Trapped in our RV by an Elk!!!

Today (May 31) we decided to leave Merlot at home, have a quick breakfast, pack a lunch and head out early to check out Maligne Canyon. However, in Jasper, so much depends on the wildlife!! As we're getting ready to head out Barry noticed a very large cow elk in our site, right in front of our door. Merlot ran to the window and of course started losing it!! The elk clearly heard Merlot and as a sign of showing dominance, started lifting its head and rolling it side-to-side. It was incredible to watch! Eventually she just stared at us and then walked away and we were free to leave!

We had driven to Maligne Canyon a couple of days ago, so we were excited to hike the six bridges! It did not disappoint. Maligne is a slot canyon and is the deepest canyon in Jasper with a depth of more than 50 meters at certain points. This incredible natural landmark has six bridges to cross, built across various points of the canyon. We intended to cross all six!

Right away we went right when we should have went left, but that's okay. We tend to sometimes hike longer than we need to! I have to say, a lot of hiking trails, regardless of being in a national park, are not always marked the best. I have started downloading the GPS map from the AllTrails app (highly recommend) which shows us where we are on the trail and lets us know when we're off route. It only happened 3 times today!!!

When we crossed the first bridge, which was built in 1914, and started down the trail we were in awe of the depth and magnificence of the canyon and the force of the water passing through. The canyon walls are as smooth as glass from the constant force of the water over thousands of years. Bridge 3 was my favorite photo stop just because you could feel the spray of the water even though you're about 30 meters above. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't show the bottom, but...it's a great picture!!

Every viewpoint you arrive at, or every bridge you cross had incredible views. This time of year is a great time to go. There were no big crowds at all. At times it felt like we had the whole canyon to ourselves....until we arrived at this incredible waterfall and there were a couple of young guys, one in the water, climbing to the top of the falls, of course ignoring the signs throughout the canyon that climbing was not permitted!! Oh to be that young again...

After crossing the fifth bridge we decided to stop for a picnic. It was so peaceful and beautiful. That view!

We talked about how fortunate we are that we are able to experience days like today and how excited we are about the adventures to come!

I love canyons, and antelope canyon in Page, Arizona is very high on my bucket list! Maybe not this trip, but certainly our next.

After lunch we decided to not go to the sixth bridge (we were advised we had seen the best) and headed back up to the trailhead by a different route than how we came to the fifth bridge. It was steep and all through the trees! This was number 2 and 3 of our awesome AllTrails GPS letting us know we were "off route"! Of course we're always keenly aware of bears in the area so you don't relax completely, but it was awesome and a great workout. We ended up on the ridge of the mountain looking below to the path we took down alongside the canyon and the river.

Time to get back to Merlot. It was an incredible day!! Don't forget to check out the pictures in Jasper: Album 3.