Yamnuska -- June 28, 2009

There's something about Yamnuska that keeps you coming back. Even when you're driving down the highway for the hundredth time, the looming rock face at the entrance to the Rockies is riveting.. no matter how many times you've looked before.

Yamnuska is always about the trail not taken to me. While we'd always known how little of Yamnuska we'd actually seen, on a late fall hike we saw how easy it could be to go to the next level. After waiting through a long winter and late spring, we were ready to see more.

Approaching the rock face:



Around the backside of Yamnuska, in the new (to us) unexplored part of Yamnuska. The trails here are not for the unsteady!





View from the top!



Might be one of the few photos that made my stomach nervous even taking it!



Imagine living up here...(I imagine the hikers drop enough goodies to make it worth while).



Nat and I did not go to the top. Sometimes on the mountain you can feel when things are not lining up well. The trail both up and down was full of loose rock -- probably a result of the recent thaw. Nat's water bottle took a long drop from one of the ledges we peered over. The mountain was busy -- nothing unusual for a Saturday afternoon, but somehow it was unsettling.

We decided to head down, and soon after, well.... I fell.

Fell sounds much more dramatic than it was. It was more like a slide. The ground and rocks beneath my feet started sliding and before I knew it I was heading down the gentle (thankfully!) slope of the backside. Other than a fairly brief flip where I was vaguely aware I was in mid air, there wasn't much to it except my brain saying "Don't land on your head! Don't land on your head!". Upon landing face down and continuing the slide, the mantra changed to "Dig your hands and feet in, grab something, you can't slide all the way to the bottom!". Which is what I did.

My pants were ruined. My brand-new first time out water bottle had a major gash in it. Some kind soul retrieved my poles from further down the slope. My hands were gashed up and there was a lot of blood running down my right leg, but I was fine. My head was fine, my back was fine and I could walk.

Which is more than I can probably say for Nat's poor heart. She had to watch all of this unfold.

Amazingly enough a doctor had seen the entire thing and kindly brought us over to his blanket so he could patch me up.



Safety tip -- out of about 4 first aid kits brought by the group, only Nat's contained the all-important iodine. Check your kits, and don't assume it's there. It will come in handy.

Another great safety tip -- the doctor recommended a bath with baking soda when I got home. I did exactly that and it did an amazing job cleaning out the cuts and scrapes -- even one that was extremely deep. They all healed without a scar -- save for the very deep one, where the skin was completely removed from a pinkie nail's worth area -- and a few weeks later you couldn't even tell I'd tried to slide down a mountain....

Yamnuska is still riveting when I drive by... maybe even moreso.

Avalanche Danger Extremely High in Western Canada this weekend

While it seems to be cold all over the continent, here in Alberta we're sitting at a balmy 11 C/ 52 F today! (Going up to 13C/55F tomorrow). Even the mountains are enjoying above-freezing temps and I'm sure I'm not the only one planning an outdoor excursion this weekend.

However, while I know we're getting no sympathy from other parts of North America, there are plenty of dangers associated with heading out to our mountain playground in these warm temperatures. Avalanche experts are saying these are the worst avalanche conditions they've seen in 100 years:

From the Calgary Herald:

Klassen, who has 30 years' experience in the backcountry, said he does not recall such a dangerously unpredictable season for avalanche conditions.

The number of major slides released over the past two weeks is "unprecedented," he said Thursday.

Avalanches this season have wiped out trees that are more than a century old. Many slides have run farther and wider than ever witnessed, and some areas have seen more widespread avalanche cycles than ever before.

Full article here: Avalanche Risk Worst in 100 years.

Please be safe this weekend.

*Note: Since this article was written there are now reports of yet another avalanche death in BC. PLEASE be careful if you're heading into the backcountry this weekend.

The bears are out there...

This crazy long weekend (for us anyway) seems like an excellent time to mention a fabulous site: Wildsmart.ca.

Wildsmart tracks wildlife sightings and movements throughout the Bow Valley (generally, the area from the East Banff Park gates to Yamnuska). While the site focuses on the bear activity in the area, there is also information on cougar sightings, kill sites and aggressive elk and moose.

For anyone hiking/camping/fishing/riding/whatever in the Bow Valley area, this site is essential.

