Monarch Meadows
To the left, the upper reaches of Monarch Mountain (9,111 ft; 2,777 m) are wrapped in low cloud as the mountain looms over the patchwork of forest and wet, open terrain comprising Monarch Meadows, Victoria Cross Range, Jasper National Park, Alberta.
There is no trail through these meadows. As such, we felt some measure of relief, standing where this photo was taken, to realize that it would be both possible and safe to descend and thread a relatively direct way through the open patches toward the distant, low pass and then into the next drainage to camp. Given the amount of water we encountered on the sides of the moderately steep slopes we negotiated to gain this vantage, it seemed likely that the areas without trees might be boggy.
We paused for lunch somewhere near the medium-sized, bright, green patch right in the center of the frame. It felt delightful to remove the shoes for a little while, wring out the socks and hang them on a branch to dry (futile), and drink some tea after our repast. The cloud ceiling lifted somewhat from where it was when I made this photo, and Monarch Glacier was revealed, sitting high upon its dais of stone. I kept expecting we might encounter wildlife, and I was not terribly excited about the idea of meeting with grizzly in such relatively close forest. However, to this point, we observed nothing but Ravens moving almost effortlessly above us. I can only speculate as to why we didn't see more of the four-leggeds, and I suspect that animals living this far off trail are not that accustomed to crossing paths with Homo turistico americanus and thus took pains to avoid our presence.
Monarch Meadows
To the left, the upper reaches of Monarch Mountain (9,111 ft; 2,777 m) are wrapped in low cloud as the mountain looms over the patchwork of forest and wet, open terrain comprising Monarch Meadows, Victoria Cross Range, Jasper National Park, Alberta.
There is no trail through these meadows. As such, we felt some measure of relief, standing where this photo was taken, to realize that it would be both possible and safe to descend and thread a relatively direct way through the open patches toward the distant, low pass and then into the next drainage to camp. Given the amount of water we encountered on the sides of the moderately steep slopes we negotiated to gain this vantage, it seemed likely that the areas without trees might be boggy.
We paused for lunch somewhere near the medium-sized, bright, green patch right in the center of the frame. It felt delightful to remove the shoes for a little while, wring out the socks and hang them on a branch to dry (futile), and drink some tea after our repast. The cloud ceiling lifted somewhat from where it was when I made this photo, and Monarch Glacier was revealed, sitting high upon its dais of stone. I kept expecting we might encounter wildlife, and I was not terribly excited about the idea of meeting with grizzly in such relatively close forest. However, to this point, we observed nothing but Ravens moving almost effortlessly above us. I can only speculate as to why we didn't see more of the four-leggeds, and I suspect that animals living this far off trail are not that accustomed to crossing paths with Homo turistico americanus and thus took pains to avoid our presence.