Rock Glacier - August 24, 2008

Rock Glacier is not as hike as much as it is a chance to see some wildlife not normally spotted on your typical hike. Near the Highwood Pass area, the conditions and altitude around the Rock Glacier mean wildlife sees about 3 months of warm conditions, and spends those 3 months preparing for the other 9 months of winter.

The Rock Glacier is exactly what it sounds like -- a slow moving pile of rocks that gradually moves over time. More specifically, it is a scree slope that has water within and underneath. The constant freezing and thawing of the water creates the movement.

A rock glacier on its own really isn't much to look at -- however it's the perfect habitat for an alpine critter called the pika.

At first a pika looks like a squirrel or chipmunk, but it's actually related to rabbits and guinea pigs. They can be spotted by their rounded ears, if you can spot them at all! Their brownish-grey fur makes them tough to see in their chosen home of rock and boulder piles.

Even if you can't see them, odds are you'll know you're among pikas when you hear their "squeaks", which sound suspiciously like a squeeze toy. They use this squeak to communicate, and I swear, to throw off friendly neighborhood hikers hoping to catch a glimpse.

Pikas are busy creatures during summer months -- their favorite diet is dried grass, and they spend their days collecting fresh grass and laying it out in the sun to dry, before storing it away for the long winter. This makes the Rock Glacier a great place to sit back and spot a pika preparing for winter.

As we approached, we saw life right away, but it wasn't a pika. It was a Golden Mantle Ground Squirrel, hoping to cash on friendly humans:




It didn't take long for us to see our first pika. This guy didn't seem to care at all about the humans nearby and just carried out his chores. If you looked away at the wrong time, he'd be across the rock pile and lost to your eye in seconds flat.



Here's a shot of the outside of one of the "dens", complete with grass laid out to dry in the sun:



More pikas in the rocks. Looking at these photos after the fact was a little like playing "Where's Waldo?". Sometimes I didn't know if I'd lost the pika, or if the critter had run out of the frame before I took the shot...





Rock Glacier is not a hike or a walk, but if you're in the area driving around or hiking a nearby trail, it's absolutely worth the stop just to watch a little beast we rarely get to see.

Ptarmigan Cirque - August 24, 2008

Ptarmigan Cirque - Highwood Pass: Take Highway 40 south past the Kananaskis Lake turnoff to the Highwood Pass day use area. Trail head is the same as interpretive trail. Highwood 40 is closed at the Kananaskis Lakes junction from Dec 1 to June 15.

Ptarmigan Cirque is an amazing hike for so many reasons. On paper it doesn't look like much -- it's short (4.5 km total), the incline isn't much (225m), and the drive out to the Highwood Pass can take a good couple of hours from the city area. But everyone should do this hike at least once -- and preferably during wildflower season.

For starters the trailhead is beside the highest paved pass in Canada. This hike starts from an altitude of 2206m/7239 ft. And that 225m in altitude gain? That's pretty much all in the first kilometer. Suddenly, it's no walk in the park.

But the big draw of this hike is the terrain. You start from sub-alpine, and hike into true alpine terrain, the land of former glaciers and hardy vegetation. Even from the trailhead, one can tell that only the stronger trees, plants and critters survive. This particular area and altitude sees snow approximately 9 months out of the year (as evidenced by photos taken in late June).

The hike leads into what can only be described as a high plateau in the mountain, almost a bowl among the peaks, and is utterly unique.

The trailhead is shared with a short interpretive walk that is also worth the drive. The walk explains the climate and issues surrounding life in such an area:



The trail splits from the interpretive walk, crosses the highway and immediately begins the sharp ascent. It can a tough go -- especially if you're not used to high altitude -- but you're rewarded pretty quickly. This is looking across the highway, west:



I first encountered these flowers -- known as Chalice Flower or Western Anemone (Pulsatilla occidentalis) while hiking near the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park. Their life is fascinating -- they exist mostly in alpine areas with short summer seasons. They bloom as small white flowers, and are covered in small hairs to protect them from the cold.

