Southern Alberta Flood - Trail Updates July 8, 2013

More rain to the Kananaskis region has definitely hampered repair efforts, but some progress is being made, especially on Highway 40, where the road is now open to Wedge Pond. Most recreational areas however are still shut.

While the Delta Kananaskis remains open, the surrounding area is mostly still closed -- Mt. Kidd RV park, the golf course, the Evan-Thomas bike path and the majority of hiking trails and camping areas are close. The north Terrace Trail around the village was open, but we didn't venture out. The hotel itself is very very quiet for July.

Here is the official closure map for Kananaskis, including roads and campgrounds.

Some other updates:

Bragg Creek Provincial Park is now open. (as of July 1). The West Bragg Creek Recreational Area is open, but the vehicle bridge is out. (as of July 3)

In the Bow Valley area, Yamnuska day use is open, while Heart Creek day use and Wind Valley day use are closed. (Note: You can see from the highway Heart Creek day use isn't even accessible due to a rock slide across the road). Quaite Valley backcountry campground is also closed. (as of July 1).

Further updates to Bow Valley include Bow River, Bow Valley, Lac Des Arcs and Willow Rock Campgrounds (open), Grouse, Owl, and Elk Flats group use areas (open), Three Sisters campground (closed), Porcupine group use (closed), Barrier Dam, Gap Lake, Grotto Mountain and Lac Des Arcs day use (closed), Bow Valley admin office (closed).

Southern Alberta Flood - Trail Update June 27, 2013

Unless you've been living under a rock (or perhaps outside of Canada), you'll know that the worst flooding in the recorded history of the region occurred on June 20-22, 2013. As a result, the mountains, recreational areas, roads, and rivers are a mess. Bridges are gone, campgrounds are flooded and trails are washed out.

In the grand scheme of things, personal property and major road repairs must take first priority. Getting cities, towns and hamlets safe and habitable again is key to rebuilding. Knowing this, it could take some time before attention is turned to the rehabilitation of our recreational areas.

So where can we go while we rebuild? With so many different regions, it can be tough to keep track of what's open to the public. Here's a quick reference for this moment in time:

Banff National Park updated their trail report on June 26, 2013.

In summary, Sulphur Mountain and Tunnel Mountain are pretty much your only in town options, with Bow River/Hoodoo listed as Fair/Poor. All other trails, such as Fenland, Goat Creek, etc, are closed.

Lake Minnewanka Loop Drive is closed.

The popular Johnston Canyon and Castle Lookout trails are closed, while other trails further up the highway are open but muddy.

Lake Louise and area escaped the worst of the flooding, but are still wet. In fact many trails still list snow as your greatest obstacle. Remember that during the heat wave next week.

In Kanananskis, one of the hardest hit areas, there are even less options. Road closures, bridge washouts, and mudslides are extensive. It might be helpful to look at the closed areas first.

Canmore Nordic Centre is open for use! (as of June 27). Some trails wet and muddy with natural hazards. Highway 742 (Spray Lakes) is closed at the Grassi Lakes turnoff.

Bow Valley Provincial Park (as of 2:15, June 27) (too many to list, click link for details -- news is cautiously optimistic)

Spray Valley Provincial Park is closed due to access and flooding.

Cataract Creek is closed due to access and flooding.

Elbow Valley - The highway is closed at either the Bragg Creek turnoff or MacLean Creek depending on which web site you visit. The bridge right before Allen Bill Pond was washed out, so MacLean Creek is the furthest you can go. This impacts the Elbow Falls rec area, as well as the Beaver Flats campground. Paddy's Flats Group use and River Cove Groups use are also closed. Little Elbow is closed. MacLean Creek campground is open, with limited services, no power, water, or sewage disposal. The store will be open, but on generator.

Peter Lougheed Park is completely closed. Click the link for the affected areas.

Sheep River. Bluerock is closed, Sandy McNabb is open.

Lower Kananaskis River. Many of the day use areas shut down. The slalom course was destroyed and washed out in the flood, creating a very messy situation in the area.

I did not see a trail report for Highwood area, but the footage online shows the damage to be quite extensive in the region.

I'll do my best to update as more information becomes available. Make sure to also follow on Twitter (@hiphiker).

Hogarth Lake - December 28, 2011 - Snowshoeing

It's been pretty warm and humid (for Alberta anyway) and it seemed like a nice time to revisit the cold, chilly climbs at the other end of the calendar. You know, to remind us why we look forward to summer so much.

I present Hogarth Lake last December.

Snowshoeing - Kananaskis Lake (Lower Lake Trail) - January 24, 2010 (from the archives)

Sometimes you have no idea the hike you're about to take will turn into a classic....

Lower Lakes is fairly simple, flat terrain with plenty of chances to turn around or turn it into a partial loop.

