On the last day of our Jasper getaway, we decided to hike the Mina Riley Loop. The trailhead is on the north side of the town and heads up into the hills behind the town. Right way we were challenged with the snow and ice on the trail. We really should have been wearing traction aids for this hike. It would have saved us quite a bit of time and some falls as well. There is quite a steep elevation gain in the early section of the hike but then is fairly gentle with some steeper ups and downs along the way.
Hiking on the snow and ice was a challenge for sure but the scenery was well worth the effort. Evergreens and needles everywhere. We walked alongside 3 lakes. The first had no name, the second along the trail is Mina Lake then a while after that is Riley lake. Beautiful to see even when frozen over.
We also walked through a couple of alpine meadows that I very much want to see this summer. We stopped at the halfway point in one of the meadows for a quick snack. The only sound was us. It was so peaceful. The quiet was almost deafening.
What a great trail. We have plans of walking this trail in August when we come back to the area on vacation. It was so beautiful with all the snow and ice. We can’t wait to see it without the snow and hopefully full of wildflowers in the meadows.