The bloom only lasts a short time -- maybe 2 weeks -- and then it is replaced by the "pod" seen here, known by many names such as "mops" "shaggy heads" "towhead babies" and my favorite "hippies on a stick". There were hundreds on this particular hike, and I picked this one because it looked, for the moment, almost entirely perfect:



After the climb, the trail meanders slowly toward the "bowl". As it transitions from sub-alpine to alpine, it almost seems like you're walking through a slowly rising meadow:



Looking south at the Highwood Range:



Nat and I are usually first on the trail, but this trail runner beat us to it. On the first photo I zoomed in on the man in red, but then I took a shot from a normal range, just to see the enormity of the area we were in (click on the second photo to see the man in red):





Though it was late in the season -- especially in a climate like this -- there were plenty of flowers along the trail. These Alpine Forget-Me-Nots (myosotis alpestris) were plentiful:



Another look down the Highwood Range from higher up the trail:



More wildflowers -- and a pretty one I just can't seem to identify. I'd like to call it a type of Cinquefoil, but it also resembles a buttercup. I'll keep looking. The distinctive star shape really caught my eye:



Even in late August, there were plenty of streams and falls throughout the meadow. I'm itching to hike this area come spring!



Another look at the "bowl". The trail makes it way through and over boulders and little creeks, but it's generally a flat meadow. The trail follows a "U" shape to the back of the plateau and around the other side to the front. All of this was carved out by glaciers:



Looking west:



Nice shot of the "bowl" from a spot near the end of the "U":



Pretty sure this is Slender Beardtongue (penstemon procerus). Stunning colours:



Sometimes those short hikes turn out to have the most interesting sights.

Winter Vacations and Local blogs

I've been off on a winter adventure the past week -- hubby and I, plus Nat and her hubby all traveled to Kimberley, BC for snowshoeing, skiing and general German food goodness. It was a nice chance to spend some time elsewhere, enjoy the outdoors, and see some of the beautiful countryside of the East Kootenays of British Columbia. I'm very partial to the Crowsnest Pass area, but this time we drove highway 93 through Radium, Invermere and Skookumchuck (*love* that name), and it was absolutely beautiful! We'll be back soon, in fact, I'm already looking up the summer hikes in the area!

In the meantime, I thought I'd mention a couple of excellent area blogs I've been reading, both covering the Alberta Rockies. HikeAlberta covers trails largely in the Banff, and, being far more technically advanced than I, includes GPS maps. Kananaskis Trails Blog is relatively new to me, but has been an invaluable resource for trail information and news.

The hiking posts will continue (still recapping from summer!), but now that I've discovered snowshoeing, I just have one more thing to keep me outdoors on the weekends....

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.

Notes from around the world wide web -- Link Love

There are some amazing posts from some great blogs I would like to share with the world in general, so I thought I'd throw a little Sunday link love up today:

Session Magazine has a piece on the Mt. Huashan Hiking Trail in China. The photos alone are not for the weak at heart -- I can't imagine actually hiking this trail. Make sure to scroll all the way to the end... the stairs carved into the mountain is intimidating enough, but the trail built onto the side of a cliff has to be seen to be believed.

Four Corners Hikes has a look at Mesa Verde National Park in winter, with some amazing photos of ancient pueblos and kivas.

SectionHiker posted a short piece on why outdoor recreationalists need to pay more attention to dehydration in the winter. After my hike yesterday near Banff, I completely understand why.

Nature Tales and Camera Trails managed some nice shots of a bald eagle in flight. Definitely click on the photo for the hi-res view.

I'm hoping to do these sorts of round-ups weekly, to break up the monotony of everyone having to listen to me. ;-) If you know of a really good blog post that deserves some extra attention, drop me a note in the comments. Also, if anyone is interested in contributing to a blog carnival type thing, let me know.

Happy blogging!

