In my humble opinion, Medicine Lake is hands down the most beautiful spot in Jasper National Park. You'll notice from the guidebooks that it is kind of overlooked in favour of the more popular Lake Maligne. 

In springtime the lake has a somewhat harrowing atmosphere owing to the bare scorched tree trunks from a forest fire a couple of years ago. Forest fires are an important natural process however and despite the spooky appearance, this process will undoubtedly have returned vital nutrients, previously captive in the old vegetation, to the forest floor. Medicine Lake is also situated in a crucial wildlife corridor with the potential for caribou (reindeer) to be passing through. If you see a grey shadow amongst the snow and the charred trees, it is quite possibly going to be caribou or even a wolf. A caribou spotting is quite difficult in Jasper National Park. I am told that the number of caribou has dwindled whilst the park's wolves (and the caribou's main predator) thrive.

There is a little bit of cheating here as the two photographs just above are of Maligne Canyon and not of Medicine Lake as the title of this blog instalment would suggest. In the next instalment, I  promise to include some wildlife shots!