Sat. 19 June: Hummingbird Plume LookoutAs lookouts go, this one was in a terrible state, and sat in a clearing surrounded by tall trees with absolutely no view of anything - but it was no less interesting for all that, as I will describe!
The forecast was calling for a good chance of thundershowers this afternoon. Naturally, an early morning start was my strategy. My trail started at the popular Ribbon Creek parking area, below Kananaskis Village. Being early, I had pole position - by late morning this car park would fill up. It was a beautiful day for a hike – clear skies and a cool breeze. There was no snow on any of my trails today, although there were patches of running water.
To travel the trails around Kananaskis Village and Nakiska ski area, one needs a good map. There is a complex network of cross-country ski trails, biking, hiking and horseback routes, across the forested hillsides. There is a long-distance trail over Skogan Pass, and a valley route along Stoney Trail, the old road up the Kananaskis Valley. Luckily they have signposted trail maps at just about every junction, so you would have to work quite hard to get yourself totally lost. And most of these routes are nice wide trails.
My route followed the lower section of Skogan Trail, which skirts the lower edge of the Nakiska ski hill – site of the 1988 Winter Olympic downhill events. I made surprisingly good time through the trail system, gradually or sometimes more steeply climbing, but with almost no views. The one exception was the occasional glimpse of the ski runs on the upper slopes of Mt. Allen, where one could still ski – if you were prepared to slog up several thousand feet of mountainside.
I reached the powerline which cuts directly up to the top of Skogan Pass before it drops down into the Bow Valley. Here I turned right onto Sunburst Trail. Skogan turned off to the left and climbed to the Pass. For some reason, at this junction there was a sign banning horses from my route!
The forecast was calling for a good chance of thundershowers this afternoon. Naturally, an early morning start was my strategy. My trail started at the popular Ribbon Creek parking area, below Kananaskis Village. Being early, I had pole position - by late morning this car park would fill up. It was a beautiful day for a hike – clear skies and a cool breeze. There was no snow on any of my trails today, although there were patches of running water.
To travel the trails around Kananaskis Village and Nakiska ski area, one needs a good map. There is a complex network of cross-country ski trails, biking, hiking and horseback routes, across the forested hillsides. There is a long-distance trail over Skogan Pass, and a valley route along Stoney Trail, the old road up the Kananaskis Valley. Luckily they have signposted trail maps at just about every junction, so you would have to work quite hard to get yourself totally lost. And most of these routes are nice wide trails.
My route followed the lower section of Skogan Trail, which skirts the lower edge of the Nakiska ski hill – site of the 1988 Winter Olympic downhill events. I made surprisingly good time through the trail system, gradually or sometimes more steeply climbing, but with almost no views. The one exception was the occasional glimpse of the ski runs on the upper slopes of Mt. Allen, where one could still ski – if you were prepared to slog up several thousand feet of mountainside.
I reached the powerline which cuts directly up to the top of Skogan Pass before it drops down into the Bow Valley. Here I turned right onto Sunburst Trail. Skogan turned off to the left and climbed to the Pass. For some reason, at this junction there was a sign banning horses from my route!
The nice, wide forest trail soon had me at the top of the hill. I tried to imagine this hill before the trees grew so tall. The approach to the lookout would have been quite spectacular as the road reached the clifftop with two last short bends.
I reached a small clearing, and here sat what remained of Hummingbird Plume Lookout. As the guidebook notes, there is a single picnic table nearby, which is in a lot better shape than the lookout! It is perhaps surprising that the lookout was not located right on the edge of the cliff, but perhaps in the pre-forest days, it used to have good 360 degree views from its position.
The building might have disintegrated by now if it wasn’t held together by strong cables on all sides, acting as lightning protection. Inside, the floor is rotten, and the walls are falling apart. But this funny little hut does have a long history, perhaps being built in the early 1900s. It was used as a shelter by German prisoners of war in WW2, when collecting wood. They carved their names on the walls inside.
And there IS a view – one just has to walk a few yards beyond the clearing, to the edge of a high cliff. I found myself looking far down into the Kananaskis Valley, where toy cars were snaking along the road, and the river was shining in the sunlight. To the south were several snow-capped peaks.
On my return journey, I varied my route, returning along the High Level ski trail, onto Skogan trail and back to the powerline. Here I headed directly downhill to the valley, following the often very steep powerline access road – or the remains of a road – it now being overgrown.
