Side Trips Enroute to Jasper

A last look at Hudson Bay mountain from our cottage as we were leaving.

Our last day in Smithers we took a side trip to the little town of Telkwa, which was located about 10 miles south of us along the Fraser river. There was as easy forest walk to the site of the old town of Aldermere - the first town in the area but which was pulled down in 1915 to make way for Telkwa, which was better located on the river and thus a better artery for trade. Not much to see except for markers showing where on the old wagon road (now the hiking trail) the various homes and buildings were located. It was a very pretty walk, although as usual around here there were signs warning of bear activity...in this case sightings of a mother black bear and her cub.



It's official - we're in the middle of nowhere.


Part of the riverfront walking track

As we were returning along the path we saw a couple of local girls running towards us. They stopped, out of breath, to talk to us and said they had just seen the two bears emerging onto the pathway a little way ahead. Struck us as odd that a couple of locals would have done exactly what they tell you not to do if you see bears on foot - which is to run. Apparently it triggers a predatory instinct and they will chase you thinking that you must be something good to eat, even the otherwise harmless black bears (unless they have cubs in tow in which case all bets are off).

Anyway, after hearing their story (they really did seem to be spooked) we pressed on (it was the only way back to our car), but made lots of noise to alert any critters of our approach and kept a close eye out for any movement. Never saw or heard anything except some fresh scat, but I guess these sorts of incidents aren't at all unusual around here.
The cascade coming down from the glacier.



On the Yellowhead Highway coming into Jasper. Pretty, eh?

After 10 days of sunny weather our luck ran out today as we drove from Prince George to Jasper - rained the whole way - although it looks like it's starting to clear up as I write this from our B&B. Supposed to be sunny for a few days before turning rainy again just about the time we leave here for Banff. Looking forward to exploring this beautiful area over the course of the next few days.

Guess there some pretty major forest fires raging just to the north and southwest of us. The whole drive yesterday from Smithers to Prince George was in thick smoke. No active fires near us but apparently they had to close a couple of roads for a day or two last week. The smoke was so thick in places that it obscured the nearby mountains and reduced visibility to barely a mile or so. Made for some tough driving the last two days. Hopefully the sun will reappear tomorrow.