Seventy Buck Hill
Date Walked: 14th July 2013
Distance: 4.9 miles (7.9 km)
Actual Ascent: 1115 ft (340m)
Time Taken: 2 Hours
With much of Kananaskis still out of bounds after the flooding we decided to take in a short hill climb just off Sibbald Creek Trail (highway 68) this weekend. The sun shone and a light breeze blew keeping temperatures down to around 25 degrees as we pulled into the roadside parking area and got the boots on.
Once loaded up (well one of us was loaded up) we set out into the forest on a trail that ascended steeply for a short time before leveling out to a lovely steady climb that made the hike enjoyable for Sarah
The trail was in excellent shape considering all the rain damage that has occurred elsewhere, it follows an old logging trail that is beginning to regrow leaving a well trodden line along the centre
I was beginning to think this was a bad idea as these tree covered hills allow little distance viewing when a good area of felled trees opened up the views to the distant Rocky mountains
across the way was another green and tree covered lump of a similar height, perhaps another one for Sarah to hike up in future, I can't help but think that this area would make for good snow shoeing, when just getting out and getting a few miles in is the aim. I'll try to remember it for the winter time.
At the top we find a nice little area to sit and have a bite to eat and cup of tea, staying back from the treeline to maintain the views to the mountains
It's always nice to go hiking with Sarah, great company, great fun and an easy day for me. It is always enjoyable no matter what the hill size, just being here together makes it the best of times.
We explored around the top but areas that have been logged are notoriously difficult to hike through without a trail, so after satisfying ourselves that we weren't missing anything we dropped back down to the ascent trail and retraced our steps
Almost back at the road and Sarah is still smiling, buried in the green carpet here are hundreds of beautiful wild flowers making for a scent laden final run down to the truck.
Back at the truck we took a few minutes to bask in the sun and finish the flask before driving round to the ranger station on highway 40 where we were told that some of the damage was going to take years to repair. It such a shame that a couple of the most stunning areas are closed out by flood damage, but they will recover in time and it will make them all the more exciting to revisit once they are opened, until then we'll make do with the several hundred thousand square kilometers of Rocky mountain wilderness that remain open.