The day could not have been better for a trek through Maligne Canyon.  The temperature was perfect.  The sun was out and the sky was blue.

After the tour bus picked up all the hikers, we headed to the 6th bridge parking lot.  Here, we put our cleats on and crossed the temporary bridge.  Beautiful, clear mountain water flowed under it. The guide took us to the trail at the top where we hiked east to a point where the water no longer flowed on top of the surface.  We entered the bottom of the canyon where thick ice covered the canyon floor.

The ice was soft in places.  We had to tread carefully so we didn't end up with boots full of water.  Two of my fellow hikers ended up breaking through the ice.  As one of the guys broke through, he ended up taking our guide down.  She ended up soaked!

As we proceeded forward, a number of frozen waterfalls clung to the canyon walls.  At the largest one, two ice climbers were getting their gear ready.  This water froze with a hollow space behind it.  The space was large enough for us to walk behind.  What a beautiful, behind the scenes view we had!

We couldn't go through the entire way as the ice floor had dropped about ten feet.  It created a hollow space beneath an ice shelf that created an unsafe situation for hikers.

As we ventured back to the parking lot, I took in the serene landscape.  The evergreen branches had a dusting of snow that looked like icing sugar.  The sound of running water could be heard behind the ice falls.  Chickadees called from the tree tops.  I could see animal tracks in the deep snow, coming down from the canyon walls.

The hike was a great way to spend 2 hours outside on a beautiful winter day in Alberta!