About an hour after leaving Waterfowl Lake, we noticed a car park packed with sizable number of cars and crowds by the road side. We decided to stop and find out what's the attraction the place had to offer. We soon discovered this' the Colombia Icefield. Within this massive icefield is the Athabasca Glacier. When we looked up and gazed at Athabasca Glacier from the car park, the Glacier seemed so near yet also also incredibly far away!
We were caught unprepared and were debating whether we should make a go for it. But ever since our last encounters from a distance with Franz Josef Glacier and Cook Glacier in NZ, it has been our dream to physically walk on glacier. After chatting with a man who just returned from hiking to the Glacier, we made up our mind there and then to go for it. We took the man's advice, we put on our winter jackets (the very first time using it since arriving to Canada) and sun glasses in anticipation of chilly wind and glare. We hiked uphill for 1.5Km and finally touched base! Hurray, we finally set foot on glacier!
Here goes another bucket list!
We were caught unprepared and were debating whether we should make a go for it. But ever since our last encounters from a distance with Franz Josef Glacier and Cook Glacier in NZ, it has been our dream to physically walk on glacier. After chatting with a man who just returned from hiking to the Glacier, we made up our mind there and then to go for it. We took the man's advice, we put on our winter jackets (the very first time using it since arriving to Canada) and sun glasses in anticipation of chilly wind and glare. We hiked uphill for 1.5Km and finally touched base! Hurray, we finally set foot on glacier!
Here goes another bucket list!
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| A 2004 Google Earth picture of the massive Colombia Icefield. |
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The Athabasca Glacier which is just a tinny bit of the
Colombia Icefield is almost 5Km long! |
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| Hiking up to the Glacier. |
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| We were almost there! |
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| A sense of so near yet so far! |
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| Finally, we walked on glacier! |
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Whether it's the effect of global warming, the glacier has shrunk significantly. Its toe was at this point in 1982 (Photo below), exactly 35 years ago!
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