Wells Gray to Jasper

From the Lonely Planet:
“If there’s a waterfall in the woods and nobody’s there, does it make a noise? That’s a question they might ask at – supposedly – thundering Helmcken Falls, which at 141m is Canada’s fourth-highest falls. And do the mist laden clouds over the falls rain dew on the tree- and moss-covered gorge if nobody’s there to get wet? Good questions and ones that are germane given the utter isolation you’ll find in Wells Gray Provincial Park, a wonderland of lakes, peaks, wildlife and dozens of purportedly noisy waterfalls.”

Spent from first thing until mid-afternoon in this beautiful place as much as we could, seeing the Helmcken Falls and the equally spectacular Horseshoe Falls. With Tom, I also hit upon an excellent trail from the Green Mountain viewing tower down to some water. During the day, the following new species were seen:

Chipping Sparrow
Red-naped Sapsucker – a flock of three.
Yellow-rumped Warbler – lots! Where had they been until now?
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Barrow’s Goldeneye x 3
Western Tanager
American Three-toed Woodpecker

We also found an unidentified perched hawk that needs investigating as well as Least Chipmunks.

We then pretty much just motored on to Jasper, stopping only for gas, and short rest and a photo or two of Mount Robson. On the journey I had an American Redstart. We crossed into Alberta around dusk where I handed over nearly $100 for our five day stay in the Jasper/Banff region. Just before we reached our campsite, a couple of Elk were seen by the side of the road, caught by our headlights.

Edit: 16/09/2010: The hawk was Cooper's Hawk.