Nat and I were still breaking in our new snowshoes and a simple lakeside trek in beautiful Kananaskis seemed like the perfect way to get our feet.... er, wet?

Only a few minutes into our trail, these friendly little whiskey-jacks made their presence known.

They had no fear of humans. 

Absolutely none....

Nat quickly found herself outnumbered...

A bird on the head is worth two in your hand?

Even your intrepid writer found herself targeted.

Once it was established we had no food, our new found friends cried fowl (heee!), and left us to our hiking. Fair-feathered friends indeed.

But still some beautiful sites to be seen.

Snowshoeing -- Kananaskis Village Loop -- January 10, 2010

It was almost two years ago, but what we saw still applies today. This isn't a terribly popular trail, likely because almost every time we've set out, there hasn't been enough snow. We've learned to stick with the north side of the trail that leaves from the NW side of the village parking lot, and only attempt the south half of the loop when there's plenty of snow cover to be found.

West Bragg Creek Trail System -- Public Review

There's been a lot of chatter both off and online about the Bragg Creek Trail System and the changes proposed by Alberta Tourism Parks and Recreation.

The plan focuses on the area just west of Bragg Creek that is used primarily for cross-country skiing in winter. However the trails are also used by hikers, cyclists and equestrians throughout the summer, despite the fact there is no official maintenance on the trail system.

The province is looking to further develop this trail system in light of this use, to enhance the trails for summer recreation while protecting the delicate watershed.

The Herald has more: Public invites to review trail plan for Bragg Creek

No matter what your recreation of choice is, odds are you'll want to at least review this plan and make your feelings known to the government. There's only a 60-day review, so don't wait. You can submit feedback at http://www.tpr.alberta.ca/parks/consult/braggCreek/default.aspx

There is also more coverage and information online at Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association.

Beyond just the West Bragg Creek plan, there are plenty of opportunities to stay on top of the planning, maintenance and redesign of Alberta's Recreational areas. Visit the Alberta Parks Consultation/Notification site often for information of what projects are currently in discussion.

Lower Kananaskis Lake - February 28, 2009

Not wanting limit our snowshoeing treks to only Highway 40, Dave and I decided to try a short but hopefully scenic route along the Lower Kananaskis Lake. This trail is also located in that deep snow haven, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.

Trailhead. Oh yeah, we made the right call:



The trailhead sign marker and map were almost overcome by snow... it's easy to see why this is such a favorite area for winter sports:



Beautiful:



Eventually the trail leads along the lake for a nice leisurely look at all the frozen water out there:



It was a pleasant winter day -- it was easy to see there had been a lot of warming and cooling. Many of the trees along the lake had mini icicles dangling from them.... almost like nature's Christmas decorations:



The loop turned around in a small meadow right off the highway... one lone snow-shoer among all that scenery:



Heading back along the lake's edge, we could see the impact of the thawing and freezing cycle on the lake... bigger blocks of ice were being pushed right up onto the banks:



We couldn't have asked for a better winter day. We'll be back.

Kananaskis -- November 22, 2008

Despite living in the shadow of the Canadian Rockies, I can honestly say there are very few days when the hiking conditions are dramatically cold. Even hiking in -20 C weather isn't a huge deal when you're bundled up and moving fast. Tracking through deep snow will burn a lot of calories and the next thing you know, you're peeling the layers off.

The wind is another story, but the odds are pretty good that if the wind and snow are blowing around at -25C, you're not even going to be able to traverse the mountain (or city!) highways to get to the trailhead, let alone hike through it.

This day in late November was a rare occurrence of bitter cold, a strong wind, but next to no snow. Nat and I thought we'd take a gentle hike along Upper Kananaskis Lake, turn off to Rawson Lake, and hopefully stay out of the wind.

We questioned the decision as soon as we stepped out of the car. The snow looks sparse here... that's because the raging wind off the lake had blown it all away from the shore:



This grass didn't grow this way... it's bent over from the force of the wind off the lake:



The wind was also chopping up the waters of the usually calm lake. While it was a little more sheltered here, this wind from the lake caused us more grief on the trail, as the water was blown onto the trail and froze. The result was about half a foot of ice with zero traction. We opted to turn around.



We headed over to the Boulton Creek Trading Post -- a restaurant and convenience store usually busting with activity during the summer camping season. Today it seemed deserted in an apocalyptic sort of way. We found an old ranger cabin, where Nat broke out the chicken soup packed especially for this cold day:



Not sure of the history of this building, still trying to find out. I wandered around while Nat readied the sustenance. You can see the snow was starting to fall:



"Kananaskis Lakes Patrol Cabin" (digitally enhanced to bring out the lettering).



Another structure about 100 feet behind the first. No indication at all what this was for:



Notice the constant photos of the food? And have you seen a better spread while hiking? Nat's awesome.



