Wedge Pond -- June 29, 2008

Kananaskis Valley - Wedge Pond. Trail details: Take Highway 40 past Kananaskis Village. Look for Wedge Day Use parking lot on left side of road.

We'd never heard of Wedge Pond before this day. It's not even really much of a hike, but more of a 1 km loop around a small pond. It was busy, and there was a lot of activity, but you know what? I'd go back there on a warm summer day in a heartbeat, just for the view:



And we continued along Highway 40...

Troll Falls -- June 29, 2008

Kananaskis Valley - Troll Falls. Trail details: Drive south on Highway 40 and turn right at the Nakiska access road. Take the first right into the Stoney Day Use area.

Some days hubby and I don't feel like going for the full-day, 20k hike. There are so many nice areas just off the highway and so many sights only a five minute walk along a short trail, it would be a crime to pass them up simply because they're not "remote" enough.

So I'll stack up a list of short walks, hikes, or loops in the same general area and we'll check out as many as time permits. It might not be the same exercise, and it might be a little busier than the trails, but there's still so much to see.

This particular journey was along Highway 40, focusing on the area between the Nakiska ski area and the Highwood Pass area. About half this road is closed from Dec 1 to June 15 annually, so this was a rare chance to check out some hiding places along the recently opened road.

Troll Falls trail is part of a maze of different trails scattered around the Kananaskis Village area. One can mix and match to create a loop of almost any distance. This network doubles as cross-country skiing trails in winter.

We chose the 1.6 km route directly to Troll Falls, aptly named Troll Falls trail. This was our view as we left the parking area. This isn't the actual trail (this is Stoney Trail) -- ours begins where the two hikers are standing, checking the map (with the number of trails and junctions in the area, these maps are essential). Mount Lorette is the closest rocky peak:



Our trail took a left and wound up in forest soon enough. On this day there was a prescribed burn at Mt. Nester (about 15 km west of Kananakis Village). The wind was blowing the smoke away from us, but the sun was shining through the smoke, giving the trail a glowing red hue:



Occasionally, we'd also see ash falling from the fire (the burn itself was a response to the pine beetle problem developing in Alberta. For more info, check the Banff National Park Fire and Vegetation Management site, or the Alberta Government Sustainable Resource Mt Nestor page. I have some opinions on the way the Alberta Government is managing the pine beetle threat -- but I think I'll focus on the hiking today).

The wildflowers were fully out on this trail. Again, I'm still working on my floral knowledge (my naming scheme begins and ends at "yellow ones"), but after some debate in the household, we've established this to be a Heartleaf arnica (arnica cordifolia):



These are Bunchberries (cornus canadensis). They will eventually yield bright red berries:



We didn't expect Troll Falls to be much, but it was actually quite impressive (moreso than the photos reveal). We were struck by the power of the falls -- we had to yell to be heard. I'm sure a good reason for that was the late thaw and the spring run off... but it was still something to behold. As were the mosquitoes. There's only one quick shot of the falls because that's all we could get in before being eaten alive!



As we headed away from the falls, we could really see the effects of the burn to the west of us. Everything around us was tinged with red:



We opted to head back a different path, making the trek a 3.2 km loop. We chose Hay Meadow trail, which turned out to be an interesting choice because we didn't see another person on the trail the entire way back. Considering how busy the area was, this was remarkable. Actually, considering that for a good chunk of the way we couldn't even see the trail... that might have more to do with it.

But for a little-used trail, it had some of the best shots of the day:



The trail is directly in front of us, believe it or not...

Next, we moved on to Wedge Pond...

Ha Ling Peak - June 22, 2008

Canmore - Ha Ling Peak. Trail Details: From Canmore, head west on the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Trail (Highway 742), past the Nordic Centre. Turn right into the Goat Creek Day Use parking lot. Trail begins across the highway.


When I first started hiking the thought of making it to the actual summit of a mountain in the Canadian Rockies seemed inconceivable. I had visions of climbing gear and ropes and hanging precariously from a sheer rock face with a valley far far below.

Truth be known, there are a quite a few trails in my part of the world that summit formidable mountains. They are far from easy, they usually involve hours of steep inclines, trekking poles and even some scrambling, but they're out there, and the average person can do them.

If I remember this summer's hiking for anything, it will be for the fact N, D and I hiked some of the highest trails in the region and summited a number of mountains I would have thought impossible.

Ha Ling Peak is an achievement for so many reasons. For starters, the hike begins at the base of the mountain, not after driving up half the mountain via a logging/forestry road (such as Moose Mountain). Second, it's such a visible mountain, towering over the town of Canmore along the Trans-Canada highway.

The mountain measures at 2407m/7897ft, which isn't that impressive by mountaineering/climbing standards, but the short trail (just under 3 km) means you're climbing over 700m in 3 km.

