Timing is Everything
Time, or maybe the weather, hasn’t exactly been on our side for much of this trip. Most mornings in the Yukon we set the alarm for 4:30am. When it went off we would look out and try to decide if the clouds would part enough for us to get at least a few moments of sweet morning light on some mountain vista. By 5:30 am our last morning up the Dempster Highway we had a glimmer of hope. So we left the nearly out of gas van sitting at our campsite in Tombstone Territorial Park, grabbed the gear and hiked the 2.5 kms up the mountain road to the Tombstone Viewpoint. Our speed up that hill seemed in direct proportion to the rate that the sun peeked over the mountains to the east and lit up the opposite mountains. We arrived puffing but in time to even see light on Tombstone Mountain off in the distance in the valley between the Tombstone Range and Cloudy Range.
The light didn’t last long. It was cloudy once again as we walked back down the mountain road to our campsite. The other still-sleeping campers were unaware that there had even been a moment of nice light. Timing is everything.
On our way back south from the Yukon we stopped again for a night in Muncho Provincial Park - this time in the MacDonald campground. It had been quite cool, cloudy and windy when we passed through on our way north - just as it usually was when we visited in 2006. However on that day it was hot and rather muggy. We both even went in for a swim in the cold 12-kilometre long almost always rippled mountain lake. During dinner the clouds suddenly parted, the water flattened and Ron spent about 45 minutes getting some stunning mountain reflections. Then the light was gone and the wind came back up again. Timing is everything.
In July when we traveled through Jasper National Park the weather didn’t allow for pictures at all (see Ron’s posting "Stormy Weather" for more info). So we tried again on our way home. It mostly rained or the skies were grey while we were there. On the morning we left dawn brought clear skies and mist hanging over the lakes. Timing is everything indeed!
Tombstone Range - Click for larger
Cloudy Range - Click for larger
The light didn’t last long. It was cloudy once again as we walked back down the mountain road to our campsite. The other still-sleeping campers were unaware that there had even been a moment of nice light. Timing is everything.
Tombstone Mountain - Click for larger
On our way back south from the Yukon we stopped again for a night in Muncho Provincial Park - this time in the MacDonald campground. It had been quite cool, cloudy and windy when we passed through on our way north - just as it usually was when we visited in 2006. However on that day it was hot and rather muggy. We both even went in for a swim in the cold 12-kilometre long almost always rippled mountain lake. During dinner the clouds suddenly parted, the water flattened and Ron spent about 45 minutes getting some stunning mountain reflections. Then the light was gone and the wind came back up again. Timing is everything.
Muncho Lake Dock - Click for larger
Muncho Lake - Click for larger
In July when we traveled through Jasper National Park the weather didn’t allow for pictures at all (see Ron’s posting "Stormy Weather" for more info). So we tried again on our way home. It mostly rained or the skies were grey while we were there. On the morning we left dawn brought clear skies and mist hanging over the lakes. Timing is everything indeed!
Patricia Lake - Click for larger
The Palisades in Jasper - Click for larger
Labels: Alberta, British Columbia, Jasper National Park, Muncho Lake Provincial Park, timing, Tomstone Territorial Park, Yukon Territory
posted by Lori Erwin at
20:08
1 Comments:
What beautiful photos!!! I've enjoyed following your trip through yours and Ron's blogs.
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