Canadian Rockies: Preserving a landscape and safety reminders for a memorable vacation

Hey Steemies!

Before I carry on with my recent Jasper trip, I have a few more pictures from Kananaskis because I couldn't fit them all in my already long blog posts along with a sneak peak at some of the jasper photos. I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to talk about mountain safety and etiquette because on our recent travels we witness several disturbing behaviors with potential for injury and 6 lives were lost yesterday along with other incidents in the recent weeks. I know I went on a little rant on my last post but I would like to elaborate on some of these concerns. These mountains are a dream and it's easy to get caught up in the experience and ignore common sense or perhaps it's from a lack of education before visiting or cultural differences but life becomes more dangerous and it's hard to call for help and for emergency personnel to come to the rescue in these remote areas no matter how busy they may appear. We never want to hear about a deadly family vacation or injuries sustained in our backyard...it's heart breaking every time.

Shot 1/250 sec. f/8 31 mm, ISO 110

What really prompted me to write this post, yesterday 6 visitor's lives were lost and 3 more injured including a toddler on the Icefield Parkway near Sunwapta Falls in a head on collision involving 3 vehicles. In a nutshell, there was a head on collision and an on-coming vehicle tried to avoid the scene but went off the road as a result. It is unclear at this time what caused the initial crash and one of the surviving victims doesn't remember what happened and they were no other witnesses. The first passer by on the scene tried to call for help but without cell reception had to drive closer to town until reaching enough of a signal to make the emergency call while other passer-by tended to the victims of the carnage. It was determined that even if the call was made sooner, it would have been the same outcome but the case isn't so for all incidents, some could have a chance of survival in a different scenario. According to emergency personnel, it was one of the worst accident scenes they have seen on these roads. Must have been a traumatic sight and experience for those who stopped to help until emergency arrival.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/highway-crash-alberta-6-killed-jasper-1.4777401

First on my list is obviously road safety. The roads are small winding roads, congested at times and may contain wildlife (not believed to be the cause), How did a head on collision could have happened? obviously somebody was where they were not supposed to be. It is important to follow the proper speed limit even if it may seem low, being in the proper lane and passing only if necessary in the proper passing lanes . While we were traveling, we noticed foreign visitors stopping in the middle of the highway, at times blocking the entire road to view wildlife or admire a certain geological feature in the landscape. Folks, that is so unsafe, never do this as tempting as it may be. View from safe areas like a proper road side turn out and lookout point (there is many safe areas to stop along the way) or if there is a wide shoulder to pull to the side in a manner that wont obstruct traffic and that is safe from blind hills, turns and bridges is more important than you will ever know. In these roads, due to hills and turns, visibility is limited in many areas. Always leave an open lane for traffic to get thru safely, if it is not possible to do so, don't stop at all, chances are you will see wildlife later in a safer location...it isn't worth risking yours and your family's lives to get a picture.

Shot 1/250 sec. f/8 26 mm, ISO 110

The second point I would like to address is wildlife safety. These fluffy normally elusive creatures are friendlier than normal due to the high volume of visitors and frequent human encounters making it easy to forget their aggressive nature or natural behaviors. Lets keep in mind, they are not pets or zoo animals, they are still wild animals and will act upon their instincts. 2 weeks ago, a black bear charged at a visitor, luckily the tourist was unharmed in the end but this had potential to have been disastrous in more ways then one. what led to this incident? A black bear was spotted near the road and attracted a large crowd, visitors getting out of their vehicles to take selfies with the Bear surrounding the poor beast. The bear feeling in a vulnerable situation where his safety felt at risk caused him to attack one of the tourist that got way to close while another filmed the encounter. Footage can be viewed with the link below.

https://globalnews.ca/video/4348978/womans-brush-with-bear-near-jasper-prompts-warning

In the past, animals who charged humans in a National Park were considered rogue or corrupted and killed by the park officials in any circumstances. That in itself is a tragedy. Often times, visitors feed the wildlife including bear and wolves or improperly store or dispose leftover food scraps and their packaging, this makes them frequent populated areas in search for food and not afraid of humans and that makes them even more dangerous and willing to attack to get what they seek or defend their territory. They see us as predators and the status quo needs to remain for all of our safety. Luckily procedures have now changed and reviewed case by case basis. If there is evidence that the attack was caused by human's fault, the animal no longer gets destroyed (unless they were fed and start to frequent campgrounds full of people and puts visitors at unknown risks they will get destroyed). In the recent years, the Banff wolf population saw significant reductions in numbers due to several human related incidents similar to the next stories in the links below. Not only is it a significant loss in the wolf population, it also affects the fragile ecosystem and there is no need for these senseless killings, we need to be more aware of how our behaviors impact the life around us and what could result of our actions. Often, we are not there to see the aftermath of what we caused with inattention to details and safety.

https://ghostbear.org/tragic-news-banff/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/banff-wolf-killed-parks-canada-habituated-1.3707592

Taken last fall but since we are on the topic.