Ha Ling also has one of the more storied histories of the region. During Canmore's coal-mining days in the 1880s, a Chinese cook named Ha Ling won a bet after proving he could summit the mountain and return to camp in under 12 hours. The mountain was named Chinaman's Peak in his honour, though this wasn't made official until about a hundred years later. In 1997, due to the sensitivities of the name, the name was changed to Ha Ling Peak, but not without opposition from those who believed the historical name should stand. Personally, I like that the name reflects the actual person it's named for...

Amazingly, I went through my photos and I don't have a single shot of Ha Ling from a distance. Until then, rmbooks.com has some nice photos (plus a write up on the naming controversy) at Peaks of the Canadian Rockies.

Clearly, N and I had no idea what we were getting into.

As we loaded up in the parking lot, we spotted 3 mountain goats making their way down a fairly steep rock face on the other side of the highway. It was magnificent to watch them navigate down the rock, taking a path no human could hope to descend. As a hiker, I learned a lot just by watching these 3 beasts. They stood back and let their cohorts fully navigate the tricky areas before starting down, and they kept a certain distance from each other in case of falls. These guys look pretty mangy - it was June and they were still shedding their winter coats. ;-) (click the photo for a better view)



I guess the nice thing about steep trails is that you get instant payback. Ours came in the form of this Spray Valley vista:




Don't be fooled - the cloudy day was a blessing. No way could we have done that climb in direct sunlight.

I didn't take as many photos as I usually might. With the trail climbing up the west slope of the mountain, the view didn't vary that much. Also, Ha Ling Peak is an extremely popular trail, and despite our early start, there was seldom a time when there wasn't another group nearby. Every time we stopped, we'd need to step aside to let another 10-15 people by.

But the big thing was the wind. Once we got above the treeline, the wind was unbelievable. Anything not firmly attached had to be tied down, and walking along the scree meant enormous concentration to not lose balance. N and I complained so much about the wind that weeks later when my husband asked about the hike, he thought it was called "Howling Peak".

So photos weren't forefront on my mind.... until we got to this view at the top. That's Canmore down there, with Grotto Mountain in the background:



Looking south with the Goat Range in the distance and the edge of Rundle Mountain on the right side of the photo. If you look at the lower right corner, that's the type of terrain we were hiking for the windy part of the hike (and at that angle!). Just beyond the Goat Range is Sulphur Mountain, part of which is located in Banff:



Looking south from Ha Ling. This is the other half of Goat Range, with (I believe) the Sundance Range in the distance behind it:




The other memorable thing from this windy, steep hike? Hiking up took us about 2 hours. Hiking back down took us just as long. But I'd do it again in a heartbeat...

Little Elbow trail -- June 20, 2008

We'd intended to hike Ford Knoll, but some spooked wild horses in the forest turned us back. Instead we walked along the river beside the campground, on the trail we use to get to Nihahi.

I'll never get tired of the view....

Sheep River Valley and Bluerock Trail -- June 14, 2008

Sandy McNabb trail - (1.8 km loop) Head west from Turner Valley on Highway 546 (look for signs pointing to Bluerock). Turn down access road into Sandy McNabb Recreation area. Take third left into parking area.

Bluerock Creek Trail - (2.2 km loop) Head west from Turner Valley on Highway 546 (look for signs pointing to Bluerock). Look for turnout/parking lot along highway just before Bluerock Creek crossing.


When I'm picking my trails, I tend to focus too much on the areas west of the city... though who can blame me? West of Calgary my options include Banff National Park, Canmore, Kananaskis, Lake Louise and Elbow Valley, just for starters.

So at times I have to remind myself of the beautiful and generally less-traveled areas south and southwest of the city, and go check out the many many trails I have never hiked.

D and I briefly examined Brown-Lowery Provincial Park in April, a nice little family area south of Calgary and just north of Turner Valley. This time we decided to venture a little further out to the Sheep River Valley area.

We didn't intend to do a major hike, instead we strung a few smaller hikes together. As we drove along Highway 546 directly west of Turner Valley, we also stopped at road turnouts along the way.

First of all, Sheep River is beautiful in spring. There were so many shades of green, and the water was running high and fast (and pretty muddy). Our first stop was the Sandy McNabb trail, a very easy 1.8 km loop through grassy forest. The first real viewpoint was a stunning look at the valley:



We also pulled over at the Bighorn Sheep Lookout, but this view greeted us from the trailhead:



The cows were *everywhere*. The parking lot. The stop sign. The trailhead, the trail, the meadow. And they were all watching us very carefully. We saw a lot of cattle.... notsomuch on the sheep. ;-)

Further on down the highway, we stopped to hike the Bluerock Creek 2.2 km loop. The trail is along a campground, and the area is stunning in its beauty. Once I start camping again, this will surely be one of my first stops:



Plenty of colour here too... the wildflowers were in full bloom. In keeping with my attempt to go beyond calling them "blue ones", let me present the Smooth Blue Beardtongue (Penstemon nitidus) of the Figwort family. Or at least I think it is (eagerly receiving corrections if I'm wrong):



Another look at Bluerock Creek:



Back out along the highway, where the Sheep River and Bluecreek Creek meet:



We turned around to head back to the city (we stopped by Junction Creek trail, but didn't find the hiking that interesting), but stopped for a look at Sheep River falls. This might have been the highlight of the day, as those unplanned stops often are.

