Jasper国立公園(3)

Jasper2日目は、Jasperで人気の"Bear's Paw Bakery(クマの手ベーカリー）"の朝食から始まりました♪
We started-off our second day in Jasper with breakfast at a popular local bakery.

そして、今日はいよいよマリーン・キャニオンでアイスウォークに出かけます！靴の「滑り止め」を8ドルでレンタルし、いよいよ出発です(*^_^*)
Today we had our sights set on doing our Ice Walk in Maligne Canyon! After breakfast we rented some light crampons at 8 bucks a pair to slip onto our boots for some added traction when walking on the ice. 

「5番目の橋」からスタート！！
We started out from the 5th Bridge

この日は晴天に恵まれました(*^^)v
We had the good fortune of a sunshiny day 

まずは川を見下ろすように上のハイキングコースを歩きます。
At first, we walked along the trail that overlooks the canyon.

すぐに下に降りて渓谷の間を歩きます！
But soon, we descended down into the canyon!

すでにあるコースの上を歩きます！安全です☆
There was a trail we could walk on.  It was safe.

霜のおりた岩面に観光客の手形がいっぱい
We found these hand prints of hikers on one section of the frost-covered walls of the canyon 

私たちもしました(*^^)v　が・・・、
We decided to try to leave our mark too, but...

うまく手形が残せませんでした・・・
It didn't turn out so well...

大自然・・・クリックして拡大して見てください・・・☆
Wonderful Nature! Click on these pictures to see them enlarged!  

徐々に氷の世界が始まります・・・
Gradually, we entered a mystical world of ice!

ここから先は、規模が違います！大自然！！！
The scale of this one is quite bigger than the ones before! BIGtime nature!!

運よくアイス・クライマーに遭遇しました！
By chance, we came across some Ice Climbers!

氷が薄いところは、氷の下に流れる川が見えました。私は川に手をつけました！めちゃくちゃ冷たかったです（笑）
Where the ice was clear and thin, we could see the water rushing underneath it.  Someone had made a hole in the ice here where the water underneath was very shallow, and I put my hand in!  It was freeeeeezing cold!

氷だけでなく、川に削られた岩の模様は神秘的でした・・・。
It wasn't just the ice; the carved-out walls of the canyon also added to the mystical atmosphere. 

この先にもう１つだけ凍った小さな滝がありました。ここが私たちが行った一番奥です。もう少し行けたようですが、私たちはここから引き返しました。写真では半分しか伝わらないかもしれませんが、この滝が一番キレイでした。

After this, there was one more frozen waterfall. This is the deepest we ventured into the canyon. It looked like we could have gone even further, but with the recent warm weather and thawing conditions, we decided to turn back.  My pictures don't even show the half of it, but this waterfall was the most beautiful of them all!

無数のつららが１つの束になってるのイメージしてみてください
Picture it as though countless icicles have been bundled together. 

言葉を失うとはこのこと・・・。本当にきれいでした・・・。

I am at a loss for words...  This was truly beautiful...

十分に氷の世界を満喫して、来た道を戻ると、空が朝よりもっと青くなっていて、これもまた本当にきれいでした。

More than satisfied with our adventures into this Icy Wonderland, we made our way back along the same path.  As we cleared the shelter of the canyon, we were dazzled with a blue sky that was even more beautiful than it had been earlier that morning.  

前日に取った写真と比べるとこうです。同じ場所から取ったのに、また全然違いますね(^_-)

Below is a comparison of a shot I took that day and one of the same scene the day before. Different shades of beauty!!   

Jasperでの残りの時間は、また別のスポットでクロスカントリースキーや別の湖の上でのスケートをしました。カナダに来て、よくカナダの人から「山は行った？」という質問をされましたが、ようやくこの質問の本当の意味が分った気がします(*^_^*)

We spent the rest of the day going cross country skiing and also some more skating both at different yet equally beautiful locations as the day before.  Since coming to Canada, I am often asked by people here, "Have you been to the mountains yet?".  I can finally understand why. 

本当にいい経験になりました。

It was a great experience!

カナダの自然は壮大です！！！下のスライドショーはドライブ中に取った山の写真です。ただシャッターを押すだけで絵になります・・・(*^_^*)

The Canadian wilderness is truly magnificent!  The slideshow below is just of the pictures I was taking from the car window as we drove along!  Simply clicking away was enough to create these beautiful pictures!