Into the Wild - Bear Encounters in Jasper National Park

We left the overnight train from Vancouver and entered Jasper a little on edge. This was largely down to the lack of sleep, but also the two bears we had just seen on the edge of town as our train pulled in. Through the tired fuzz I took in the surroundings. It was an immediate "WOW".  In every direction were snow-capped mountains rising into a blue sky. These were not any old mountains. They were vast, but also distinctly dramatic. Below was forest and open land aside the Athabasca river as it wound its wide path though the high plateau on which Jasper is nestled.

Only left with the tail of the day, we took our hire car and headed up to Pyramid Lake. Within 2 minutes of leaving town we drove straight past three white-tailed deer. As we climbed, we nudged up to the snowline, parking up next to the ice covered lake for a short walk. Stepping out into the bitterly cold wind was a bit of a shock. It exhaled an eerie whistle as it swirled across the ice and cut with its cold. We were on our own walking over a foot bridge onto a small island marked by bear signs with no clue what we were doing, and still dressed in the spring clothes from the train. Great idea. Needless to say it was a short, wary walk, but no less amazing. Reaching the end of the peninsular, we were greeted with an unabridged view of ice-lake and the layered reds, browns, blacks and whites of Pyramid Mountain. Perhaps the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen. I will leave the words for a picture.

We bedded down for an early night in our half subterranean flat (all the rage here - a small flat built beneath people's houses to rent out to park visitors) accompanied by ice hockey playoffs - Go Flames!

MALIGN WINTER

Ready for some adventure, we set up properly the next day, kitted up with snow gear for the kids and a whole back-pack full of miscellaneous outdoor stuff. First stop was the park ranger info centre. Unsurprisingly (this is Canada and all) the staff were exceptionally friendly, pointing out hazardous treks, others that were better for the kids and providing some core wildlife tips. Keep well away from elk and bring bear spray as the bears had awoken... $40 later I had a can of high compressed pepper spray strapped to my belt.

We headed up to more remote areas of the park, Maligne Lake. The drive up was spectacular. One amazing view after another, topped by the surroundings of Medicine Lake. A basin below steep ridges which fills and drains with water each year. Another bald eagle said hello as we skirted by the lake and headed back into the forest. Out of nowhere something grabbed our attention coming out of the trees to the left. We slowed quickly to a halt and one, then two large brown lolloping creatures crossed the road right in front of us. MOOSE...

At first we half denied it, thinking they might be elk, but no, they were undeniably, obviously moose. We could not believe it. A mother and a half grown calf had by pure chance crossed our path out in all this wilderness, making their way across the road at a half trot and then disappearing back into the vast dark green of the forest

We only realised the degree of chance later, when confirming the sighting with a ranger who said she had only had two moose sightings in 27 years living and working in the park. We had glimpsed the ghosts of the forest and would not forget the experience any time soon.

A good drive later pulling up by Maligne Lake, we thought we may have made a mistake. Here winter had not thawed, and everything was covered in a deep snow. Finding our first planned route closed, we settled on the Mary Schaffer loop, a 3.1 km trail along the shores of the lake before looping back and round through the forest. With all the kids' snow gear on (I was only in jeans), the walk by the lake seemed doable and we cautiously set off on the trail. It proved to be a mixture of snow, ice and grit, but a clear path with great views. 

The lake was a vast sea of ice and snow, backed by more majestic mountains. Apart from the odd slip, everything progressed smoothly. We even spotted a couple of ptarmigan, so well camouflaged that we almost missed them walking right past.

As the path took a sharp left and headed into the trees two things concerned us. Firstly the lack of people. Here we were high up in the Rockies on an isolated path with no phone signal and we had only seen two people since setting off. Secondly the track condition. It quickly narrowed to 30 cm wide tracks through deep snow on either side. After a moment of uncertainty we decided to push on. We were rewarded by an hour trying to stay on the faint path, trudging through deep snow as our link to civilisation meandered through deep, dark forest.

Adding to the excitement were animal tracks. Everywhere. The first to send a shiver down the spine were large fresh cat prints (it had recently snowed), crossing right across our path and leaping up to a ledge. Given the size, the ranger subsequently told us these were probably made by a cougar, possibly a bobcat. Later, the odd long separated tracks of a moose, following beside the path. Then the most exciting. The biggest prints I have ever seen, wandering across the path. Almost certainly a grizzly.

The thought of all these potentially dangerous animals so close meant we kept our kids on the tightest leash. Following in single file, we talked loudly and calmly enough to keep wildlife away, while trying to stop the kids from high pitched moments (apparently cougars are attracted by the sound). Thankfully, we eventually made it to the end of the trek via a snowdrift. It had been an exhilarating venture into the wild, but perhaps a bit too far with three small kids...

Taking the excitement down a notch, we followed it up with walking a few kilometre trek down and then back up the Maligne Canyon trail. While this was interesting and at times very impressive  - repeated views down a a vertical, deep chasm full of ice waterfalls and some fossils to boot - it felt almost too controlled, on perfect pathways often making way for the coach dropped tour groups who had this on their three stop itinerary of Jasper. We did though see our first chipmunk!

