A Canadian Adventure - Day 46

Sunday 17 September 2017

Pocaterra Ridge

Another bad start, despite it being a beautiful day with no toothache.

The three keys for Charlie were all on a metal band that can't be split. So they lived happily together. We had a routine whereby we always opened the car before we opened the boot. This morning I was distracted. The keys got locked in the boot. The Bow Valley receptionist was very helpful and called out a rescue service, and Sue got a taxi to the Kananaskis Visitor Centre on Highway 40 where we were due to meet Peter and his friend Kevin.

I followed on half an hour later after a very efficient rescue service. The mechanic also did us a favour by cutting the metal band and releasing the three keys. "You wouldn't believe how often I have to do this" he jested.

The delay wasn't crucial as today's 10 km walk could still be undertaken at a leisurely pace. We dropped Charlie off at the car park at Little Highwood Pass and continued on to Highwood Pass in Kevin's Jeep. At 2206 metres this is apparently the highest tarmaced road in Canada. The car park was full so we were by the roadside, which was positively swamped by cars when we returned later. It's a popular day out from Calgary. We soon found out why.

Sue takes up the story from (before) here:

"On this blue sky morning, the views along the road were superb, of mountains, adorned by ski pistes in one area near Kananaskis Village, and avalanche tracks in another. It was slightly hazy but we didn't think it was smoke. The road climbed and after about 40 minutes we reached the parking lot at Little Highwood Pass where we left our car. It was another 4-5km to reach Highwood Pass at 2206m, where the car park was already full (10am) and cars were now using the wide verges.

The Pocaterra Ridge was justifiably popular today. Initially it was level, on a muddy path, then it ascended in woodland, where the path was quite icy in places, and snow lingered in the shade. A short descent brought us out of the trees, and to a gentle climb through sparse, yellowing larches, with snow on the slopes above. It was beautiful. Above, we could see a line of people climbing, on the skyline. Small streams crossed our path, and soon the trees were behind us, as we climbed, with views growing. There was banter between people as they passed, all enjoying the conditions, although the wind was cool.

The summit, at around 2680m, had excellent views, but we weren't alone! The ongoing ridge could be seen, as we traversed the highest part, looking for a good spot for lunch. This was achieved, and we enjoyed a sunny, sheltered picnic, just off the first top.

The next section was the hardest, as it was north facing, steep, partially frozen and consequently icy. We moved slowly, taking care, but after that it was lovely, walking on the crest, with views in all directions. Some of the warped rock striations were impressive.

The ridge gradually descended, with four tops in all. The final hill was a patchwork of yellow and green larches, and included the last ascent. The ridge ended abruptly with a view of Kananaskis Lake, and a direct descent through the trees took us out of the cold wind that the open ridge had invited.

The final part had us negotiating a section of woodland that had been altered by flooding, so we weaved around, finally emerging opposite the Little Highwood Pass car park, where the Toyota was waiting, around 4.10pm. After dropping Peter and Kevin back at Kevin's car, we set off back to Canmore at 4.25pm. More hazy now, it was still a scenic journey back to Canmore, during which we had to slow down for some errant Bighorn Sheep.

Shopping was completed then baths and dinner in number 32 - shrimps with the rest of the chipotle dip, then egg and avocado salad, with raspberries and blueberries with cream. 

The day that started badly gave us a truly wonderful and memorable ridge walk."

Thanks Sue

Thanks also go to Peter for suggesting this route, and to him and Kevin for providing such good company. My apologies for the hiccup at the start of the day.

The pictures are chronological, with no proper rendition of the more tricky ridge bits, partly because the sun was in the wrong place and partly because I was concentrating on survival rather than on photography! 

10.5 km with 600 metres ascent, in 6 hours.

A Canadian Adventure - Day 45

Saturday 16 September 2017

Burstall Pass

A bad start to the day. The moment I put my book down last night a serious toothache took hold (don't worry mother, there's a happy ending). It lasted all night. An Internet search this morning revealed a dentist that opened at 8 am. I went down there twice. The premises were deserted.