Here's the "mini-falls" on the path to the falls viewpoint. We saw ducks playing in the rapids around here, but none stayed still long enough for a photo!



Sheep River Falls:



Not a lot of hiking in terms of distance, but it was a great day traveling somewhere a little unfamiliar.

Barrier Lake and Stoney Trail - May 31, 2008

After watching a kayaking competition at Canoe Meadows, D and I decided to squeeze in just a short hike at Barrier Lake, opting to use Stoney Trail and Prairie View Trail to create a loop just over the dam.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Barrier Lake went from winter wonderland to springtime surprise in just under three weeks, and while we finally had snow-free trails to hike, I had to wonder where all that snow went so quickly:




But -- finally -- there was some colour to the mountains. And some first sightings of wildflowers. I'm really no expert beyond "purple ones" and "yellow ones", but I'm trying to learn what I'm seeing around me, so I looked these ones up. I believe this is called the Blue Clematis (Clematis occidentalis), from the buttercup family. I've sometimes seen them growing like vines up trees:




It didn't take long to discover we'd been right about the trails.... the snow may have been gone, but the area was still quite wet and muddy and the trails were not quite ready for the recreational season. The hikers would probably be ok, but the bikes were likely to sink right into the trail, and that's a surefire way to cause trail damage:



But it was still refreshing to see green everywhere. Because of the late thaw, spring was like an explosion this year. One week everything was still hidden away, and the next it was suddenly springtime. Trees went from bare to full leaves -- there never seemed to be a time in between:



I know even less about butterflies and other tiny creatures as I know about wildflowers. I used one of my hiking books for help on this one, but I could be wrong.... it looks similar to the "Alberta fritillary", but the body doesn't look quite right. This was the first butterfly we'd seen this spring (lots of caterpillars on the trail though!):



Barrier Lake Dam Recreational area is -- shockingly -- set beside the dam built in 1947. While there's some interesting history surrounding it (and it certainly only barely resembles the dams of today), it is also the main starting point of most Barrier Lake area trails. That long walk across the dam can get mighty hot in mid summer! But it also provided a nice view of the canyon on the opposite side of the dam, and maybe a vision into what once was when the water flowed freely through the canyon:

Canoe Meadows - May 31, 2008

It feels funny to be writing about May as we're just a week from Canadian Thanksgiving, but that's what happens when you fall behind in posting. ;-)

D and I took a drive out to the Kananaskis area via Highway 40 to check out Barrier Lake. The late thaw meant there had been plenty of snow in the area just a couple of weeks prior, but with the nice weather finally settling in, I wanted to see how the area looked (in other words, were we looking at a mud bath).

On the way there, I asked D to pull into Canoe Meadows, a pretty area just off Highway 40 that serves as a day-use area and boat launch. Good thing we did! The Alberta Slalom Canoe Kayak team were holding their junior and senior qualifying races:



The course is built right into the canyon walls, and watching the kayakers.... I have a new respect for their athleticism. Some of the gates required the kayaker to slam on the brakes, turn the boat against the current and go through the gate that way.. sometimes right into rocks!









While we were watching, a nice gentleman from the Kayaking organization started chatting with us and filled us on the teams and competitors. Some of these kayakers -- they were 12 or 13 years old!

We were right above gate 18 -- the gate that required the athlete to ride over a rapid, stop short, turn around, kayak upstream through the gate towards a huge set of rocks and then continue down the course. I took a few photos of one kayaker's trip through gate 18:







Amazing. I'd be too busy trying to keep myself upright to worry about which direction I was going -- never mind the gates and rocks!

We headed downhill to the river side -- here's a nice look at what the competitor sees:



Another tricky gate:



We walked along the shore of the river around a bend to where the starting line was. It looked like judging would be a fun but lonely job:



Another particularly scary looking gate, near the beginning of the course:




Again, the kayakers had to go past the gate, turn around and go through the gate against the current (and into a pile of rocks under the "falls"). My arms ache just thinking about it.

The scene further down the river was much more to my liking....



While it wasn't a hike in the traditional sense, we had a lot of fun poking around Canoe Meadows and Kananaskis River... but there was more hiking to be had.