On our recent travels, we witnessed many animal related misbehavior that could have resulted in injury, here is a few. A deer was eating in a very popular area, once it was noticed, people started to surround the animal, most were piled on top of the hill and watching it with respect. Below was a few families with very young children that surrounded it from behind and left the deer with no escape if it felt the need to. The small children started running around and after the deer causing it to become extremely stressed and agitated looking for a way out that wasn't available and the parents did absolutely nothing about it but take pictures and videos of their children in harm's way. Deer are for the most part mild mannered but they scare easily and when they get scared they will buck or attack with their antlers, doesn't sound so sweet now does it? Luckily, near by employees saw the situation and cleared them out of the way before the unfortunate could happen and the deer was able to escape.

Second incident of concern we witnessed, coming down from a mountain, A grizzly was spotted on the side of the road, naturally many tourist pulled over next to it blocked the entire road completely and refused to let traffic thru. We witnessed at least a dozen visitors outside of their vehicles approaching the grizzly with their small children under 5 years of age running free and yelling around the animal once again to take selfies and videos with the animal (this happened on the same day/mountain as the deer incident). What the f%&k people, were they on crack? Seriously, the grizzly is the most dangerous and aggressive animal in the Rockies and potentially for most North America. There is 2 major concerns with this scenario, someone could have been attacked and injured by the grizzly or cause a serious car accident and pile-up for blocking the road in a congested area that could have injured those out of their vehicle placing themselves in a pinch point between vehicles also leaving themselves no escape if the bear decided to charge. About half hour later, we witnessed the exact same thing at a busy intersection down the road with a herd of Elk including a calf and once again the road was completely blocked by tourists and everybody including children running after the calf. There were many more similar incidents witnessed during our recent travels but the 3 above gets my point across just fine so I will leave it there. here is a link to another deadly bear incident in the recent weeks.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/dog-killed-in-bear-encounter-at-jasper-national-park-1.4672074

Shot 1/60 sec. f/5.6 300 mm, ISO 1600

I'm not saying don't view the wildlife but there are risks associated and precautions need to be taken. DO NOT SURROUND OR CROWD ANY WILDLIFE, such behaviors is considered harassing wildlife and illegal the rangers will issue fines. When people start to crowd around, that's when I leave. It is important to everyone's safety to leave them a way out so they can escape instead of freaking out and having to charge at tourists to get away out of fear. If you encounter a bear of any kind, especially with youngs DO NOT EXIT THE VEHICLE. Safely pull over to the side of the road in a manner that does not obstruct thru traffic and view from a safe distance, if you have a sunroof, pop out the sunroof! It's a great vantage point and much safer. I use a 300mm lens for wildlife photography to remain at a safe distance, if you do not have this sort of equipment, get a picture of the animal and it's environment instead of putting yourself at risk to get a close up.

Sudden movements and loud noises can scare them and cause an attack, around any wildlife do not scream, whistle or run after the animal. The calmer the surroundings, the calmer the animal. Win win for everybody involved. Keep dogs and small children in a safe location (in the vehicle). Properly dispose of your trash in the bear proof bins at all times, while camping, do not leave food or scraps, packaging, toiletries or anything that could attract wildlife unattended or out overnight . Keep all your food drinks and toiletries in a hermetically sealed container inside your vehicle. I can't believe I have to say any of this but apparently it has to be said based on the things we saw. Parks Canada website has a list of safe distances to view each type of animal or you can ask the booth attendant when you pay your entry fee for a brochure, this information will keep you and your family safe thru your vacation. Remember, the national parks are the wildlife's home and we are their guests, be respectful.

Shot 1/1000 sec. f/6.3 200 mm, ISO 500

Feel free to laugh at this next one because it is kinda silly yet it happens. Drugs and alcohol, sure they can be fun depending who you are, I wont lie, I enjoy my marijuana especially with the upcoming legalization but mind altering substances affect us differently in altitude than they normally would. Some more mind altering substances can make you take unnecessary risks or potentially get yourself lost in return needing to be rescued from silly situations or worst case scenario get injured in elevation due to a misstep too close to an edge. If you fall, your chances of getting recovered in time to survive are slim to none and yes even sober people plunge to their death by accident while climbing. I wont say too much more aside from before putting yourself in an embarrassing sticky situation and needing to be rescued from your own actions, know how drugs and alcohol affect you at altitude and stay in a safe location instead of wandering around or better yet don't do it!

