The passionate hiker

The passionate hiker
Early days in the outdoors

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Troll and Hummingbird

Sat. 23 November:  Troll Falls and Hummingbird Plume Lookout


Troll Falls.  Water was flowing behind the ice.
Troll Falls takes on a new appearance every winter, depending on how the ice builds up.  This year, it has already created a gigantic icy pillar, yet the water is still falling from the cliffs above, hidden behind the wall of ice.  Hanging from the overhanging rocks were tall icicles, like stalactites in a scary cave.  Meanwhile, the ugly troll sits unmoved beside the falls, ready for a conversation with visiting snow-shoers.


For late November, snow conditions were quite good.  Our route, apart from the side trail to the Falls, was immaculately groomed, making for an easy journey up the forested mountainsides.  This was R’s first outing on snowshoes, not that you would have known it.  The pace was steady as we climbed up the trail.  Even at the very top, you are still in the trees, with the dilapidated Hummingbird Plume fire lookout sitting in the forest, beside a clearing.  For a view of the Kananaskis Valley one has to step carefully through the deeper snow to the edge of a cliff.  There the views are worth the effort.

This tiny fire lookout shack is full of historical significance, being built by German prisoners of war during World War 2.  It is now only held together by its lightning protection cabling, and Alberta Parks must very soon make a decision whether to knock it down or perhaps recreate something new up there.  The hill top makes a very good destination for cross-country skiers, snow shoers and, in summer, hikers, so it is worth considering some sort of simple destination building or shelter.  Right now it’s just the shack and a picnic table. 

Our journey had taken us up Skogan Trail, with glimpses of the Nakiska ski hill.  The ski slopes were not busy.  Further up the trail we turned right onto Sunburst Trail for the final pull up to the lookout.  On our return we completed a loop by following the High Level Trail back down the hillsides and across the powerline right of way, which rose in a straight line to Skogan Pass, high above us.  It was only after we returned to Skogan Trail that we met our first people of the day – two women on skis heading up to the Pass.  On our entire journey we met only perhaps a dozen other people, which seemed few for a pleasant Saturday.  But it was still early season here. 

This was the second time I had used these well-graded and nicely groomed trails as an ideal first test for a new snowshoer, and I would highly recommend it – just stay out of the ski tracks!  And for an added bonus, you get to visit the Troll and perhaps see the Hummingbird lookout before it finally collapses!


Statistics:

Total Distance: 12.6 km (snowshoe)
Height Gain:       1,395 ft.
Max. Elev.:        6,120 ft.
Time on Trail:    4 hrs. 53 mins.
Dep. car:           9.23 am
Troll Falls:         9.53 am
Arr. L/O:         12.01 pm
Dep. L/O:        12.31 pm
Ret. to car:        2.16 pm
Temp:               Minus 5 C to +1 C with subzero windchills at summit.
Weather:           Mix of cloud and sun.  Cold winds high up, no wind lower down.


Hay Meadow Trail
Heading into the woods
This short trail leads to the Falls
Having a chat with the Troll
Carefully dropping down from the Falls
Skogan Pass Trail
A steady climb - more snow higher up
Hummingbird Plume Lookout
Good view of the Kananaskis Valley from the forested summit
We wondered how much longer this historic building will last
High Level Trail
Crossing the Skogan Pass power line
Telephoto pic of Nakiska ski hill
Some grand mountain views from the trail
Back down in the Kananaskis Valley

Monday, November 11, 2013

Beside the Tay

Signposts to the Future
Checking out potential hiking trails in other favourite corners of Canada

Friday, November 1, 2013

Banff Award Winners

 Fri. 1 November:  Banff Award Winners: Tunnel Mountain, Sulphur Mountain, and lots more


My valuable geocaching coin from Parks Canada!
Parks Canada is into this geo-caching craze.  The lady at the Banff Visitors Centre, handing J and myself each a sheet of paper, told us that, if we could find the five geo-cache sites and answer five questions, we could each win a special coin.  “No problem!” J & I replied, with confidence.  Six hours later, we were back at the information desk ready to claim our awards!

Tunnel Mountain was our first destination.  The upper Tunnel Mountain Road was closed off at both ends for some reason, so we did a bit of driving around the base of the mountain before parking at the lower parking lot for the trail up the mountain.  The parking area was full of cars, but no other hikers were to be seen, apart from a couple of young women with several dogs in tow. Our first cache was just a few yards from the bottom end of the trail, hidden behind a bush.  Inside the small box was the answer to a question, and a tiny log book to sign.  This first box gave the reply to the question: “Is there a tunnel in Tunnel Mountain (NO)”.