Barrier Lake Lookout - August 17, 2008

Barrier Lake Lookout - Kananaskis: Take Highway 40 to Barrier Dam Day Use Area. Park in lot, and hike across dam to Stoney Trail/Prairie View Trail Junction. Take Prairie View trail.

I've long said Barrier Lake is one of my favorite places in the world, but amazingly, I'd never hiked much in the area. With all the amazing lookout hikes Nat and I had tried in the previous few weeks, this short hike (7.8 km total) was a no-brainer for David and I.

Every hike in this area starts out with a 1.1 km trek across the Barrier Lake Dam. It can be long and sometimes tiring, but the view is stunning.... and that water colour!



Only a half hour or so up the trail there are opportunities for great views:



The colours of the lake never cease to stun me:



The name if the trail leading to the lookout is actually called Prairie View Trail. Here you can see why. I'm always partial to the mountain shots, but looking out over the prairie from the height of the Rockies is a reminder of how varied the area is:

Moose Mountain - August 10, 2008

I mentioned before the summer of 2008 was the "Summer of Peaks". Moose Mountain was another notch in that belt. Nat and I had attempted it before, but waited a little too late in the season and opted to stop just short of the active fire lookout on top. This time there was no chance of snow stopping us.

Thunderstorms on the other hand are a real risk in the summer. Moose Mountain seems to be a bit of a lightning rod, and its location on the edge of the Rockies means storms can develop in a matter of minutes. There's even a sign posted at the trailhead warning hikers of the high lightning strike risk, and the fact the mountain itself is struck by lightning throughout the season. Yeah, that's what I want to read when starting a hike up a mountain!

The approach to Moose Mountain is a pretty yet nondescript trail through forest and meadow. It's not terribly strenuous, and it's usually used by cyclists. However, there's no mistaking once you begin your ascent up the actual mountain, as you lose the trees and have only barren landscape around you:



As you start the switchbacks up this side of Moose Mountain, you realize you are right on the edge of the Rocky Mountains, and there is lots to see:







After the switchbacks, the trail turns into a bit of a false ridge walk; you walk along the top of one peak, only to dip down and start ascent of another. It's the second ascent along a narrow trail of scale that is not for the faint of heart. That faint line along the ridge and side of mountain? Yeah, that's the trail. You can also see the fire lookout at the peak. We're looking west, but the trail actually winds around to the other sided of the peak to approach the lookout:





Looking down the valley between the mountains makes for a fabulous look at the rock formations:



The Moose Mountain fire lookout is still an active lookout. Someone works here from May until October, and lives in the tiny structure that doubles as the lookout. On top of that, that person will have a few thousand people hiking to his doorstep every summer:



All food and supplies are brought in by helicopter. The landing pad is located beside the lookout:



There is a guestbook to sign, as well as a couple of signs to greet visitors, one official, and one a little more "unofficial":





Nat and I were the first up this particular day, and to our surprise the fire lookout guy came out the greet us (he actually said he could hear us coming from quite a distance... Nat and I are not exactly silent hikers). He was extremely friendly and informative, telling us about bringing his family up for part of the summer (imagine 2 adults and 2 kids under 10 living in that tiny house!), busting illegal campfires, the training required for such a job, past fire lookouts (Nat's father met a lookout at Moose Mountain who played the cello for the hikers who arrived) and more. He also assured us (me) that those dark clouds on the horizon were "unlikely" to contain lightning (but did say he'd had to chase more than one hiking group off the mountain due to incoming lightning storms).

I think a book could be written purely about the people who man the fire lookouts around the globe.

That said - you can't beat the working conditions. This is his view to the west:



We bid the fire lookout goodbye as a number of other hikers were making their way up the trail. This was definitely one of the most interesting hikes yet!

As my closer, here's a panorama shot from the summit of Moose Mountain, stitched together by amazing hubby Dave. Imagine having this as your private view 5 months out of the year! (please click on photo for full-size):