This would NOT be a route to attempt in the reverse direction. It seemed a long drop down onto Stoney Trail on the valley floor. Here the powerline splits, and there is an electrical switching station. Funnily enough, I found this mix of spectacular, timeless mountain scenery and ugly power line a fascinating contrast. It made for some good photos.
Turning south onto Stoney trail, I soon came to a junction and headed back into the forest. It was a short walk to Troll Falls, whose roar I had been hearing for quite a while.
The trail came alongside a raging stream, threatening to overflow its banks amongst the trees, and then in front of me was the impressive small waterfall known as Troll Falls. The volume of water, after all the recent rain, was causing the falls to fly horizontally off the upper shelf before dropping noisily into a pool below. I was able to climb a few feet up towards the falls, under a cliff, for a better view. Some holes in the rock, caused by the wear of the swirling water, showed how wild this canyon could get. What I failed to realize was that these holes were actually the nostrils of the Troll. If I had taken a few steps back, without tripping up and getting wet, I would have seen the ugly face of the Troll!
An elderly couple came along and we both took photos for each other. Then as I was returning along the trail from the falls, I passed a couple of geriatric old ladies, one with a walking frame, then more tourists. I got out of there just in time to enjoy its lonely magic. Climbing the steep hillside alongside the stream, I was able to reach the top of the Falls for more spectacular (but not very safe) views of the water surging over the lip.
On my way back down Skogan Trail, I veered off to the right onto the lower slopes of the ski hill, at the Bronze ski lift. Ski hills always seem such desolate places in summer time.
Soon I was back at the car, in a now full car park. Nevertheless it was a peaceful setting, and I relaxed in the warm sunshine watching the clouds starting to build up all around. A number of artists had set themselves up on the picnic tables by Ribbon Creek and were creating their own personal landscape masterpieces.
I had thought about also hiking up to Mt. Kidd Lookout today. So I drove up the hill to Kananaskis Village, where the trail starts. The clouds were starting to look threatening, and I felt I had already had a good day on the hill.
So instead I wandered around the village and in the process made a few discoveries. For a start, I was able to figure out the route up Mt. Kidd from below – and it is relentlessly steep. I also found a wide grassy field covered in yellow dandelions, giving spectacular views of the mountains ringing the Kananaskis Valley to the south – a very Swiss scene, I thought.
I reached a small clearing, and here sat what remained of Hummingbird Plume Lookout. As the guidebook notes, there is a single picnic table nearby, which is in a lot better shape than the lookout! It is perhaps surprising that the lookout was not located right on the edge of the cliff, but perhaps in the pre-forest days, it used to have good 360 degree views from its position.
The building might have disintegrated by now if it wasn’t held together by strong cables on all sides, acting as lightning protection. Inside, the floor is rotten, and the walls are falling apart. But this funny little hut does have a long history, perhaps being built in the early 1900s. It was used as a shelter by German prisoners of war in WW2, when collecting wood. They carved their names on the walls inside.
And there IS a view – one just has to walk a few yards beyond the clearing, to the edge of a high cliff. I found myself looking far down into the Kananaskis Valley, where toy cars were snaking along the road, and the river was shining in the sunlight. To the south were several snow-capped peaks.
On my return journey, I varied my route, returning along the High Level ski trail, onto Skogan trail and back to the powerline. Here I headed directly downhill to the valley, following the often very steep powerline access road – or the remains of a road – it now being overgrown.
This would NOT be a route to attempt in the reverse direction. It seemed a long drop down onto Stoney Trail on the valley floor. Here the powerline splits, and there is an electrical switching station. Funnily enough, I found this mix of spectacular, timeless mountain scenery and ugly power line a fascinating contrast. It made for some good photos.
Turning south onto Stoney trail, I soon came to a junction and headed back into the forest. It was a short walk to Troll Falls, whose roar I had been hearing for quite a while.
The trail came alongside a raging stream, threatening to overflow its banks amongst the trees, and then in front of me was the impressive small waterfall known as Troll Falls. The volume of water, after all the recent rain, was causing the falls to fly horizontally off the upper shelf before dropping noisily into a pool below. I was able to climb a few feet up towards the falls, under a cliff, for a better view. Some holes in the rock, caused by the wear of the swirling water, showed how wild this canyon could get. What I failed to realize was that these holes were actually the nostrils of the Troll. If I had taken a few steps back, without tripping up and getting wet, I would have seen the ugly face of the Troll!
