Tea Cups on the Trail
It was with some trepidation that we approached Jasper this year, we have been regular visitors since 2001 and it’s become a kind of home from home for us. Full of happy memories and newfound friends.
It was a tearful approach seeing the devastation to the town and the temporary housing that looked far from ideal. But the town was as friendly as ever the resilience shining through and if you can look beyond the town devastation to the wider landscape then we see a landscape that is recovering for what after all is a natural occurrence.
It is possible to hike at Maligne lake and to the back of the town as we did with our friend Kirsten and pretend it never happened. But it is also possible to hike through the burned landscape and when you do it’s wonderful; there are wildflowers a plenty from the common dandelion (a favourite first food for the bees) to brown eyed Susan , yarrow and slender cinquefoil. Then there’s the aspen hundreds of tiny trees quivering into the light and already more than a foot tall. We hiked to the sound of birds and bees and surrounded by butterflies. Then there’s the wildlife we’d never seen so many elk since our first visit in 2001, bears a plenty and even a moose which made this visitor very happy.
While the losses to the town and the tragic loss of a firefighter cannot be forgotten the bigger picture is looking good and Jasper remains a wonderful place to spend time.
