Nigel Pass, July 27 2015

From what I read about and from photos I viewed, Nigel Pass remained high on my to-do list, the time just needed to be right to hike to it.  Being further along the Icefield Parkway, it is best to be staying in the area to shorten the drive and give yourself more time on the trail instead of in the car.  The trail head was not far down the road from "The Palace".

The first couple of kilometers was along a road, then through a forest, then through a thick overgrown meadow.  When the views opened up, boy did they open up!  The clouds danced for us and teased us, every now and then for mere seconds giving way to full mountain views.    

The open areas were vast with kilometres of exploring opportunities.  

Neither of us had ventured here before, we had no idea where the trail would lead us nor where we would end up.  After further than what we expected, we arrived at Nigel Pass.  The location was amazing with such a variety of color and ground cover.  I picked a high point and made it my summit of the day so captured the shot.

We picked this location for our group shot, right in front of the far off glaciers.

After refueling, it was time to explore a little further along.  The going was easy on the footing and even more so easy on the eye so we opted to kept going.  The colors were amazing especially of the river.  I wanted to be up close with it, so descended to it.

we were even privy to wildflower viewings

This was our turn around spot.  It was difficult to do so, I really wanted to venture further in but we had already come further than planned.  I will definitely return to this location and explore deeper down after realizing how easy of a hike Nigel Pass is.

view as we turn to head back

The day remained overcast with a few sprinkles now and then and some heavier rain as we neared the end.  It is views and colors like this that will bring me back, but on a day with more blue in the sky.

We arrived back at "The Palace" and dipped into the treats and beverages. The sky cleared while preparing dinner and I knew the sunset would offer up a sight.  Once dinner was done and just before bedtime, I once again strolled down by Waterfowl Lake.  The alpenglow was so pretty.

Before calling it a night, we chatted about how lucky we were for the weather to have cleared and about how peaceful it was in the campground.  So far our stars were aligning quite nicely.  We also put our hiking plan in place for tomorrow.