We all got up around 8:00AM on Saturday morning. There wasn't much point getting up any earlier than that as it just doesn't get light, or warm up much, until a little later in the morning. The restaurant in the hotel was closed for renovations but they had a free continental breakfast that we all enjoyed. After breakfast we headed out. We decided to go and check out some of the ice formations along the creeks and rivers on the Marmot Road [Highway 93A]. Our first stop was at Portal Creek and the thermometer in the truck read -19C when we arrived. Fortunately there was very little wind. But the site was sheltered and in the shade, and it was very humid down by the water. It was a pretty chilling experience to photograph there but this time we were dressed for it, and made the best of it. I did three setups with my view camera and hope that I captured something good on film.
Later we moved a short distance up the road to the Astoria River. Conditions were similar here but it had warmed up a degree or two, and the sun was coming out a little. This is the spot where I found all the cat tracks down along the river, as per the previous blog post. This river had a little greater water volume and velocity as compared to the creek and the ice formations were a little different. We photographed here for a while and I managed three or four more set ups with the view camera.
By the time we finished up here it was early afternoon. We decided to move on and headed up the Maligne Road to Medicine Lake. The sun broke out a bit and the light was quite nice as we photographed in the snow covered boulders of Medicine Lake. After a couple of setups here, we all moved down the valley and explored the lower reaches of the Maligne River, below Maligne Canyon. By this time it was getting to be mid afternoon, and the light was falling off quickly. We called it a day and headed back to our hotel. After unpacking our gear and warming up for a while we ended up watching part of the Edmonton Eskimos football game on TV. Once it became clear that the Eskimos would defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders, we decided to walk into town for dinner. We ended up at the Downstream Pub and had a great meal. Most of the guys had burgers, I had a steak and salad, and Mark tried the Elk sirloin. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and spent the evening visiting and having a few drinks. I for one was pretty exhausted from all the cold fresh air and the exertion of packing around camera gear. I think the others all felt about the same. Gabor had turned in earlier than the rest of us and we all made it a relatively early evening.
I always really enjoy these fall weekends out with my friends. The experience of being out in the mountains in the off-season is spectacular and the throngs of tourists, so prevalent in the summer, do not exist. And the camaraderie of watching what other people photograph and how they compose, as well as the visiting after the days shooting is done, is very enjoyable and something that I look forward to every year. This year was no exception and it was great for the six of us to get out together. Gabor and Nigel were out for the first time with the group and they really fit in well.
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