I was expecting a long, routine drive today as I drove from Smithers, BC to Jasper, AB. It’s a 464 mile journey with little to see along the way until you get within about 50 miles of Jasper, which is the center of Jasper National Park. After that point the mountains, lakes and rivers are just beautiful – well they looked like they would be if you could see them clearly.

When I was still some 150 miles from Jasper I smelt smoke from a wildfire and, having not heard much about the BC wildfires recently, I assumed it would be localized. Unfortunately, the haze and smell only worsened as I got closer to Jasper and I just checked the webcams in Banff National Park, where I am headed tomorrow, and that area is also affected at least as badly. There is still a wildfire burning in Kootenay National Park about 40 miles to the southwest of Banff and the wind is blowing the smoke my way.

Clouds and mist can produce wonderful effects but smoke haze just creates gray so I did not take any photos. To view the map and see the effect of the smoke go to the map/video page here.

Obviously, I’m disappointed that I won’t get to enjoy the amazing landscapes  of this area but I’ve seen plenty of amazing landscapes on the trip and the weather should be sunny tomorrow so a couple of hikes will do me good after several days of driving.