Yesterday, accompanied by Stewart Hamilton I went to a new area in Banff National Park. We ascended the Muleshoe Trail from the Muleshoe Campground along Highway 1A to some alpine meadows high above the Bow Valley. This area offers some splendid panoramic views and literally, you can see for miles. I estimate that we were about 200 m. (650 ft) above the river.
My first photograph for today provides a partial view of the Muleshoe Bend in the Bow River as it winds its way eastward. Across the valley are Mount Bourgeau (left and centre) and the eastern slope of Mount Brett on the right. The valley to the right of Mount Bourgeau is the path of Wolverine Creek, a tributary of the Bow River.
Looking a little westward, I was able to capture this next shot featuring the Massive Range, bordering the west side of the BowValley.
Turning the camera eastward, I got this next photograph featuring the area near Sunshine Village, a popular Alberta ski resort. Eagle Mountain and Mount Howard Douglas are two of the peaks surrounding Sunshine.
My last picture from this location is a view westward down the Bow Valley in the direction of Lake Louise. The distant peaks on the right are (from left to right); Castle Mountain, Stuart Knob and Helena Ridge. (This information could be useful the next time you are playing Trivial Pursuit.) This photograph gives a good sense of the pitch of the meadow where these pictures were taken. This area would be much better for skiing than for walking.
My very last scene for today was taken near the end of our descent where we traversed a stand of aspen trees. These trees are very popular with photographers and painters, particularly in autumn when the leaves turn colour. I think the appeal is the vertical lines and how they convey a sense of order. This image, taken at “gopher’s eye” level truncates the trees and in my view, is not as interesting as a scene showing the full height of the trees. The grass is nice, though.
I will return to Muleshoe in a few weeks to capture the brilliant yellow and orange coloured leaves.
I enjoyed these photographs, Peter. I particularly like the view down the Bow Valley. You must have worked hard to ascend to such heights! Well worth it!
Bob.