Elbow Pass, Shot 1/200 sec. f/7.1 18 mm, ISO 200

Last but not least, I would like to discuss about landscape and habitat preservation. The Park's main purpose isn't for a nice place for us to visit and a cool experience, it is meant to preserve wildlife and plant life that are at risk for extinction or rare and to study such species and how our activities impact their behaviors and their stress levels including what impact human action has on the land. It is important to respect the plants along with the wildlife, some of them are extremely rare. Staying on trails and paths are optimal if stepping out of the path, take note of what you are about to step on, avoid stepping on flowers, moss and fungi as it destroys them. Not only does it destroy the experience for those who are here to research and document it also prevents those who simply here to view these species from doing so. In elevation like the Alpine Forest Region, life is extremely difficult for a plant to grow and maintain, it is important for us to preserve what little there is. here is an example below of what is being destroyed.

Shot 1/30 sec. f/6.3 200 mm, ISO 1600

The picture above is Haller's Apple Moss, it can only be found in 9 known locations across Canada and Jasper is one of them. Fire and small population size is a certain threat but the worst threat of all is human disturbance. Many visitors don't pay attention to what they walk on, allow their children to walk all over it and destroys it believe it or not it is illegal and you can get fined from the ranger. Once again I have witnessed many unlawful acts destroying plant habitat here is a gross example that infuriated me. While at Athabasca Falls, we took a hike in a more remote section part of a longer trail. On the way , @silvergingerman and I were admiring the various wild mushrooms growing on the trail, on our return all of the mushrooms got stomped on or picked and tossed aside completely destroyed we know who did it because there was only one family on that trail aside from us. That is disrespectful to the max and nobody should behave in such a way especially since they are protected under Canadian law. Give your heads a shake this is atrocious, you can do better. We love to welcome visitors to our landscape but if you keep destroying it, it wont be there for your children and grand children to experience the greatness of the Rockies.

When these areas get disturbed, not only does it put rare species at risk, these areas become closed off to the public for habitat regeneration then nobody gets to enjoy it at all and you are also interfering with the important research being done that you may not be aware of. See the park as one big research facility because that is their exact purpose.

Opal Range, Kananaskis. Shot 1/250 sec. f/10 78 mm, ISO 250

A large part of the park's preservation is proper garbage disposal. As we drove and hiked around, we found ourselves picking up garbage left on the ground by other visitors. I'm no garbage picker but I also don't want to see it all over the park, it's disgusting and an eye sore. Littering is illegal in all of Canada, not just the parks. There are an adequate number of bear proof trash bins at every stop, there is no need to throw it around like a pig, save that for your own back yard. The parks hosts several millions of visitors each year and if we all threw our trash around it would not be the place that it is. Even if it is not your landscape and could be far away from your home, each and and every one of us that passes thru has the duty to go out of our way to maintain an enjoyable experience for all for years to come and respect the landscape including all that lives within. This is a natural sanctuary, do your part in keeping it that way.

Throwing lit cigarettes outside the window puts the park at risk for wildfires. Fires easily get out of control in such a vast forest and very difficult to put out. It also affects the ecosystem and leaves a trail of devastation behind forcing all the animals out of their surroundings and forcing them to seek new territory. Use an ashtray or a bottle or cup with a little liquid until you can properly dispose of them.

A deer walking thru what remains of a forest fire that ravaged the land 3 years ago

Once again, I can't believe I even had to say any of this in the first place but for far too long we have been watching the place get raped or animals being harassed and I can no longer sit idle about what should be basic common sense. There is enough evidence to show that clearly a reminder is necessary. Since many of the mentioned above can get you fines, inform yourself as to what behaviors you can get fined for. A vacation to the Rockies is expensive enough to visit even for me that lives a couple hours drive away, let alone if you are coming from abroad, you really don't need to add to the cost by doing stupid things. Far and foremost, we don't want anybody getting hurt, everyone deserves to go home from vacation the way they left if not better. Be good travelers wherever you go no matter where in the world and be safe.

Three Sisters Parkway. Shot 1/250 sec. f/8 18 mm, ISO 180

All images were taken with Nikon D7000. Landscapes with Sigma 18-200mm lens , wildlife with Nikkor 300mm lens.

All landscapes images were taken in Kananaskis Country's Peter Lougheed Provincial Park or along highway 40 aka Kananaskis Trail.

Cheers! X 🐞X