Moose Mountain
Date Walked: 16th June 2015
Distance: 9.5 miles (15.3km)
Actual Ascent: 2027 ft (618 m)
Time Taken: 5 hours
Moose Mountain has been on my 'to-do' list since we got here over 3 years ago but it never really inspired me and there are so many mountains close to home that ideas on which one to climb come and go fleetingly. Today was a late start and with cloud and threats of showers all day I decided to keep it local and go tick off this one.
Moose mountain is accessed from several points, mine was via highway 66 (Elbow Falls Trail) to the (unsigned) Moose Mountain Road 700m west of Paddy's Flat Campground. The road itself is a steep gravel road that rises continually for a little over 7km where a gate prevents further advance, to the right of the gate is a large parking area.
From the car park the trailhead is just out of sight through trees above me but a myriad of short trails lead through to it from the parking area. Once through the trees I pick up the trail which is an old fire road which is well maintained and very easy hiking.
Moose mountain is accessed from several points, mine was via highway 66 (Elbow Falls Trail) to the (unsigned) Moose Mountain Road 700m west of Paddy's Flat Campground. The road itself is a steep gravel road that rises continually for a little over 7km where a gate prevents further advance, to the right of the gate is a large parking area.
From the car park the trailhead is just out of sight through trees above me but a myriad of short trails lead through to it from the parking area. Once through the trees I pick up the trail which is an old fire road which is well maintained and very easy hiking.
The only major downside of this trail is the start which takes you on a descending path for 1.5km, obviously after a long day hiking climbing back up here is little fun though it passes quickly enough on the return.
Early on in the hike the dark skies really threaten to unload, as I make the descent from the car park a gap in the trees allows me to see the distant point of Moose Mountain and it's east ridge hump. The hike is such that I must walk north for the first 4.5km along the south east ridge before turning west on the east ridge to reach the summit.
After around 3.5km a shower blows through and I shelter under the trees beside the trail and take the opportunity to have a snack, the strong winds keep the rain moving and before I decide to put the waterproof gear on the rain has passed and I'm off again.
By the time I cover the short distance to the point where the trail turns toward the east ridge the dark clouds have moved just far enough away to be forgotten and blue skies fill the horizon.
The entire slope of the trailside meadow to the west is filled with wildflowers of all kinds which splatter the landscape with flecks of blue, yellow, red and white.
Behind me as I cross the meadow another storm sneaks past and I find myself right on the line of rain/no rain, just a few spots fall on me before I step up the pace a little and get ahead of it, from there it continued moving south east as I moved west and I stayed dry again.
After the lush green meadows the trees fill in again and the ascent starts to get a little more challenging until opening out into the meadows on the east ridge where a nice level section allows open views toward the east ridge proper.
The trial continues as before, wide and accessible as I climb the east ridge. It's no wonder this mountain is used by so many film crews with such easy access. Moose mountain was actually 'Brokeback Mountain' in the movie of the same name though having never seen the movie I don't know just how much of it is distinguishable.
Behind me three separate storms are dumping some much needed rain on the foothills and prairies and I'm thankfull that I've managed to dodge them so far.
Behind me three separate storms are dumping some much needed rain on the foothills and prairies and I'm thankfull that I've managed to dodge them so far.
On the top of the east ridge outlier someone has gone to far too much trouble to construct a long narrow shelter of sorts, the purpose of which is lost to me. It's too low to function as a windbreak and has no cover to keep out the rain, maybe it's a work in progress.
As the trail reaches the final ascent it narrows to a more enjoyable foot trail, the fire lookout and it's associated 'gubbings' are now clearly visible and the mountain actually begins to look like a mountain.
As I ascend I can see to the very edge of the rockies beyond the north ridge of Moose, and away on the horizon is Black Rock mountain in the Ghost Wilderness 50 km away.
looking back along the east ridge there are storms on both sides which are widening out more and more yet here in the middle I'm ascending in full sunshine....I'm not complaining
On the final approach the trail narrows further and clings to the scree slopes on the south side of the mountain though there is no exposure and it is a firm well trodden trail.
If you decide to do this hike make sure you keep an eye out for the red box with a small black cross on it, that's the phone and data lines for the lookout and you'll need to step over them.
The trail circles around the rear of the lookout tower giving a fine view to the north along the mountain/prairie divide, to the west (left) are the front ranges and just behind them is my regular haunt, highway 40.
I'm surprised but not unhappy to find I'm the only hiker there today, as a result the fire ranger comes out for a chat, he's called Laszlo and originates from Hungary. He tells me that when there are groups of hikers he stays in and around the tower with the chain across the terrace, today he opens it up and invites me to take a look around.
Looking to the north west across the helipad that keeps Laszlo supplied for the 7 months he lives here (without any break) In the winter he goes to his home in Victoria on Vancouver Island for 5 months then back to the tower.
To the south over the windsock a few storms bubble up and race across the mountains as Laszlo and I discuss european history and how he came to be in Canada. He's been here for 30 years and worked as a fire ranger the whole time.
In all directions storms rise and fall across the mountains and yet none make it to the summit of Moose. Laszlo tells me he has worked in Black Rock and Mockingbird lookouts too, both of which I've visited so we discuss more about each area and the views from them, we both agree that Black Rock is the outstanding spot.
Laszlo even offers to take the summit shot for me as we chew the fat on all things european including the current situation in Greece, we move on to communism, droughts in California and cloud seeding as the afternoon wears on.
We are continually harassed by golden mantled ground squirrels who come right up to my boot ends looking for a snack, Laszlo insists he doesn't feed them but when I point out how close they come to him he just winks and drops a bit of something that the squirrel scampers off with quickly.
I honestly could have stood talking to this guy for the entire afternoon, 7 months of thinking time left him somewhat philosophical and his range of knowledge was extensive however, a glance to the west showed the horizon totally filled with storms heading our way so I said my goodbyes and set out for the return hike.
Before I had got off the summit a huge dark cloud came over the top of me but split in the centre and didn't drop any rain in passing. It was only lightning I was worried about, particularly as Moose Mountain has a thick copper wire mesh over the top to absorb any strikes which might otherwise hit the lookout, Moose is known locally as a lightning magnet.
I confess that I damn near ran off the summit and the east ridge toward the safety of the blue skies beyond, I needn't have worried as no lightning showed and the rain stayed away even when the clouds overtook me as I plodded through the trees lower down.
As I made my way back along the south east ridge I found a nice patch of Indian Paintbrushes which made a lovely foreground for my closing shot of Moose Mountain.
That final plod up the 1.5km hill back to the car park wasn't as bad as I'd imagined, though to be honest I would have rather done without it. I really enjoyed talking to Laszlo, I'm not totally sold on Moose Mountain, I know it's popular but the views are a little 'distant' for my liking, still it was fantastic to be out again and to dodge the rain all day.