We hiked in Kootenay National Park, another gorgeous park bordering Banff. I revisited a favorite hike, Marble Canyon. This section of the park had burned since my last visit, and the vista was staggeringly different.
A narrow canyon plummeting to a roaring white water river, Marble Canyon offers some fantastic view points.
The trail winds up the length of the canyon, starting where the water pours out and ending at the waterfall that plummets into the start of the canyon.
One of my favorite birds was hunting along the water's edge -- the American Dipper. This amazing bird will dive into freezing whitewater and actually walk around on the bottom, then leap back onto the river's edge, flapping its wings. Then it waits, bobbing up and down, looking for morsels in the water. It's unbelievable what they'll jump into, broiling water that looks like it will smash them against the rocks in an instant. But it doesn't. They're in and out with amazing speed. It was nesting in the canyon, and flew down into the cool of the dark recess with its food.