It's also worth your while to stop by trailex.org, where outdoor enthusiasts can log any wildlife encounters they've had on the trail recently.

While the long weekend is coming to an end, the buffalo berries are still in season and the bears are coming lower in the valleys to get them (I read an article that said the berries are like "ice cream" to the bears). Pay extra close attention when out and about...

New Hiking Boots and Blisters in the Sun

N recently picked up new hiking boots and they look great, but she was commenting that she can already feel sore spots forming in some places. While the boots are brand new, they're not new enough that she can return them easily. They've been worn out on the trail and moderately broken in, and only now is this becoming a problem.

I went online and there's plenty of information about breaking in boots, and using moleskin, and so on, but there's not a lot of information about how to repair a boot that's causing blisters. Can anyone direct me to something like that?

In the meantime, here are the best three links about hiking and and blisters that I found while surfing around:

• Gorp Hiking Skills -- Conquering Blisters
• ABC Of Hiking -- Foot Blisters -- Preventing and Healing Skin Blisters
• Big Sky Fishing -- How To Prevent Blisters.
  

All three are excellent reads, and since it's that time of year where the boots might be a little stiffer and the feet could be a little more fragile, it might not be a bad time to review those blister basics.

Cold weather hiking tips

Outdoorzy.com has a link to a NYTimes article on cold weather hiking and a nice summary of the tips within: When Is It Too Cold For Outdoor Activites?.

It's a good read. The bad news is, it shoots down pretty much all of me and N's excuses on those cold Sundays (oh, except bad roads!).

Culling Coyotes in Canmore

Lately I've been paying more attention to the animal tracks I see in the snow. It likely has a lot to do with spotting cougar tracks on a recent hike (more on that in a future post), but it's been some valuable education. When spring comes around and there are tracks running every which way on the muddy trail, I like knowing what I'm looking at.

After learning the difference between canine and feline prints, I started to let my guard down when I could tell the tracks were likely from a four-legged hiking companion. In the unlikely event the tracks belonged to something a little less domestic such as a coyote or wolf, I still wasn't that concerned. We don't hike with our pets (the cats would really not go for it), and I couldn't imagine a coyote or wolf attacking humans.

Wrong.

The weekend before last one or more coyotes attacked a total of three children in Canmore, one in her front yard, two more at a city-sponsored "Skate with Santa" event. One girl was 13 years old -- this is far from a small child you would expect to be the target of a coyote.

Two coyotes have been killed by Fish and Wildlife officers. The coyotes will be tested for rabies and other diseases, though there's no way to know if these are the same coyotes that attacked the kids.

None of the kids were seriously hurt -- they were bitten, but the skin was not broken -- yet this should serve as a warning to all hikers. If a coyote will attack a human in a town setting like Canmore, that's good enough reason to pay attention to coyotes you might encounter on the trail -- especially around Canmore.

Warnings

It's the time of year when warnings are everywhere, so I thought I'd pass a couple along:

The Kananaskis Country website has posted a cougar warning for the Canmore/Bow Valley Provincial Park area, particularly the Peaks of Grassi and Quarry Lake areas.

It's also not a bad idea to check out the avalanche warnings before heading out on any trail.

Finally, the Banff National Park website has some excellent warnings about hiking, skiing or boarding in the backcountry this time of year.

Wind storm in Elbow Valley, take two

According to trail reports from the Kananaskis web site , high winds blasted through Elbow Valley on November 13 -- the second time this week.

N and her hubby were hiking Fullerton Loop today and found the third bridge was blocked by a fallen tree:



Crews are removing trees as quickly as they can, but be careful until they've had a chance to get to them all.

Do you know how to escape from a bear attack?

This is a little late in the season, but after some conversations I've had recently, I figure any time is a good time to know what to do in case of a bear encounter.

It doesn't matter if you hike once a year or once a week, every hiker needs to be aware of what to do in case of a bear confrontation.

The odds of seeing a bear vary throughout the year are actually quite small. I've spoken to forestry students who spent weeks in the wild over a period of years and had only 1 or 2 chance encounters.

Knowing what to do if you encounter a bear is always your best defense. There are a few simple things to remember when hiking:

1. The first step is prevention. You can greatly reduce your chances of a bear attack by your actions on the trail:
   
   
   • Travel in groups and stick together.
   
