The weather was supposed to be miserable today but as the afternoon approached, the skies cleared to blue patches with showers. That was enough for me to get the boots on and make the short drive down to the Elbow Valley.
The winter gate that blocks access to the Elbow Valley Campgrounds and hiking trails reopens in mid May for the 'May long' weekend holiday, so this was my first foray down here this year. I was genuinely surprised by the amount of snow still covering Glasgow, Cornwall and Banded peak but I hadn't intended reaching any of those today. I just fancied a wander along the little elbow trail. I ended up making a nice 10 km round trip with some scrambling up a dry waterfall in Nihahi Creek. On the way out I saw the wild horse herd and they had a yearling and new foal with them and were in good condition, which is great to see so soon after winter. There's not much to offer in terms of images today, the main shot shows the summits with their snow covering and the elbow river winding through the valley. I didn't get rained on and it was great to be out hiking again on a wonderful, peaceful afternoon.
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McConnell Ridge is a perfect hike for the shoulder season. Rising beside Barrier Lake at the northern end of highway 40 it offers beautiful views across to Mt Baldy and south along the highway into Kananaskis.
Even with deep wet snow melting away and slip slide conditions all along the route, it's a nice leg warmer in early spring. Parking is easy in the Barrier Lake car park and following the trail across the dam and into the forest beyond is all that is required. Signposts along the way keep you on track and long raking switchbacks make the ascent a gentle climb (gentle by kananaskis standards that is). Temperatures reached double digits today allowing me to make the summit and sit with the whiskey jacks for half an hour without needing to put on my jacket. It was a nice, leisurely afternoon sitting at the overlook with only the birds for company and the sun beating down. I'm sure there will be more snow before winter finally releases it's grip, but for now we're enjoying a warm start to spring and great hiking days are drawing ever closer. The weather was not the best today but forecast to be worse tomorrow so I went out this afternoon for a hike amongst the larch trees on Mt Indefatigable Ridge. It's a nice hike, hard going and a good workout, but best of all it has spectacular views.
If you fancy the 9.7 km (6 miles) hike with 829 m (2719 feet) of ascent you will find a previous write up of this hike with route descriptions and map by clicking here. Today was a lovely hike, with the blustery snow showers and intense wind over the ridge keeping temperatures very cool even during the tough ascent. The sky was constantly filled with cloud and not the best to photograph but the larch brought such a beautiful splash of color to the scene that the sky didn't seem to matter. I managed to get up/down and back home a few minutes before Sarah got in from work, so I could sing happy birthday again, all in all a perfect day. The main shot below shows the north summit of Indefatigable with it's scattering of larch trees leading the way up. The gallery below has captions to give some indication of the content. Clear skies dragged me from the house and into the beautiful Elbow Valley this afternoon. I need little excuse to go down there, close to home and quiet now the holiday season is over, it is a lovely place to be.
I decided to hike to the south summit of Nihahi Ridge and set out along the early autumn colours beside the river (main pic). It was a wonderful afternoon, cool but sunny and the 13.2km (8.2 miles) passed quickly, though the near 800 metres (2624 feet) of ascent slowed me toward the end. This was my favourite hike for a couple of years until it was ousted from the number one spot by Burstall Pass, but I still make this one a couple or more times a year. I didn't write up a new hike page as there is an existing one with parking info and map already on the site, you can visit that page by clicking here or find it among the numerous canadian hikes we have posted here. As for today's hike, there are captions in the gallery below to lead the way to this wonderful wedge shaped beauty that guards the easternmost edge of the rockies. I set out intending to hike Belmore Browne peak today but there was a mass of logging trucks and cutting work in the area so I drove right by on the powderface trail and dropped into Canyon Creek.
I've made this hike to 'Bryants Bumps' before, the ridge actually has no name so I gave it one last time I was out here. After all, Mt Bryant stands directly behind and it 'bumps' along in front. For those looking for full directions and map click here to see the previous version though that write up goes further along the ridge it will get you there, then you can decide if you want to go further. Today I just did the ridge to the summit and back so about 10 km with 550m of ascent. It's a great little ridge with some wonderful views along the way, but don't be deceived, it's a tough ascent early on. The main shot today was taken as I set out along canyon creek, the gallery has captions to ensure you don't miss the fat man sleeping (no comments about the fat man standing on the summit please) I was finally able to get back to the mountains today, though many of the forest fires are still burning, the wind is holding the smoke to the west. Cecil and I made our usual circuit along highway 68 and highway 40 to upper kananaskis lake.
