Bald Hills

Even though the air was thick with smoke today, Bald Hills is still one of our favorite hikes in Jasper. It begins at Maligne Lake and most of the elevation is gained via a steep fire road. We like it because the road doesn't have roots and, even though it has some loose stones in various sections, there are no big rocks of boulders! We climbed the first 1,575 feet, to the site of the Bald Hills Lookout, in slightly over one hour - 3.2 miles. We blasted our way to this first waypoint!

After the Lookout, the trail continues for another couple of miles and another 500 feet to a viewpoint among the alpine meadows. Unfortunately, today the wind was blowing the smoke from the BC wildfires right into Jasper. What is usually a breathtaking sight was mostly hidden from view. That's Maligne Lake.

Samson Peak, with the white stripe, rise on the opposite side of the valley. Maybe you can just make out the northern tip of Maligne Lake.

We went over the viewpoint ridge to a sheltered spot for lunch.

Valley view from our lunch spot.

After lunch we returned to the viewpoint ridge before hiking down the same way we came up.

The sweeping panoramic views might not be the best, but the wildflowers are always a treat. Here are some salmon-colored paintbrush and notice the fuchsia-colored one at the middle top of the picture. 

We also observed this mama quail, actually heard her first as she was making soft noises to her chicks that were...

well camouflaged by the side of the trail.

Today's hike:

Length - 9.4 miles (15 km)

Duration - 4 hours, 35 minutes

Elevation gain - 2,047 feet (620 meters)