Fall in the Icefields Parkway - 2018
Thanks to a wonderful seat sale offered by Swoop Airlines, I had the opportunity to fly to the rockies for $200, about 1/3 to 1/4 less of what I have paid to travel to Calgary in the past. So, in Mid-October, I went for an extended weekend with the purpose of trying to capture the Fall season along the Icefields Parkway, and in the rockies.
Trees along the parkway from what I can identify are mostly three types: pine trees, aspen trees and larches. It seemed like most of the aspen trees were already deleaved in Mid-October, also there was an early snowstorm in the region in late September, so it was mostly pine trees and larches that were present.
The sad part is that this year, there was an infestation of mountain pine beetles that reached Jasper National Park, affecting 94,000 of the 200,000 hectares of Jasper National Park. Mountain Pine Beetles essentially secrete a fungus which start to colonize in the inner bark and sapwood, which essentially dry up and kill the tree. As the pine tree is dying, this is observed by the change in color from a natural green to an amberish-brown colour. This has the potential for catastrophic consequences in future summers, and hopefully a solution can happen fast to prevent further trees from being affected. Trying to capture images of the Icefield Parkway in the Fall without capturing the infestation of the mountain pine beetle is impossible, so although you may see an amberish brown color in some photos, note that this is not attributed to autumn colours, but as a consequence does contribute to the color in some of the images.
I think I would go in late September for peak Golden Larch season. Noted for 2019. Alas, here were the photos of the Fall season along the Icefields Parkway in 2018. This time, went from Jasper-Lake Louise, then Lake Louise- Jasper. Enjoy!
Trees along the parkway from what I can identify are mostly three types: pine trees, aspen trees and larches. It seemed like most of the aspen trees were already deleaved in Mid-October, also there was an early snowstorm in the region in late September, so it was mostly pine trees and larches that were present.
The sad part is that this year, there was an infestation of mountain pine beetles that reached Jasper National Park, affecting 94,000 of the 200,000 hectares of Jasper National Park. Mountain Pine Beetles essentially secrete a fungus which start to colonize in the inner bark and sapwood, which essentially dry up and kill the tree. As the pine tree is dying, this is observed by the change in color from a natural green to an amberish-brown colour. This has the potential for catastrophic consequences in future summers, and hopefully a solution can happen fast to prevent further trees from being affected. Trying to capture images of the Icefield Parkway in the Fall without capturing the infestation of the mountain pine beetle is impossible, so although you may see an amberish brown color in some photos, note that this is not attributed to autumn colours, but as a consequence does contribute to the color in some of the images.
I think I would go in late September for peak Golden Larch season. Noted for 2019. Alas, here were the photos of the Fall season along the Icefields Parkway in 2018. This time, went from Jasper-Lake Louise, then Lake Louise- Jasper. Enjoy!
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