BEAR O'CLOCK

Another late afternoon driving safari to the north brought us past wide criss-crossing sections of  the Athabasca  river, a small herd of elk grazing, big-horn sheep scrambling up a nearby cliff and some white-tailed deer. 
 
It also brought more and more spectacularly changing mountain views and... bears. In the most amazing spot while driving, Chris saw a dark moving object on the very edge of her vision and immediately pulled up. We were next to a lake and, sure enough, on the other side skirting the shoreline was a black bear. I tell you, the abundance of wildlife in Jasper is staggering (and Chris's peripheral vision astounding).

After ending the day with the warmest hospitality at a Greek-Canadian restaurant (we met the whole family!), I awoke with strict instructions from my other half to find a significantly less hairy trek than the one from the previous day. On the advice of the park rangers, we headed South to the Valley of the Five Lakes. Prepped again with outdoor essentials, bear-spray and a big stick, we headed into the woods. It was a lovely trek, across varied landscape from flat thick forest to marsh and then up into hills though more forest. At a junction in the trail, after a family vote involving ice-cream bribes, we chose the longer black dotted route. A sign of a bit harder terrain and less people, but seemingly forming a perfect loop by four of the lakes.

It was a great walk, but there were a few disconcerting signs. From our first walk in the park, we had noticed large scratch marks on trees. Given their height and scarring depth, it did not take a genius to work out that these were bear-made. Most though were old. That was different on this trek. First we saw one with fresh bark chips beneath it, then a little further on, particularly large scratch marks had stripped off a sizable section of bark which was now lying on the floor and so yellow fresh it seemed like it had only just fallen. Chris and I shared a quick look and rapidly moved on.

We headed up a hillock and then down into a gully, skirting around to the left and then to the right and back up. As we made the second turn, Chris and I whispered at the same instant.... BEAR. To our right, barely 15 meters away was a large black bear. We were on our own, deep in the forest with three small kids, no phone reception and kilometres from help.

We had walked right past the bear and, given the snaking path there was no obvious route away from it. In a split-second decision. we chose forward. Prior to this encounter we had drilled into the kids what to do if we came across a bear. Keep quiet and do exactly what we say. To their eternal credit, that is exactly what they did. We crept forward, Chris to the front, kids held in the middle, me to the back, bear-spray out and keeping the bear carefully fixed in my peripheral vision.

From my pre-reading on the subject, I knew that bear encounters are complicated. Most of the time bears are not bothered with us if we are not bothered with them. Slowly move off and they leave you alone. If you are unlucky you can startle a bear, triggering a defensive attack where, if you can't get your bear spray off, the recommended action if to lie still. A baby bear around significantly complicates the situation and makes it more dangerous. Rare, but much worse is an offensive attack. Once in a while a bear will decide we are food for the taking and actively hunt humans. From what I read, the worrying sign is a bear following you, tracking its prey. In this situation the advice is to get away, and if that fails fight back with anything you have got. A lot to take in and process in the moment of encounter!

Thankfully there did not seem to be a baby bear at hand. By good fortune - with three kids coming over a hillock and straight past - we had clearly not startled the bear. Our chief worry was therefore the slim chance of being prey. The next 20 minutes or so was a little tense. Shuffling the kids along the narrow trail as I kept scanning back with my bear-spray ready, looking for any sight of the beautiful, yet intimidating creature following us.

I am glad to say we did not see the bear again. It had been a thrilling, but frightening encounter. I would have felt very different on my own, but having three small kids somewhat changes the picture. It is not everyday you walk straight past a bear in the wild. 

 
We were then able let the adrenaline drain away as we walked past a series of partly ice-strewn multi-coloured lakes. After the third we felt safe enough to take a seat and talk about our encounter to the first people we had met since setting off on the dotted black route. He had been coming up to the park for years and never seen a bear. Apparently we were lucky. It is fair to say Chris did not feel that way. Now safe, I was feeling great. Adrenaline, animal sighting and the wild. The kids were also buzzing. Sometimes it scares you to see too much of yourself in your kids.

MORE LAKES AND AWAY

Given the excitement of the morning, the collective family decision was to leave further long treks into the wild to another day. Instead we undertook another road safari, driving home a long scenic route providing more sightings of white-tailed deer and elk (the latter actually in town), before stop-offs at the beautiful Annette and Edith Lakes. 

To complete the circle, we made a final detour back up to Pyramid Lake and dared to venture out the car, across the bridge and to the end of the small island for the best view of all - the Tolkien'esque massif of Pyramid Mountain. A fitting way to end three fabulous days around Jasper.

After another night of Greek-Canadian food, ice hockey playoffs and combing multiple giant ticks out of our hair (more on that later...), we were back in the car and heading south. We weren't done with Jasper National Park just yet. Before us was the highest and most dramatic road in North America, running right through the park's wild frozen heart all the way to Banff. The Icefields Parkway beckoned. Still, I was sad to drive on from some of the most beautiful and thrilling wildlife experiences of my life.