July 29, 2016
We got up early and drove out to Patricia Lake, which is just a few miles outside of the town of Jasper. The road goes right past it, and there was a nice pullout where we could get out and see the lake reflecting Pyramid Mountain in one direction, and a range of mountains in the other direction.
A little ways down the road is Pyramid Lake, which is equally as beautiful, and has the bonus of a lovely little island with a footbridge leading to it. We were fortunate to be here early before the crowds arrived. It’s a very popular stop with the tour buses, and indeed one arrived with a huge load of people right as we were leaving.
We drove out to Miette Hot Springs, which also serves as the trailhead for Sulphur Skyline. We started hiking and started gaining significant elevation. Finally we got high enough that we had some views. We could see down the valley towards Miette Hot Springs, the little white blob down there in the trees.
Not even to the summit yet and we feel like we’re on top of the world.
After a steep final push to the summit we were surrounded by stunning 360-degree views. Our beautiful clear morning had turned into a cloudy and windy afternoon, but the views were still stunning. Holy crap!
After hiking back down of course we had to go for a soak at Miette Hot Springs. The weather had turned quite cool and cloudy, with even a threat of rain, so the hot soak felt GREAT.
The setting is pretty awesome too.
travelalberta.com
From the top of Sulphur Skyline we had been able to see a “fin” of rock to the north called Ashlar Ridge. There’s a roadside viewpoint right below it, so we stopped to check it out on the drive out.
From there we could also see up to the summit of Sulphur Skyline where we had been earlier.
What a gorgeous scenery-filled day!