It seems like forever since we were out there and walking around the upper lakeshore was a perfect way to get our fix. There's always a few images to be had and with storm clouds blowing over occasionally we had some drama in the skies overhead. We stopped off at Barrier Lake first where incredibly low water levels exposed long white beaches all around the beautiful cyan blue water. We checked in a few of our usual photo spots before reaching the lake and heading for the beached tree stumps that sit in a small cove on the eastern shore. My main shot today is the sun speckled flanks of Mt. Indefatigable, one of my favourite lumps of rock in Kananaskis. The gallery below has a nice mix of shots with captions to keep you informed as you go. The smoke from the forest fires is still being held out closer to the mountains thanks to current wind directions. So with sunshine and cloud overhead, combined with the 17 degree temperature I thought I'd better make the most of the perfect hiking conditions.
I dropped into a local forest where 12km passed quickly. I felt that wonderful chill in the air as I set out from the car park and I saw our first dusting of snow this year out on Moose Mountain. Along the way I walked past a beautiful moss covered area of forest floor but there was no sunlight reaching it, I hung around a while waiting for the clouds to move but they persisted so I reluctantly carried on . On reaching the 6km point where I would normally sweep round onto another trail for the return leg, I couldn't get that moss covered section out of my head so decided to backtrack on the same trail, the main image below left me happy that I did. As usual the small gallery has captions to share my thoughts along the way. I thought I'd get the word 'weasel' in the title as I saw one in the garden this morning, the very first we have seen here in Cochrane. I managed a few shots but they lack interest due to his position on the concrete drainage channel against the fence, so I included just one for the records. After the brief encounter I set out to test my improving back injury against some light scrambling on the ridge to forget-me-not mountain.
I chose this because it's close to home and a fairly brief affair at 7 km round trip. It also has only a few hundred feet of ascent, albeit very steep in places with plenty of loose rock. I carried some additional weight in my usual utility belt set up, but only took along the small hiking camera and no rucksack today to keep weight off my back. As of right now there are few ill effects except for aching muscles which is to be expected after such a long lay off, though perhaps that conclusion is best left until tomorrow morning. Whatever happens tomorrow, it was fantastic to be out again today, scrambling on loose rocks and sitting high on a rock ridge in warm sunshine overlooking the foothills. Fitness wise I felt every step of the ascent but enjoyed some easy scrambling on the ridge and put my back through some good testing, though I did avoid twisting almost entirely. For those wanting to hike to forget-me-not ridge summit there's a full write up elsewhere on the site with parking details and a map, which you can access by clicking here. The main image is yours truly on the scrambling rocks along the ridge and the gallery below has captions with more information. Sarah and I set out today to visit one of our favourite places for the first time this year, Elbow Lake. The highway that leads to the lake is closed from December to June to allow for uninterrupted hibernation and as soon as it reopens we make our first trip each year.
As we arrived today a snow shower was blowing through and we decided to sit it out for a few minutes before making the steep ascent to the lake. We were sat in the truck talking when a huge Hoary Marmot appeared from beneath the large litter 'biffy' further along the car park. I hurriedly made a few shots but he was too far away for my hiking camera to make any impact, so I decided there was nothing to lose in trying to sneak up on him. It was something of a surprise to me that I managed to get within a few feet and could make a nice shot of him (though it does have the damn bin in it too) It was a chilly day but that was welcome for hiking, the snow showers came and went throughout but we had a great hike in a beautiful location. We did a full circuit of the lake before returning to the truck and taking the scenic route home, surprisingly as we drove home we saw another two marmots along the way taking dust baths on the logging road. The main image shows one of those snow showers blowing across Mt Rae and the gallery is captioned. For those seeking more detail on the hike to Elbow Lake you can find a previous write up by clicking here. It's my birthday this week so Sarah has taken a week off work to spend roaming around with me. We had planned a trip to Newfoundland but ultimately decided against it for now, and instead opted to enjoy the beauty right on our doorstep.
I decided to start the week on Jumpingpound Mountain as it is a nice straightforward hike on a good trail to a lovely viewpoint. With the rain we have had over the previous week it was also likely that the wildflowers would be out in the meadows along the ridgetop. As you can see from the main image below, this was indeed the case. I've documented the trip to Jumpingpound summit already so today I just made a gallery of our hike with captions. You can find a full detailed description of this hike, the location, parking etc in an earlier hike report by clicking here or by visiting our hiking Canada page. |
AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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