Opal Hills

The other good news about Jasper while we were gone, in addition to the weather turning nicer, is that the wildfire has been put out and the road all the way to Maligne Lake has been opened. That means that a number of hikes, in our trail guide books, are now available.

At Opal Hills, according to our man Tim Jensen (The Best Day Hikes in the Canadian Rockies), we "will enjoy the amazing panorama that ranks as one of the top views in Jasper National Park. Alpine wildflowers are most abundant between the end of June and early August and the Opal Hills meadows are a great place to see them. Opal Hills is not really a long hike (5.4 miles) but it is a steep one. You must overcome 500 meters (1640 ft) of elevation in the first mile and a half hiking."

We got a late start, just after 2pm, so this is just the type of hike we were looking for - short but challenging. The ascent lacked switchbacks so it was just about straight up the mountain. But - as all the books say - the views are "worth the dramatic energy expenditure". We agree.

No pictures on the trail coming up - it was all we could do, with our heads down, to ascend the steep climb on a poorly conceived and heavily eroded trail. 

Here we are, at the summit of Opal Hills and crossing a rivulet with some wildflowers on the right.

Looking across the upland meadow at some on the surrounding peaks.

Fields of...

wildflowers.

Maligne Range in the distance. 

After crossing 1 1/2 miles of meadows we begin our descent on an easier, less steep trail of the loop.

Maligne Lake from the descent trail.

On our way back into Jasper town we passed these big-horned sheep out for a stroll.

Scenes from the fire...

that burned an area around Medicine Lake that is about 1/2 way along the road to Maligne Lake.

This is the southern reach of the fire. You can see sections of the forest that have burned and sections that did not.