The Snows of October

Sat. 27 October:  The Snows of October

This was a trip into winter.  Only two weeks ago I was camping out on an autumn day with warm winds and flying leaves.  Today looked like any day in January.

The City had received its first snowfall earlier in the week.  The only encouraging part of the weather forecast was the announcement that several ski hills would open this weekend.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do until early this morning, when I decided to head for the area where the snow was likely to be most plentiful – the southern end of the Kananaskis Valley.  Rather than trying to find a snow-free corner of the eastern foothills, why not simply declare winter season open, grab my skis and head up the Highwood Pass.

Not surprisingly, on a cold dark late October morning, few other people seemed to have the same plan as I did, so the roads were fairly quiet.  But as I discovered, there was one large group of outdoor adventurers out there and I would see them later in the morning.

This was hunting season, so there were a number of lone vehicles parked beside the road with their occupants somewhere out there armed for business.  It’s always a consideration when heading out into the back-country in the Fall.  There was also a Ranger out there in his truck, keeping an eye on things.

I don’t recall having cross-country ski’d in October before, or at least for many years, so I just wanted to go on a short trip just for bragging rights!  Parking the car at the Kananaskis fire lookout access road, I stepped into my waxless skis and glided down the road past the locked gate, into a wintry scene.  The trees and bushes were covered by a heavy snowfall, and there was at least six inches of firm snow on the trail.  There were signs that a truck and a lone skier had been down here the day before, but it had snowed lightly overnight so I was first today.  There were prints in the snow which at first looked like a large bear might have strolled along the trail, but these footprints continued parallel to the ski track, so I concluded they were human prints.  The new snow had made it hard to be sure.  That was some relief.

It’s a nice cruise along Pocaterra Trail for just short of two kilometres to the junction with Whiskeyjack Trail.  This often busy spot was deserted this morning.  I could have continued up to the fire lookout, but I was satisfied to turn around and make use of the gentle downhill return to glide along through the snowy scenery back to the car.  It had been only six weeks ago that I had biked along this same route.  How quickly the seasons turn here in the Rockies.

Now it was time for some hiking, with my MICROspikes for extra traction.  I drove just a short way up the Highwood Pass to the trailhead for Elbow Lake.  Half expecting it to be almost deserted, I was surprised to find a parking area full of cars and several horse trailers, yet nobody in sight.  The steep, wide trail leading up from the car park had been pressed flat by what I soon learned was a large party of mountain skiers headed for the Mount Rae glacier.  I had expected to need my snow shoes.  In the end it was the easiest of walks up to Elbow Lake, if steep. 

There is a backcountry campsite beside the lake, and I saw one small orange tent planted in the snow, with a couple of guys standing beside it.  The trail, now narrow, ran through the trees beside the lake.  Thanks to the skiers ahead of me, and their wide skis, it was an easy stroll.  I had not particularly planned to head into the side valley towards the Mt. Rae glacier, but this trail was so enticing that I just kept going.  It soon became steeper, climbing a spur of ridge through the trees.  Soon there were spectacular views ahead of the northern cliffs of Mt.Rae (10,558 ft.) and the glacier at the head of the valley.  The views got better as I climbed higher, until I was standing in one of the grandest amphitheatres of mountain scenery I can ever recall visiting.

I had caught up with the rearguard of a party of perhaps twenty or more skiers - four guys taking a rest at the top of a steep slope.  They soon passed me on the final approach towards the toe of the glacier ahead.  What really impressed me was the sight of several people nearing the top of the slopes at the front of the glacier, then some tiny stick figures stretched out across the glacier itself, making a visible zig-zag path up the steep surface of the glacier.  It looked incredibly dangerous and yet spectacular.  Seeing all those people so high up on the mountainside made me realize how tame my own hikes would seem to many people.  On the other hand, thirty years ago I might well have been one of those stick figures.

I turned around where the snow was starting to get really tricky without skis.  I would never have reached this high without skis except for the large party packing down the snow ahead of me.  It was time to call it quits while I was ahead.