It was an aborted hiking trip, but a good one. The snow and wind increased, so we got out of there before the roads were impacted. Amazingly, once out of the Rockies, the weather took a major turn for the better. It turned out to be a Chinook, a weather phenomenon we live for during the winter in the Alberta Foothills.

From Wikipedia:

The reference to a wind or weather system, simply "a Chinook", originally meaning a warming wind from the ocean into the interior regions of the Pacific Northwest (the Chinook people lived near the ocean, along the lower Columbia River). A strong Chinook can make snow one foot deep almost vanish in one day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. Chinook winds have been observed to raise winter temperature, often from below −20°C (−4°F) to as high as 10°C to 20°C (50°F to 68°F) for a few hours or days, then temperatures plummet to their base levels. The greatest recorded temperature change in 24 hours was caused by Chinook winds on January 15, 1972, in Loma, Montana; the temperature rose from -48°C (-56°F) to 9°C (49°F).

The Wikipedia article is excellent -- even I didn't know Chinook winds in Southern Alberta have caused trains to derail and empty semis to topple, but nonetheless, you can understand why we all celebrate when a Chinook is forecast in January.

That explains the wind in the mountains that day.

There's no mistaking a Chinook as it moves in. The arch is very distinctive in the sky:






A very welcome sight in the dead of winter!!

Centennial Ridge -- September 7, 2008

Centennial Ridge: South approach. Take Highway 40 south to Ribbon Day Use Parking Area. Begin at the Hidden Trail trailhead. Turn left onto Centennial Ridge Trail about 0.2 km in.

I still can't think about this hike without getting chills. Maybe it was the strange weather conditions where we literally saw four seasons in one day. Maybe it was the fact it took us over 5 hours to go 4.5 km. Perhaps it was simply the magnitude of the hike that we didn't fully appreciate until we were back at the trailhead, but this was a banner hike.

Some background: Centennial Ridge was built in 1967 to celebrate Canada's Centennial year (seems fairly logical). At 2819m/9249ft, it is the highest maintained trail in the Canadian Rockies.

And it feels like it. The full ridge walk is approximately 17 km, but most choose to approach it from the south side and return the same way (13.8 km return). The north approach is longer and steeper, but more shaded (21 km return).

It is not for the first time hiker. I'm not even sure it's for the intermediate hiker, but it's certainly a feeling of accomplishment no matter how far you get. A little bit of scrambling is required.

As we started out, the day was perfect. A sunny fall morning, with just the hint of cloud cover. Mount Kidd looked especially inviting from the trailhead:



This sign should have been our first warning. Do the icons on these signs usually look like they're marching as opposed to hiking?



As we climbed, the cloud cover looked amazing. I believe this is Ribbon Peak:



Looking across the valley:



As we got higher, the peaks poking through the cloud cover got increasingly inspiring:





One of the most taxing things about the Centennial hike is the false summits. You think you're getting to the top, but instead it's just another step along the way. It's not even a plateau... it just keeps climbing. This is a spot where we thought we'd catch a break, but were proven wrong. At this point, we were also starting to get awfully close to those clouds...



It was so green and surprisingly humid for above or near the treeline. It was also a long way down:



Then suddenly, we were hiking right into the clouds:



To the south of us the view started to open up, though Bogart Tower is blocked by the clouds:



Hiking into the mist!



The mist would come and go, but it moved quickly! We would go from clear skies to surrounded by fog in a matter of seconds. Here's another wall of fog moving in on us:




As we hit a bit of a plateau, we were free of the mist, but found a new novelty...(at least then) snow!







(For some reason this was interesting to us in September. I'm not sure why. After a long winter, my only fascination is why I was so fascinated by it).

The terrain was definitely changing. Instead of nothing but green grass and hills, now we were seeing green grass and rocks.



Stunning:



To the south:



Olympic Summit! This is the first "real" summit of the hike, though it's far from the highest. From here the trail is briefly a gentle ridge walk with a slight incline toward the more rocky and snow-covered true summit -- Mt. Allan. Just below this summit on the other side is the ski hill Nakiska, where some of the skiing events for the 1988 Winter Olympics were held.



Weather station! I actually get my weather reports for the Kananaskis area from this very weather station (how geeky am I to know that?):



I'll be honest, I don't even remember which direction this shot was in. We were both a little fried at this point.



The ridgewalk got a lot more snowy as we approached the approach to the summit.





The view all around us:







It was past 2:30 and we'd been hiking since 9. We were tired, sore, losing the daylight, and being snowed on after having to pack sunscreen earlier in the day. As much as we wanted to make that summit, we knew it would easily take another hour, and then our tired legs would need another 4 hours to navigate back down. It was a tough call, but we turned around.



It just gives us one more reason to go back...