So we reverted to our plan and after de-icing Charlie we drove about 40 km up the gravel road known as Highway 742 to the Burstall Pass trailhead that Peter had recommended and for which he had lent us his map and guidebook. It was a popular destination, with lots of cars already in the car park.

Sue had resuscitated the broken flask, so some ibuprofen could be dissolved in tea in an effort to reduce the severe tooth pain arising from 40 km on a washboard road surface. This initially had little effect. But a few km into our walk a lump arose on the gum below my recalcitrant tooth. 'Ah' I thought, 'abscess' - 'need antibiotics'. The lump grew and I tried to excise it. Pain jumped from 8/10 to 10/10. The ibuprofen then kicked in and the pain lessened.

It was a brilliantly sunny morning, albeit quite frosty. We were ready for that and well equipped. The views were great.

We reached the 2380 metre pass at lunchtime and tucked into our usual fare, the ibuprofen having reduced the pain to an extent whereby I could just about tolerate eating on the 'good' side of my mouth. Sometime during this process the lump on my gum started to decrease in size. My theory is that it was punctured by an errant shard of the excellent crisps we've been eating. (More crisps please!) This seems to have released the pressure. Tonight's red wine has been laced with a cocktail of ibuprofen, codeine and paracetamol (Sue had to give the pharmacy a full family history in order to get that) and hopefully the sore gum will repair itself.

Anyway, whilst the tooth episode has detracted a little from today's walk, I hope the photos will demonstrate that the day wasn't a complete disaster. In fact the views were absolutely superb.

There were lots of people, all local Canadians as far as we could make out (this walk doesn't feature on the tourist leaflets), and that made it a chatty day. At the end of the walk there seemed to be a move to relax in camping chairs prior to the drive home. Since Shak's chairs live in Charlie's boot we were able to join in that tradition on the warm, sunny afternoon.

Wildlife today was mostly keeping its own counsel, but we did see a Hairy Woodpecker, several birds of prey, and the usual squirrels. I forgot to mention yesterday that we found what might be a hornets nest. Constructed from papery layers and about a foot in size, hanging in a tree, it looked empty. Until we poked at it; then we ran away. There will be a photo in due course.

There are still some flowers, struggling on trying to tempt the last of the bees, including fleabanes and yarrow, and the ubiquitous papery remnants of the (probably Pearly) Everlasting flowers (pictured).

The walk was another 'there and back' effort, very little of which was in trees without a view. An excellent route with an intermediate plateau between two gentle ascents, and thanks go to Peter for suggesting it.

Dinner was delicious. Home cooked avocado, tomato and olive salad, sautéed potatoes, mushrooms and onion, with salmon burgers. Followed by strawberries and cream. With a nice red wine.

Today's pictures:

1 - Early morning view from our living room
2 and 3 - From the Burstall Pass trailhead by Mud Lake
4 - A view from one of the Burstall lakes
5 and 6 - On the 'intermediate' plateau
7 and 8 - Around lunchtime
9, 10 and 11 - on the descent (it clouded over a bit)
12 - There were lots of these clumps of Everlasting plants

16.5 km with 500 metres ascent, in 5 hours, and 4 km by the creek in 21.45.

A Canadian Adventure - Day 44

Friday 15 September 2017

Sparrowhawk Tarns

My old university contemporary Peter, and his friend David arrived from Calgary at nine o'clock. After a brief pause for refreshments a day off for Charlie was declared and we all jumped into David's Mazda.

The Highway 742 road to the Kananaskis area is a gravel track from the outskirts of Canmore and when we reached the Sparrowhawk picnic area after a rainy/snowy journey of more than 20 km we found the access gate to be locked. It's the end of the season. So we parked by the gate and headed up to the tarns along a good forest path.

The rain turned to sleet, then snow, then it stopped. It was cool. Conrad has correctly observed the change of season, but we seem to have moved from summer directly to winter. You'll note the snow over about 2000 metres in today's pictures. Our there and back route started at 1750 metres and reached a high point of about 2350 metres, from where we could just about see one of the five tarns (fourth picture down). The rest were hidden away in nooks and crannies that we decided not to visit, given the snowy conditions and the rough terrain.

