The bus to the Rockies was pretty uneventful, save for a thunderstorm (which I've waited over a month and a half to see). Jasper is a delightful and very touristy town in the heart of the Rockies.
It's such a popular destination the only room available was a shared room in a hostel (or a £600 a night hotel). It was part of the same chain as the Edmonton one, and again exceeded my expectations. Apart from the room, that might have been okay if it was just for me, but when you cram 4 strapping young lads (I'm counting myself as a strapping young lad), it got rather hot rather quickly. And once the first person was up, everyone was up. Still, it was a good opportunity to explore the area before my train left in the afternoon. Pyramid lake / mountain came recommended by several people, so I decided to take a run up to it, and hopefully spot a bit of wildlife.
There were very few people, and even fewer bears, around at dawn. Sadly though, thousands of insects were lying in wait for me, and obviously considered my pasty Scottish skin and blood to be some sort of exotic delicacy.
Thanks to a combination of having my deet-tastic insect repellent confiscated at the airport and a somewhat naive belief that biting insects only made an appearance in the afternoon/evening, I managed to pick up a good 20-30 bites in just a few hours.
Still, I did get to see a container full of giant tigers. |
Train journey to Princes George and Rupert next ...
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