We climbed to the highest point on the parkway, Bow Summit at 2,069m. Here you’ll find a turn off for Peyto Lake, which is famously shaped like a wolf’s head. From here, the landscape really opens up, and one peak begins to command your attention: the strik- ing, pyramid-like Mount Chephren. Towering above the deep blue waters of Waterfowl Lake, it feels like something out of a postcard, and it literally is. Unlike Bow Lake, Waterfowl had fully thawed. So we unstrapped the red canoe, slid it into the glassy water, and paddled out beneath the shadow of Chephren. It felt like we had the whole valley to ourselves; no crowds, no noise, just us and the mountains. This is why you bring the canoe - even if it means wrestling it onto roof bars before sunrise. As we continued north in the Mitsubishi Outlander, we entered Jasper National Park and the Columbia Icefields came into view - a massive sea of ancient ice nestled between dramatic peaks. It’s one of the lar- gest non-polar icefields on the planet and feeds rivers that drain into three different oceans. Even from the highway, the Athabasca Glacier is striking, crawling down the valley like a frozen river. You can stop here
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