Back down in the valley, I made my own route through the trees to the eastern end of Elbow Lake.  It was an interesting journey through a snow-laden forest, but I found a good route leading to the trail which runs eastwards down the Elbow valley towards Tombstone campsite.  

Here I crossed a narrow stream on a half log.  This was actually the Elbow River, and the log represented the very first bridge over the Elbow.  There are some pretty fancy bridges further downstream, as the river flows through the city of Calgary, but this was the very first one on the river’s course.  After a stop for lunch beside the frozen lake, using a handy bench, I made my way back down the steep trail to the car.  As I had relaxed beside the lake, I had heard a few people making their way along the opposite shore, perhaps to join the earlier skiers.

To complete my day, I continued up over the snowy Highwood Pass and down through the Highwood Valley.  I was in no hurry and enjoyed a leisurely drive through the wild snowy scenery, stopping at Cat Creek to enjoy the sight of the Highwood River in the process of freezing up.  It may only be October, but winter in this valley has come to stay.  I have a feeling this will be a long winter.

Statistics
Pocaterra ski trail from Hwy.40
Sat. 27 October
Total Dist.	3.8 km (XC ski)
Height Gain	246 ft.
Max. Elev.	6,315 ft.
Time	1 hrs. 19 mins.

Other Stats.
Dep. car:        8.57 am W’Jack Jn:     9.40 am Ret. to car:   10.16 am	Temp: minus 9 C Mosty overcast, some patches of blue sky, no wind.

Statistics
Elbow Lake, Mt. Rae trail
Sat. 27 October
Total Dist.	7 km (hike)
Height Gain	916 ft.
Max. Elev.	7,316 ft.
Time	2 hrs. 38 mins.

Other Stats.
Dep. car:      10.33 am Elbow L:       10.59 am Glac. view:   11.47 am Ret. to car:     1.11 pm	Temp: around minus 9 C to minus 7 C Mosty overcast, some patches of blue sky, no wind.

Cloud Country

Sun. 21 October:  The Hunchback Hills

Yesterday it snowed.  Not that this changed my hiking plans.  In fact, it seemed that today might be sunny, so I was keen to hike up to a good vantage point for views of the snow-covered mountains.  The vantage point was easy enough to locate, but instead of mountain vistas, we found ourselves in a magnificent country of swirling clouds.

A few weeks ago, the Kananaskis Blog website had run an article on the Hunchback Hills, and I had been waiting for an opportunity to explore them.  These hills sit in the northeast corner of Kananaskis Country, east of the Kananaskis Valley and south of the Sibbald Creek road.  They don’t look very exciting from the road; just high, forested foothills, in the shape of a horse-shoe.  But on closer inspection, you find that there are several summits which stick up above the forest, giving spectacular all-round views.

The easiest way to reach the highest point in the Hunchback Hills is to drive about eight kilometres southwards along the narrow, twisting snow-covered Powderface Trail road as far as Lusk Creek.  Here the Trans-Canada hiking trail intersects the road.  Our route took us westwards along this trail for about a kilometre as far as a horse camp, then directly up the forested ridge all the way to the top, a climb of about 1200 vertical feet from the camp.

Today everything was covered in about four to six inches of fresh snow, including the trees.  It looked very wintry.  The temperatures were about four degrees below freezing, so it felt wintry too.  As JM and I drove into the area along Highway 68, it didn’t look very promising.  The low cloud hid the mountains and there was only a faint sign of a sunrise to the east.  The road was slippery and the only other people around were a few hunters in their trucks driving slowly along looking for signs of wildlife.  We saw none.  But I was confident that things would improve, and just as we prepared to set out on the trail, the clouds started to lift and the first shafts of sunlight hit the snow-laden trees high up on the hillsides.  Ours were the first tracks (human and animal) along the gently climbing trail.  The snow here in the narrow valley was perhaps two or three inches deep, making the going easy. 

