A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 16
On our second day (first full day) in Jasper National Park, we did the Valley of the Five Lakes hike, visited Jasper Brewing Co., and Pyramid Lake.
It was finally a sunny day, so I was feeling hopeful that my boyfriend, Callum, would have a clear night for his astrophotography. Afterall, Jasper is a dark sky preserve.
Valley of the Five Lakes
We headed out on a nice, easy hike to the Valley of the Five Lakes. It’s a 5 km loop with 165m elevation gain, which I would describe as easy, even though it’s marked as moderate.
There are a couple of steep sections, but it was mostly flat. It was a really sunny hike, and the colours of the lakes were so vibrant. There are five lakes (as the name implies).
At the first lake, there was a photographer parked on the dock in the perfect spot to get reflection shots. The water was so still, so don’t blame him, but he didn’t move for the ten minutes we waited, so we just move on to the other lakes.
This is a great hike to do, and such a nice change of pace from some of the more intense hikes on this trip! We stopped at a few viewpoints to take photos of us and the lakes.
The hike took us the morning, but we were stopping and taking photos quite a bit. If we kept an even pace, we could have done it quicker, but I prefer enjoying the scenery versus speeding through a hike.
Jasper Brewing Co.
After our hike, we hopped in the campervan and drove into Jasper. We parked the campervan and walked around town a bit before stopping at Jasper Brewing Co.
At Jasper Brewing Co., we sat on the patio, had some beer flights, and lunch. It was such a great day date, and it was so nice to have the sun shining – I didn’t even need to wear my coat!
Jasper Brewing Co. is actually Canada’s first brewery in a National Park, which I think is pretty neat.
Pyramid Mountain & Pyramid Lake
After our lovely patio lunch date, we drove towards Pyramid Lake. Callum was scouting out a location for astrophotography.
We walked the boardwalk that connects what I think of as an island in the middle of Pyramid Lake. The views are gorgeous from here.
We hung out on the island for a bit, and then got back into the campervan. It looked like it was going to be another cloudy evening, but at least it wasn’t going to rain.
We continued down the road a bit and found a place to park where you could see Pyramid Mountain, and the island. We parked, made dinner, and Callum set up his camera for a timelapse.
Astrophotography at Pyramid Lake
We weren’t the only people there as it got dark. There were other people who decided they were actually going to sleep where we were parked, and for some reason they kept turning on their car lights!
Introducing this light introduces light pollution, which is the exact opposite of what you want when taking an astro timelapse.
It was very frustrating to Callum, and honestly, me too! One of the reasons we were pumped for Jasper National Park was the dark skies. Living in a city, you miss the stars.
To be frank, I don’t understand why these people were constantly turning their car headlights, while parked. It was odd.
Looking out towards the boardwalk there were people with flashlights. I could hear someone teaching another person night photography. This didn’t bother me as much, as I felt they had just as much a right to learn astrophotography as anyone else. It was just the headlights that were annoying.
Unfortunately, the night wasn’t as clear as we hoped. It was still cloudy, and we were running out of nights in Jasper National Park. Hopefully, Callum‘s timelapse is still cool!
Pyramid Mountain is one of my favourite mountains in the Canadian Rockies. There seems to be something about its presence, and colour that feels different from the rest.
After Callum was done with his astrophotography we headed back to our campsite at Wapiti, and went to sleep.
The following day we were meeting a friend who lived in Edmonton to hike Folding Mountain.
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A few books, documentaries, and podcasts I recommend consuming before or during your trip to Canada 🇨🇦. Evolving Pop Culture Guide to Canada.
Discover the beauty of Canada’s sunniest province! Majestic mountains, diverse hikes, glacial lakes, dinosaurs and more. Alberta (AB) is home to North America’s largest mountain range, the second largest dark sky preserve in the world, iconic Canadian wildlife, and a place where dinosaurs used to roam. No matter the time of year, AB won’t disappoint (I would know because I have visited in almost every season)! Learn from my firsthand human, Canadian experience what Alberta is like, must-sees, and tips in my Alberta Travel Destination Guide.
