YOHO NATIONAL PARK AND VICINITY - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 282

is a conifer (evergreen), but its needles turn a stunning orange in fall—a photographer's
delight. Above the tree line, where wind and rain have deposited soil, wildflowers such as
heather, Indian paintbrush, and arnica create a carpet of color for a few short weeks in
midsummer.
FAUNA
The animals for which Yoho is best known are fossilized in beds of shale and have been
dead for more than 500 million years. But they still create great interest for the role their
remains have played in our understanding of life on earth in prehistoric times.
Large mammals are not as common in Yoho as in the other parks of the Canadian
Rockies, simply because the terrain is so rugged. Valleys are inhabited by mule deer, elk,
moose, black bears, and a wide variety of smaller mammals. Porcupines are common
along Yoho Valley Road. The park has a healthy population of grizzly bears, but sightings
are relatively rare because the grizzly tends to remain in remote valleys far from the busy
TransCanada Highway corridor. Much of the park is above the tree line; here noisy mar-
mots and pikas find a home, along with an estimated 400 mountain goats. More than 200
bird species have been recorded within the park.
HISTORY
The Kootenay and Shuswap tribes of British Columbia were the first humans to travel
through the rugged area that is now the national park. It's believed the men hid their fam-
ilies in the mountains before crossing over to the prairies to hunt buffalo and to trade with
other tribes. On their return, they set up seasonal camps along the Kicking Horse River to
dry the buffalo meat and hides. They used a more northern route than that taken by travel-
ers today, crossing the divide at Howse Pass and descending to the Kootenay Plains bey-
ond the present-day junction of Highways 93 and 11.
The first Europeans to explore the valley of the Kicking Horse River were members
of the 1858 Palliser Expedition, which set out to survey the west and report back to the
British government on its suitability for settlement. The party approached from the south,
climbing the Kootenay and Vermilion watersheds of present-day Kootenay National Park
before descending to Wapta Falls. It was here that the unfortunate expedition geologist,
Dr. James Hector, inadvertently gave the Kicking Horse River its name. While walking his
horse over rough ground, he was kicked unconscious and took two hours to come to, by
which time, so the story goes, other members of his party had begun digging his grave.