Soon we came to a clearing, with a couple of picnic tables and a horse corral.  This used to be a back-country equestrian campsite but is apparently no longer in use.  In fact, this whole corner of K Country is apparently rarely visited, despite this now being designated as part of the Trans-Canada Trail.    That trail continued westwards towards the Kananaskis Valley.  Our route would take us directly up the south ridge of the Hunchback Hills to the summit.  There would be no trail from here on, just our own route up the forested slopes.  Luckily the trees were sufficiently spaced to make it an easy job.  About a third of the way up the ridge, we came across some flagging on the trees.  This became quite plentiful as far as the first open viewpoint, after which it disappeared.  The trees were laden with snow.  Even the slightest poke with a hiking pole would result in a personal snow shower on top of one’s head!

The first open viewpoint gave spectacular views of a partly sunny sky, layers of mist and cloud, and an occasional snow-clad peak sticking up then disappearing again.  The summit looked far away still.  It really wasn’t.  The ridge was quite narrow at times, with steep slopes to the east.  It was forested almost to the summit, with only a couple of places where we had to navigate around windfall.  

Finally we came to the final open hillside leading along a cliff-edge to the summit.  Here a stone cairn marked the top of the Hunchback Hills.  To the east was a curving cliff; to the west, a steep hillside falling to the low hills beyond.  The guidebook described this as a very fine viewpoint.  Today it was cloud country.  Layers of low cloud, high cloud, swirling mists, filled the sky in every direction.  Occasionally a mountain top appeared briefly out of the mist, sometimes seeming to be high up in the sky, far above the clouds.  It was inspiring, and cold, perhaps several degrees below freezing.  The sun would make a guest appearance, then disappear again.  The sky to the north was a dark, almost threatening sea of mist.

It was an easy job returning down the long, steep hillsides through the trees, following our own footsteps, and trying (but not always succeeding) to avoid knocking into the trees and releasing the snow.  We were soon back down in the meadow.  From here it was a pleasant stroll back to the car along the same route we had come in on.  We could see that there had been nobody else along this route today.  Luckily the hunters had chosen other places to roam with their guns loaded.  It was just after noon, and we had enjoyed the best of today’s weather.  The clouds were building up again, promising more snow to come.  We had seen a fox racing into the forest as we had driven along Powderface Trail this morning, and later saw a flight of noisy geese passing overhead.  We saw no other wildlife, except the eagle which soared above the car park in lazy circles.  We were surprised to see that a plough had been along the road, dumping grit on the snowy surface, so we had no problems returning to the main highway and back into town along the Trans-Canada Highway.

I might return to the Hunchback Hills one sunny day, to enjoy the spectacular views.  I might even attempt the whole horse-shoe to see what other hidden wonders these lonely hills may have to offer.

Statistics
Hunchback Hills summit
Sun. 21 October
Total Dist.	7.8 km (hike)
Height Gain	1,480 ft.
Max. Elev.	6,880 ft.
Time	4 hrs. 26 mins.

Other Stats.
Dep. car:        8.39 am Arr. top:       11.03 am Dep. top:      11.32 am Ret. to car:     1.05 pm	Temp: around minus 4 C to minus 6 C New snowfall, sunny spells, lots of low clouds and mist, no wind, cold

Around the Valley

Sat. 13 October:  Old Baldy

It was just too tempting not to take this picture.  Even if it might reveal the author’s identity! 

For some reason (probably not a good one) there are two mountains in the same valley with the Baldy name.  There is Baldy Mountain, and then not far to the south there is Old Baldy.  They are not connected, and in character are very different.  Baldy Mountain is a challenging narrow ridge walk, whereas Old Baldy is a high, flat plateau.

 I had arrived in the Kananaskis Valley the previous evening, camping at the only campsite now open in the valley.  Mt. Kidd RV resort is well appointed, with electrical hookups and a large visitor centre with showers and lounge.  It was almost full this weekend.  Warm Chinook winds were gusting through the campsite all weekend, making it a very pleasant two days of camping.  People were sitting out around their campfires and generally enjoying the continued good weather.