It’s a nicely graded route up the mountain, and is the most popular trail in Banff.  As a result, even on this cool November weekday morning, we met a dozen assorted people along the way.  Several people seemed to know each other and were probably regulars on this short journey.  At the top we stopped to admire the views down into Banff townsite, but did not linger as the wind was biting.  There was some blue sky above, but off to the west the clouds were starting to gather ahead of tomorrow’s snowstorm.  Part way down, there were impressive views down to the Bow River and the golf course below the sharp edge of Rundle.

Our next cache was along the road below the Tunnel Mountain campsites, opposite the Hoodoos.  These sandstone outcrops stand about thirty feet high, beside the Bow River downstream of Banff.  Again, hidden under a bush, this box contained a surprising answer:  the oldest tree in Banff is a 695 year old Douglas Fir!

Driving west along the Bow Valley, we stopped at the semi-frozen Vermilion Lakes, where there were two more caches.  One was under a pile of rocks beside the third lake, and the other under a bench along a forest trail.  The sun shone directly across the water, as if the lakes were filled with silver.  The National Parks have been doing a great job over the past year putting up new signs everywhere, and building little boat docks along these Vermilion Lakes.

For the final cache, we could simply have driven up to the Upper Hot Springs and walked a few hundred yards up the Sulphur Mountain Trail.  This was far too simple.  Instead, we paid for tickets on the Banff Gondola and made a swift ascent to the top of Sulphur Mountain.  There were just a few people at the gondola base – very different from any typical summer’s day.

The boardwalk along the summit, up to Sanson Peak, was mostly snow-free.  A few well-wrapped-up tourists were enjoying the views, although up here the wind-chill must have been several degrees below freezing.  The tiny stone cabin at the summit would be a lonely place to live.  We could see inside to the bunk, table, chair and stove; hardly room to stretch out. 

Returning to the summit restaurant, we relaxed inside to warm up before heading down the steep mountain trail.  The surface was snow-covered and we were glad of our MICROspikes or equivalent.  I almost bet J that we would not see anyone else on this descent of over two thousand vertical feet.  I’m glad I didn’t do so, as we must have met thirty or forty people coming up or going down the slippery zig-zag path.  Nobody else, as far as we could see, was wearing spikes, making their journeys precarious at times.  We picked up our final cache near the foot of the trail and rushed into town to claim our prizes.  These colorful coins, depicting a Canadian beaver clutching a GPS device, were well worth the effort!

Our final destination was the Cave and Basin, reopened this year after major renovations.  The original “basin”, a hot pool discovered by the railway builders in 1883, became the start of Canada’s National Parks.  It was certainly impressive, but I wonder whether they might have found a way to turn these back into working hot pools, not just a large museum.  

We thought there might be a final cache in this area, but were out of luck.  But who cared?  We were already Banff award winners.

Statistics:

Total Distance: 11.4 km (hike)
Height Gain:          950 ft.
Max. Elev.:        7,449 ft.
Time on Trail:    3 hrs. 59 mins.

Tunnel Mtn:
Distance:          4.8 km
Height gain:       800 ft.
Max. elev.:        5,544 ft.
Dep. car:           9.36 am
Summit:          10.25 am
Ret. to car:      11.11 am

Sulphur Mtn:
Distance:          6.6 km
Height gain:       150 ft.
Height loss:       2,370 ft.
Max. elev.:        7,449 ft.
Gondola Top:  12.53 pm
Observatory:     1.09 pm
Top of trail:       1.53 pm
Ret. to car:        3.17 pm

Temp:               Ranging from +1 C to around +6 C, summit wind chills well below zero.

Weather:           Mix of cloud and sun.  Cold winds high up, no wind in valley.


Cascade Mountain (9,836 ft.) from Banff townsite
Sign on Tunnel Mountain trail
Banff townsite and Bow River from Tunnel Mountain
Skyscape above Mt. Rundle
Banff Springs Hotel from Tunnel Mountain
Parks Canada have set up a geocache challenge in Banff National Park
Hoodoos by the Bow River
The Vermilion Lakes (starting to freeze over)
Sulphur Mountain
Cosmic Ray observatory site, Sanson Peak
Tunnel Mountain, Banff Springs Hotel, Bow River from Sulphur Mountain
On the trail down Sulphur Mountain
At the Banff Visitor Centre to collect our medals!
Cave and Basin - here the Union Jack still flies!
Sunset from our deck - snowstorm on the way