Seeking fangs, but no vampires on this twilight tour

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This was published 13 years ago

Seeking fangs, but no vampires on this twilight tour

Breathtaking ... the view from the top of the Jasper Tramway.

Breathtaking ... the view from the top of the Jasper Tramway.Credit: Craig Platt

Craig Platt seeks the elusive and not-so-elusive wildlife of the Canadian Rockies.

“So, what animals are you hoping to see this evening?” asks Wes.

“I'll make it easy for you,” I reply. “I'd like a cougar and a wolverine.”

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I'm joking, of course. Here in Jasper National Park, Canada, there is an abundance of wildlife: bears, wolves, moose, deer, elk and more. There are plenty of cougars and wolverines too – the big difference is they really don't want to be seen.

And, as they say in these parts, if you actually do happen to see a cougar, it could well be the last thing you'll ever see.

Our guide for our evening nature tour, Wes, is a former ranger with the Canada Parks and Wildlife Service. After a career as a ranger, he decided to retire – until his wife, he jokes, indicated she didn't want him hanging around the house all day. Hence the guide job.

Medicine Lake is not really a lake, but essentially a bottleneck where the Maligne River flows under ground and backs-up in spring and summer due to melting snow and ice upriver.

Medicine Lake is not really a lake, but essentially a bottleneck where the Maligne River flows under ground and backs-up in spring and summer due to melting snow and ice upriver.Credit: Craig Platt

And even with that lifetime of experience in Canada's wild forest, Wes has only seen a cougar a handful of times and a wolverine just twice.

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So our chances aren't good. On this twilight tour however, we stand a very good chance of seeing bears, along with elk, deer and perhaps a moose (moose have also developed a healthy fear of humans and so, while they are common, they tend to get spooked easily and run off).

We arrived in Jasper, the town in the heart of Canada's largest national park, two days earlier via the spectacular Icefield Parkway – a stretch of highway through the Rockies that connects the Jasper and Banff national parks.

We pass glaciers, frozen lakes and a mother grizzly and two cubs on the way. It is late spring and along the parkway it's beanie-and-gloves weather. It's so cold, in fact, there is a touch of snow falling at one stop along the way.

But, testament to the variable climate of the mountains, in Jasper it's warm enough for a T-shirt and shorts. The skies are clear and the sun is warm, even though most of the mountain peaks are still covered in snow.

Jasper, the town, was named after the national park in which it sits in 1913, which in turn was named after fur trader Jasper Hawes.

Although it is a key post for Canada's rail services (extraordinarily long freight trains – well over 100 cars long - can be seen passing through the town on a regular basis), Jasper, with its 4500 residents, maintains a sleepy feel different from the bustling ski resort of Banff to the south.

We take advantage of the weather and head up the Jasper Tramway, to take in breathtaking views of the valley and surrounding mountains from 2200 metres up. There's still plenty of snow piled here, but paths have been cut through to allow visitors to take in the view from all angles.

They say the typically clouded peak of Mount Robson, one of the tallest mountains in the Rockies, is visible just 14 days a year. We're lucky, and from the observation deck can clearly see the pyramid shaped-snow covered peak of the mountain in the distance.

The next morning, as we head to breakfast, we hear wolves howling across the lake. It bodes well for our sunset animal spotting tour that evening.

We get picked up from our hotel by Wes in a small coach and proceed to head for the hills. Wes is doing the trips regularly, so already has an idea where to find action.

It's not long before we come across a pair of young male elk, their enormous antlers still covered in a light layer of fuzz. They eat grass by the side of the road, completely unfazed by the presence of a large vehicle packed with tourists with their cameras and noses pressed against the windows.

Elk are very common and occasionally seen around town. What we're really hoping to see are bears (aside from the aforementioned – and unrealistic – hopes for cougars and wolverines).

We head up towards Medicine Lake, 20 kilometres out of town. As we approach, a large black bear is spotted down by a creek, some distance from the road. It's easy enough to see, but is too far off to get a good look.

Not to worry, says Wes. “We'll got up to the lake and by the time we come back down here, he'll be up by the road,” he says. Wes seems pretty confident despite the erratic behaviours of wild animals, so I stop trying to get a decent shot of the bear and return to my seat on the bus.

Medicine Lake is not really a lake, but essentially a bottleneck where the Maligne River flows under ground and backs-up in spring and summer due to melting snow and ice upriver. In autumn it drains completely and is still half empty as summer approaches.

We stop to take in the views as the sun begins to set and manage to spot two more black bears on the opposite shore. This time though, there so far away we need to borrow Wes's binoculars to get a decent view.

But, when we begin our return to Jasper, Wes is right. The bear from earlier has made its way up the slope and is now picking its way among shrubs just to the side of the road. Surprisingly, like the elk, the bear is also unperturbed by the presence of the busload of tourists. (We don't get out of the bus for safety reasons – bears are known to be incredibly fast when they want to be, and could cover the ground between is in seconds.)

It may not be the wolverine or cougar I'd hoped for, but a wild – and safe – encounter with a bear is the highlight of an excellent evening.

The writer travelled as a guest of the Canadian Tourism Commission and Tourism Jasper.

Three other things to do

1. Expensive as it may be, seeing the Rockies from a helicopter is a breathtaking experience. Icefield Heli Tours operate a range of sightseeing options and packages starting from $C189 per person. See www.icefieldheli.com

2. Jasper National Park has an abundance of beautiful lakes within a short distance of town. If the weather's good, rent a kayak and head out for a paddle.

3. The Columbia Icefield Glacier Experience takes you out in an enormous all-terrain vehicle and gives you the opportunity to wander about on the surface of theAthabasca Glacier. Adults $C52.50 for the 1.5 hour trip. See http://www.explorerockies.com/columbia-icefield/ for details.

FAST FACTS

Getting there

V Australia flies from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Los Angeles with a connecting codeshare flight to Vancouver with Alaska Airlines. From there, Air Canada and Westjet offer connections to Jasper's two gateways – Edmonton (four hours' drive from Jasper) and Calgary (5.5 hours' drive)

Staying there

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge offers a variety of lodge-style accommodations including private cabins in its spectacular grounds on the edge Lac Beauvert. See http://www.fairmont.com/jasper

Closer to town, Sawridge Inn is easy walking distance to the centre of town and close to several of Jasper's walking trails. See http://www.sawridgejasper.com

Touring there

Jasper Adventure Centre runs a wide variety of tours around the national park, including the twilight wildlife tour. Prices start from about $C60 for adults. See http://www.jasperadventurecentre.com

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