Troll under the Bridge...Elk on the Pathway!

We have been doing a ton of hiking and exploring in Jasper! Our first hike was Pyramid Lake. Reviews on Alltrails highly recommended this hike; however advised that there was an elk about halfway that was not letting hikers pass down the other side of the mountain. The last review was 19 hours prior to me reading it, so I thought probably the elk would be gone. So we head out!

The hike began going up... by the time we got to the first viewpoint we were happy to see 2 red adirondack chairs! Parks Canada has placed over 200 red adirondack chairs in peaceful and scenic locations throughout many of the country's most unique and treasured places, including four sets found at Jasper.

We carry on. It was very steep in parts, walking along the path on the edge of the mountain, looking way down into the trees on one side and way up into the trees on the other. Was I thinking about bears in the area? Yes, I was! We were advised that grizzlies tend to come down where the elk are during calving season to feed off the baby elk. Barry and I both carry bear spray!

The hike was a somewhat challenging, but the payoff on the top was so worth it. The views overlooking Pyramid Lake and the snow covered mountains as a backdrop were incredible! So we start down the other side and sure enough...a massive elk just walked out from the trees and stood in the middle of the pathway. My initial thought was run... hide behind a tree... jump off the mountain... climb a tree!! Once Barry calmed me down a bit and I stopped spinning in circles, we just watched to see what she was going to do. I actually remembered I had my phone and I should get a picture of her! She just stood there basically letting us know we've gone far enough and we should turn around and go back to where we came from. There's signs everywhere indicating that it's calving season and cow elk can be very aggressive, so we decided to head back. We can tell you the first half of Pyramid Lake trail is awesome...second half...I don't know.

By the time we came back to the 2 red adirondack chairs the wind picked up and rain joined in!

Regardless of the weather, when we

came off the mountain down the road was Pyramid Island. It was a short walk over a beautiful wooden bridge and a 600 meter walk around the Island. Great place for a picnic! In fact, Pyramid Island had been enjoyed so much by so many over the years and with no formal trail system, this tiny island was being destroyed. In 1998 a cooperative restoration project began, led by Friends of Jasper National Park and involved Parks Canada, local businesses and over 600 volunteers. The restoration included: reconstruction of the bridge, rebuilding soil layers, planting over 400 native trees, shrubs and wildflowers and they created a loop trail on the Island.

By this time the weather had taken its toll and it was time to head home. Looking forward to Athabasca Falls and the Ice Fields!!

Don't forget to check out some cool pictures!