spectacular during the
seven minute Tramway ride from the lower to upper stations at 1,304m (4,279 ft) and 2,227m
(7,472 ft) respectively. The climb over well trodden paths to the
summit took around 1½ hour at a leisurely pace. The visibility and panoramic views of Jasper National Park - which was named after an early 1800's fur trading post called
Jasper House (managed by Jasper Hawse) - from the top were simply excellent and well worth a visit if you are in the area.
The fourth day was spent travelling to Banff
along the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93). Named for the chain of icefields that roof the Rockies, this is billed as one of the worlds great mountain highroads and by the
time we had completed our journey, we could see why. The route is simply stunning.
The parkway is 230km from Jasper to Lake Louise and it is said that you can do
the journey in around 4 hours. In reality, even spending the day as we did, there was still insufficient time. Subsequently, we came to the view that the only way to
explore this area properly was in an RV. There were many stopping off areas off the highway that were well sign posted and even in late June were still quiet.
Highlights of this route for us included Mount Edith Cavell, Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta River, Columbia Glacier and Sunset Pass.
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