   
   • Talk loudly. Bear bells do not carry far and usually do nothing but annoy the people you're traveling with.
   
   
   • Keep your dog leashed and small children close by.
   
   
   • Pay attention to your surroundings -- if there are fresh bear diggings, dropping or fresh tracks, don't risk the encounter. It's better to be unsure and cut a hike short than run into a bear.
   
   
   
2. If you do encounter a bear, remain calm. Most encounters end peacefully. Remember:
   
   
   • Stay calm and don't make any panicked or sudden movements. The bear is deciding if you are a threat and will sometimes try to "scare" you off by growling and snapping.
   
   
   • Speak softly. Your voice alone may tell the bear you are human and not prey.
   
   
   • Back away slowly. Do not run, the bear may consider you prey and you cannot outrun a bear.
   
   
   • Stay in your group to appear larger and less vulnerable.
   
   
   • Make sure the bear has an escape route.
   
   
   
3. If the bear does attack, there are two types of attacks a bear will use. They are handled much differently and it's important to know the difference.
   
   In a Defensive Attack, the bear is likely startled, defending its food or defending its cubs. This is the most likely scenario of any bear attack. If you find yourself in this situation:
   
   
   • Use bear spray.
   
   
   • If the bear makes contact PLAY DEAD.
   
   
   • Fall on your stomach and lie with legs apart and hands crossed behind your neck. This protects your neck and keeps the bear from flipping you. Leave your pack on, as it will provide extra protection.
   
   
   • Remain still. Once the bear sees you are not a threat it will leave the area. Bears usually stop a defensive attack within 2 minutes.
   
   
   In a Predatory Attack, the bear sees you as prey. If a defensive attack goes on for more than a few minutes, the bear has switched to a predatory attack:
   
   
   • FIGHT BACK, do not play dead any longer, the bear now sees you as prey.
   
   
   • Try to escape into a building, car, or even up a tree. Use bear spray, your pack, hiking poles, anything you can find as a weapon. Show the bear you are not easy prey.

Predatory attacks are quite rare, but do happen, particularly during feeding season or when there is a berry shortage. Attacks rarely get to this point.

It's important to know what the level of bear activity is in your region. Before hiking, check with local and state/provincial websites for information about the trails and any warnings posted. Bear warnings are also often posted at the trail head, but don't rely on this as your sole method of information.

The thought of running into a bear should not dissuade you from hiking altogether. Like almost anything else, knowledge is power. Be aware of your surroundings, know what to do if you see a bear, and keep up to date on bear sightings and trails closures in the area. No one can guarantee you'll never see a bear, but you can guarantee how to safely survive if you do.

Bear safety

I know I'm terribly far behind in posting the latest hikes, but with the news the past couple of days, I thought this was as good of time as any to post some important links on bear safety and awareness.

The bears are out. A young woman was killed in Invermere after a black bear attack and two cyclists in Banff were attacked by a grizzly bear protecting her cubs on the Aylmer Pass trail. They escaped without serious injury and the trail is now closed (possibly for the season).

On a much lesser scale, D and I saw two separate black bears near hiking trails and campgrounds in Waterton Park on Friday. The bears seemed completely unconcerned with the number of humans in the area (and there were a lot).

The Banff National Park website is an excellent resource for local bear info. Start with the Bear Update page for the most recent updates (this page indicates some trails in the area may soon have a groups of 4+ only restriction - this is already in effect in the Moraine Lake area).

Tips for avoiding bears while hiking and for safety during an encounter or attack are located in the Bear Management section of the Banff National Park website.

If you're not sure what bear tracks look like, this graphic from IdahoPTV is a great resource.

Finally, always check for trail advisories and reports before heading out on any hike, walk, ride or overnight trip. For Banff, trail reports are available at Banff trail reports. Other areas near Calgary/Banff (such as Kananaskis, Sibbald, Spray Lakes, Bow Valley, Elbow Valley, Canmore, Sheep Valley and more) are available at Kananaskia Country trail report. Both sites list the bear warnings and trail closures at the top of the page, but the reports themselves are pretty useful to get the conditions of the trails.