Nobody else was on this trail today. Great! At times the path was obscure and hard to locate under the snow. David's GPS tracking came in handy on the descent when we encountered a mystery stream crossing.

A fair proportion of the walk was above the tree line, with lots of mountain views both above the tarns and in the other direction beyond Spray Lake Reservoir where we'd parked. Recent snow had given some of the mountains a white fringe.

Some squeaking pika entertained us, but not as much as the cheery chipmunks who seemed to be preening each other, getting ready for a party. There was no sign of any Pilated Woodpecker, but one did land on a tree trunk a couple of metres from us yesterday, down by the creek.

It brightened considerably during our descent on this cold day, but by 3.30 we were back at the car and ready to move on to the Bow Valley Motel Tea House (Room 32) in Canmore.

Peter and David were duly waved off, with thanks for choosing a perfect walking route for today's conditions.

Sue and I adjourned to The Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company restaurant for shared salads and pizza of a very high quality. Nice beer too.

10 km with 600 metres ascent, in 5 hours.

A Canadian Adventure - Day 43

Thursday 14 September 2017

Prairie View Lookout Hiking Trail

A drizzly morning found us, on our 15th wedding anniversary, taking advantage of the most convenient laundromat in the world. It's attached to the motel building and is a fifteen second walk from our rooms. It's amazing how much laundry you can find when you try on a trip like this (well, we have been camping for 13 of the last 15 nights).

In between those short walks dealing with laundry we managed to devour a shelf load of chocolate croissants and a whole heap of blueberries and yogurt.

Then it was time for coffee. The coffee machine works well and is re-supplied with ammunition every day. It's like one of Al and Hazel's.

A trip to the visitor centre followed, and some advice was taken. The weather further south may be a bit better, or so we were told. So a 45 km drive ensued, taking us to the start of a walk by Barrier Lake, no longer in the Rockies. It was lunchtime,  so we enjoyed our goats cheese and tomato buns, boiled eggs, crisps, etc in the car before setting off on the circular walk at 1 pm.

Most walks in this area are 'there and back' efforts so it was good to walk a circular route. The track rose gently through trees for some time, after 5 km reaching a high clearing on a sharp ridge with good views.

A bit further along the ridge we reached our high point of about 1900 metres, with fine views towards ... prairies. But with cloud laden mountains still in view closer to home.

The rest of the circuit was along delightful woodland paths with intermittent mountain views. And it didn't rain. Excellent. Not many flowers apart from lingering bellflowers, but plenty of difficult to identify birds and squealing squirrels. And a squealing Sue when a large lump of melting snow found its way down her neck.

We saw five people all day.

After the easy drive back to Canmore we topped up with supplies, went for a quick bimble by the creek, and enjoyed a lazy evening at home with some rather tasty provisions and a nice bottle of wine.

Apart from the first picture, today's images were all taken during our excellent little walk. Unfortunately we did not record the lovely Canmore sunset.

Hic .... zzzzz

14 km with 550 metres ascent, in 4 hours, and 4 km in 22.40.

To Banff and Canmore

Just a short entry to add a few photos from Day 42. Blogger only accepts a limited file size by email, so twelve low resolution pictures - as in the last posting - is about the maximum.

There was a deep contrast between our two journeys down Highway 1 to Banff. The first, a few days ago, was completed in thick smoke and stifling temperatures, finishing at a comfortable campsite. The second was in rain, at 6°C, and finished at a comfortable motel. The campsite would have been a miserable place then.

The Jump Start café in Banff was in need of air conditioning on our first visit - the heater was on when we revisited it.

On our first visit no mountains were visible due to smoke. Second time round they were largely obscured by cloud, but the smoke was either highly diminished or even completely gone.

The photos:

• A final view of Lake O'Hara in the rain on Day 41

• The Rockies from a rainy Highway 1

• The Bow River at Banff - two pictures from the same spot

• Dracula's Castle at Banff

• Sue explores the underground passageway from Transylvania 

• A view from outside our motel 

Happy Days