Old Baldy trailhead is just a couple of kilometres from the campsite, at Evan-Thomas Creek.  A wide fire road leads eastwards through the forests beside the wide creek.  The narrow Old Baldy trail branches off to the left, climbing up a smaller side creek.  The official trail follows this creek the whole way up into the “inside” of the mountain.  It’s actually quite exciting to see how on the map it winds into the heart of the mountains.  From that point, the trail climbs up onto the ridge connecting Old Baldy with the Fisher Range mountain chain.

Not that I followed this route.  About a kilometre up the creek, I saw some red flagging, and a side trail branched off to the left.  It paralleled the main trail, climbing up the left hand side of the creek.  I thought this might just be an alternate creek route, expecting the trail to reconnect higher up.  But all of a sudden, this side trail took off up the steep hillsides, then turned west up onto the south ridge of Old Baldy, high above the creek.  This trail does not show on any map.  It is clearly in use, with new trees cut along the trail, and no obstructions.  Perhaps it was created by the horse riders from Boundary Ranch, in the valley below.

This trail proved to be a fascinating route to the summit, far above.  The east side of the south ridge consists of a series of cliffs, and the trail follows the cliff tops, providing a spectacular route for the hiker.  Higher up, I passed through an area of blackened tree trunks where a huge fire had swept through, not many years ago.  The damage was much worse on the mountainsides to the east of the creek, but it must have crossed the creek and started some fires on Old Baldy.

Add caption

Above this zone I came to a steep scree slope made up of rocks perfectly designed to break a leg or twist an ankle.  Then above the scree it was back into the forest.  A curving line of cliffs rose towards the summit.  Soon the ground flattened off and I crossed a wide, tree-covered plateau, with about four inches of snow on it.  The views ahead started to open up.    Beyond this plateau was the final climb onto the bare, flat summit of Old Baldy, over 2,800 vertical feet above the valley floor.

Here the wind was colder, blowing across the ridge top, which had a light snow cover.  The views all round were spectacular, particularly directly to the east to Mt. McDougall (8,859 ft.), seen from the edge of an impressive snow-plastered curving ridgeline.    Below me to the west was the Kananaskis Valley, with Mt. Kidd dominating the scene, and the Kananaskis Village below.  The Nakiska ski slopes and Mt. Allan were also dominant.  A small rainbow arced above Ribbon Creek.  The snowy mountains further south were partly hidden in the swirling cloud.

The summit was an almost flat rounded hill, with no cairn.  This narrowed down to a thin northern ridge.  From this ridge, the western slopes dropped steeply down to the floor of the Kananaskis Valley. 

After a short break to admire the view, ranging from wintry snow-covered slopes to an operating golf course far below, I made my way down off the ridge.  The upper slopes were steep slippery grass hiding a layer of broken rock.  I used my MICROspikes to give me more traction.  This escape route off the mountain followed a steep gulley which plunged down the mountainside.  It required careful navigation through rocks and grass.  

Somewhere along the way I saw clear evidence of bears.  New diggings and a nice footprint in the snow told of a recent visit by a medium sized bear.

Further down the mountain, a faint trail emerged, which I carefully followed all the way through the forests until I came out on a rough road above the Boundary ranch.  As I came out at a junction, I met a horse-drawn wagon taking a coach party on a trip through the woods.  Soon I was out on the Kananaskis Highway.

From here to the car it was a two kilometre hike beside the road or in the trees, past the golf course entrance and back to Evan-Thomas Creek.  Looking back up the ridge, the descent route looked vertical!  Thank heavens I was coming down and not going up that trail!

It was time to return to the campsite and to relax in front of a nice fire as the warm wind swirled and gusted through the trees all evening and all through the night.  

Statistics
Old Baldy
Sat. 13 October
Total Dist.	12 km (hike)
Height Gain	2,830 ft.
Max. Elev.	7,830 ft.
Time	5 hrs. 42 mins.

