Haven't hiked in a few days so I go to the Park information center (first pic) in downtown Jasper to ask about a trail that's not too far out of town and not too rigorous. Turns out that there are loads of "local" trails and the docent recommends one that starts at a parking area near the old Fort Point Bridge - Trail 7. Second pic is a view of the Athabasca River from the bridge. It's an ~7km hike with little elevation gain but beautiful river and lake views and the chance to see lots of wildlife in spite of being so close to town. Third pic is the Athabasca at the trail head. I quickly come across a man-made nest built on a pole high above the river and inhabited by an unidentified raptor that squawked and fussed until I moved on. The trail winds through firs with occasional open spots that exhibit low grasses and lots of orange flowers. See next pic for flower example. Look closely into the flower. Do you see the matching butterfly? There were loads of these orange butterflies who seemed partial to the orange flowers. Happened upon several doe elk and a single fawn. They were all resting in the trees but roused when I came by and all except the fawn and its mom moved away across the trail and into heavier cover They let me watch them for a long time before they moved on. See several pics. Note the radio collar and ear tag on the mom. Continued on my way and passed several small lakes and tributaries of the Athabasca - pics included. At one point the trail passed through a glade of fluffly ferns (pic) that looked like gauzy feathers swaying in the breeze. Toward the end of the trail I happened upon another man-made raptor nest, also occupied by a vociferous mom who not only squawked and flapped her wings to scare me, but came out of the nest and swooped and dived aggressively toward me. (see pics) She was pretty convincing. It was a great hike with great scenery that didn't kill me and left me feeling very in touch with nature.
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