An elderly couple came along and we both took photos for each other. Then as I was returning along the trail from the falls, I passed a couple of geriatric old ladies, one with a walking frame, then more tourists. I got out of there just in time to enjoy its lonely magic. Climbing the steep hillside alongside the stream, I was able to reach the top of the Falls for more spectacular (but not very safe) views of the water surging over the lip.
On my way back down Skogan Trail, I veered off to the right onto the lower slopes of the ski hill, at the Bronze ski lift. Ski hills always seem such desolate places in summer time.
Soon I was back at the car, in a now full car park. Nevertheless it was a peaceful setting, and I relaxed in the warm sunshine watching the clouds starting to build up all around. A number of artists had set themselves up on the picnic tables by Ribbon Creek and were creating their own personal landscape masterpieces.
I had thought about also hiking up to Mt. Kidd Lookout today. So I drove up the hill to Kananaskis Village, where the trail starts. The clouds were starting to look threatening, and I felt I had already had a good day on the hill.
So instead I wandered around the village and in the process made a few discoveries. For a start, I was able to figure out the route up Mt. Kidd from below – and it is relentlessly steep. I also found a wide grassy field covered in yellow dandelions, giving spectacular views of the mountains ringing the Kananaskis Valley to the south – a very Swiss scene, I thought.
Then I also came upon a cliff-top viewpoint of the valley below, with wooden seats and nicely landscaped. Finally I discovered, in the outdoor store, that the next volume of my hiking bible was now on the shelves. The 4th edition of Gillean Daffern’s incomparable “Kananaskis Country Trail Guide” will now be a set of five volumes, the first of which is due to be launched next week – but it is already on the shelves. I was quick to grab my copy.
Having chatted idly with the New Zealander in the store about the merits of Merino wool socks, hiking in shorts and long socks (it’s also a favourite NZ gear) and the superiority of South Island NZ, I returned to the car.
On the return journey I stopped at the “Colonel’s Cabin” opposite Barrier Lake. This is where the old fire lookout building, which used to sit up on the ridge above Barrier Lake, now sits. It was superseded in the early 1980’s and was returned to its original home – which was as a guard tower at the Prisoner of War camp here. Seems a lot of moving for a very unwieldy building, but here it sits, in dire need of a new coat of paint. Not sure I can count it as another fire lookout to check off on my list – but I do remember seeing it back in October 1982 while it was still acting as a fire lookout.
Driving east I passed through some heavy rain showers, but in Calgary it was warm and sunny. At the Elbow River bridge near Bragg Creek there was a collection of fire engines, rescue boats and police cars. I read later that someone had fallen into the river near Bragg Creek, and had been carried away by the strong spring run-off current. I suppose they were looking for the body. A sober lesson about crossing rivers, especially during run-off.
Statistics
Hummingbird Plume Lookout
Sat. 19 June
Total Dist. 14 km (hike)
Height Gain 1296 ft.
Max. Elev. 6120 ft.
Time on trail 3 hrs. 51 mins.
Having chatted idly with the New Zealander in the store about the merits of Merino wool socks, hiking in shorts and long socks (it’s also a favourite NZ gear) and the superiority of South Island NZ, I returned to the car.
On the return journey I stopped at the “Colonel’s Cabin” opposite Barrier Lake. This is where the old fire lookout building, which used to sit up on the ridge above Barrier Lake, now sits. It was superseded in the early 1980’s and was returned to its original home – which was as a guard tower at the Prisoner of War camp here. Seems a lot of moving for a very unwieldy building, but here it sits, in dire need of a new coat of paint. Not sure I can count it as another fire lookout to check off on my list – but I do remember seeing it back in October 1982 while it was still acting as a fire lookout.
Driving east I passed through some heavy rain showers, but in Calgary it was warm and sunny. At the Elbow River bridge near Bragg Creek there was a collection of fire engines, rescue boats and police cars. I read later that someone had fallen into the river near Bragg Creek, and had been carried away by the strong spring run-off current. I suppose they were looking for the body. A sober lesson about crossing rivers, especially during run-off.
Statistics
Hummingbird Plume Lookout
Sat. 19 June
Total Dist. 14 km (hike)
Height Gain 1296 ft.
Max. Elev. 6120 ft.
Time on trail 3 hrs. 51 mins.
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