Other Stats.
Dep. car:        8.30 am Ridge Jn:       9.15 am Summit:       11.30 am Hwy 40:         1.40 pm Ret. to car:     2.12 pm	Temp: + 8C to + 12C Mix of sun and cloud, cool breeze on summit. Some snow under foot at top.

Sun. 14 October:  Valley Circuit

My plan today was to make a circuit of the central part of the Kananaskis Valley, making use of the great trails and paved bike paths which start at the Kananaskis Village.

A brief, spectacular red sunrise heralded another blustery day.  A few specks of rain were being hurled across the Rockies, but they never amounted to anything.

It is a short drive south down the valley from Mt. Kidd RV park to Galatea Creek parking area.  Judging by the number of vehicles in the car park, the Lillian Lake campsite must be full this weekend.  I hid my bike in the trees, then drove north up the valley to the Kananaskis Village, where I parked the car.

Terrace Trail starts right in the village, and traverses the lower slopes of Mt. Kidd, high enough above the valley to give some great views.  It is about eight kilometres from the village back to Galatea Creek.  The northern section of the trail is more open, with good viewpoints over the golf course to Old Baldy across the valley.  A strong wind was blowing as I left the car park.  One gust blew my baseball cap right off my head.  This was the sort of “exciting” weather that I recall from hikes in Scotland.  The wind is blowing, the trees are swaying, clouds zoom across the sky, flecks of rain blow into my face.  Everything was “alive” today.

This was a great hiking trail.  Not too much climbing, a towering mountainside directly above me, and an amphitheatre of snowy peaks all around.  I had a good opportunity to view my route of yesterday, up and down Old Baldy.  The true size of that mountain was hidden by the soaring peaks which rose behind it.  I met just one early biker along the trail.  I am sure that this would be a busy place on a summer afternoon.  There was one particularly impressive gulley that I had to cross.  This rocky gash, which drops down from the heights of Mt. Kidd, would be filled with avalanches in winter and raging water in Spring.  Luckily it was dry today.  The mountain rose thousands of feet up into the cloud.  The scene was made perfect by a few scattered trees which today were quickly losing their last golden leaves.

At the Galatea Creek junction I met a huge crowd of noisy kids being shepherded up the mountain trail, and in the process almost knocking me off the path.  The Galatea Creek trail is jammed most weekends in summer, and needs an early start to avoid the worst of the crowds.

The return journey was an enjoyable bike ride, first on road to Wedge Pond, then on the almost deserted Bill Milne paved bike path all the way back to the Kananaskis Village.  The strong wind was at my back, but the heavy mountain bike still needed pedaling!  Wedge Pond is a pretty lake set beneath the mountains, with one lakeside tree in its finest yellow/orange color.

It didn’t take me long to whizz down the often dead straight path, empty apart from a handful of scattered travelers.  The final hill back up to the village climbs in gentle curves with official “rest stops” at every bend, with benches where you can sit and catch your breath. 

It was close to noon by the time I returned to the car, and so I raced back to the campsite to pack up the trailer and head for home.  Most campers had already left and it looked a little deserted.  But it’s open all year round, and judging by this weekend’s crowd, you will find hardy folks sitting round campfires here even in the depths of winter.  I might try it out again in December (or I might not!).

Statistics
Valley Circuit
Sat. 13 October
Total Dist.	8.0 km (hike) + 15.0 km (bike) = 23.0 km
Height Gain	490 ft.
Max. Elev.	5,250 ft.
Time	3 hrs. 16 mins.

Other Stats.
Dep. car:        8.50 am Galatea:       10.33 am Kovach:        11.35 am Ret. to car:   12.06 pm	Temp: + 9C to + 12C Blustery, light sprinkles, mostly cloudy, very warm

Statistics
Weekend Summary
13/14 October
Total Dist.	20 km (hike) + 15 km (bike) = 35 km
Height Gain	3,320 ft.
Max. Elev.	7,830 ft.
Time	8 hrs. 58 mins.