Sat. 4 December: West Bragg Creek TrailsOff the beaten track – on a beaten track. Today I explored a trail which no longer shows in any guidebook. So I had no idea what to expect. As it turned out, someone had been there ahead of me, creating a helpful pathway across the snowy, forested hillsides.
Not far west of the city, in the foothills west of Bragg Creek village, lie some very popular cross-country ski trails. On a sunny weekend in winter, these trails will fill up with skiers (and hikers with dogs running free) and bedlam will reign.
Looking through my various guidebooks, I noticed an intriguing trail which runs across some remote ridges, connecting the eastern and western legs of the Telephone Trail. Telephone is the longest and toughest of the Bragg Creek trails. A full circuit is over 15 km, into remote forested valleys. This short-cut would take me up to some viewpoints, and would cut off the long northern section of this trail.
Another cloudless morning, with an orange glow along the eastern horizon. As I set out from the car park, the sunlight was just starting to catch the tops of the trees. It was a cold morning, at around minus 16 degrees C, and so I was not surprised to be first on the trail today. I had my snow shoes on for this first leg, and carried my skis, strapped to my backpack.
Telephone Trail’s east leg starts at the car park. Climbing the hillside I soon turned left up the Hostel trail, on a long climb. Somewhere in the trees there used to be a Youth Hostel, but it burned down in 1984 and was never rebuilt. At the top of the hill the ski trail turned right, while I continued straight on, up the hill. This is where my unmarked route started. For some reason it has disappeared from all the trail signs. But somebody must know about it, as the path was beaten down by at least one pair of snow shoes and one set of skis.
The lower part of the trail, which used to be called “Ridge Trail”, was identified by some snow shoe signs nailed to the trees, but that trail soon veered down to the right. My trail, an old logging road, continued at a gradual angle up the forested hillsides, curving round to the right to a nice viewpoint. From here I could see part of the city of Calgary and the lower foothills to the east of Bragg Creek. This pleasant trail continued to climb, until I came to a high point, with good views west, to the bare, snowy ridges of Moose Mountain, 7995 ft.
The older guide books describe this trail as running through open cut-blocks. But over the years, the trees have started to grow back, and it is now mostly enclosed. Nevertheless, there are still some fine views to the west. I was glad to be able to follow the snow-shoer and the skier, as the route from here was not obvious. The trail started to angle downwards, swinging to the right. The scale of my map was a little misleading. Once again it reminded me how easy it is to get disoriented in the foothills, especially when the snow hides any sign of a trail.
In the end, I was on the right path, but I turned off it earlier than planned, and quickly joined the western leg of Telephone Trail just south of its high point, instead of about a kilometre or so further north. Here I swapped my snowshoes for my skis. Telephone Trail runs through a narrow valley. Several skiers had passed through here, but the trail had not been track-set. My light skis were not ideal for semi-off-trail conditions, but I stayed upright and soon came to the junction with Moose Loop.
Turning west, I immediately came out of the forest into a wide, sunny valley, below the high ridges of Moose Mountain. I ski’d along this open valley for a short while, until I reached a junction with a more tricky ski trail heading up into the trees. Here I turned around and returned to the junction. The wind had blown the snow around, leaving bare sections, and exposed rocks and stones. I negotiated that section, then ski’d and walked down a slippery steep road to the creek (Bragg creek). Crossing over, I was now on the final section of road back to the car. Here were plenty of skiers out already, as well as some snow-shoers and hikers with their dogs. It was a pleasant glide back down the road to the car.
In the short time I had been on the trail, the car park had filled up, and weekend bedlam was well under way. It was still cold, perhaps around minus 14 degrees C, and people were well wrapped up. But the sun shone out of a cloudless sky.
I had found this Telephone connector trail quite fascinating, and look forward to returning in the summer to explore its northern section. In the meantime, it was time to leave Bragg Creek to the weekend crowd.
Statistics
West Bragg Creek Trails
Sat. 4 December
Total Dist. 4.0 km (’shoe) + 4.5 km (ski) = 8.5 km
Height Gain 660 ft.
Max. Elev. 5350 ft.
Time on trail 2 hrs. 37 mins.
Temperature Minus 16 degrees C
Not far west of the city, in the foothills west of Bragg Creek village, lie some very popular cross-country ski trails. On a sunny weekend in winter, these trails will fill up with skiers (and hikers with dogs running free) and bedlam will reign.
Looking through my various guidebooks, I noticed an intriguing trail which runs across some remote ridges, connecting the eastern and western legs of the Telephone Trail. Telephone is the longest and toughest of the Bragg Creek trails. A full circuit is over 15 km, into remote forested valleys. This short-cut would take me up to some viewpoints, and would cut off the long northern section of this trail.
Another cloudless morning, with an orange glow along the eastern horizon. As I set out from the car park, the sunlight was just starting to catch the tops of the trees. It was a cold morning, at around minus 16 degrees C, and so I was not surprised to be first on the trail today. I had my snow shoes on for this first leg, and carried my skis, strapped to my backpack.
Telephone Trail’s east leg starts at the car park. Climbing the hillside I soon turned left up the Hostel trail, on a long climb. Somewhere in the trees there used to be a Youth Hostel, but it burned down in 1984 and was never rebuilt. At the top of the hill the ski trail turned right, while I continued straight on, up the hill. This is where my unmarked route started. For some reason it has disappeared from all the trail signs. But somebody must know about it, as the path was beaten down by at least one pair of snow shoes and one set of skis.
The lower part of the trail, which used to be called “Ridge Trail”, was identified by some snow shoe signs nailed to the trees, but that trail soon veered down to the right. My trail, an old logging road, continued at a gradual angle up the forested hillsides, curving round to the right to a nice viewpoint. From here I could see part of the city of Calgary and the lower foothills to the east of Bragg Creek. This pleasant trail continued to climb, until I came to a high point, with good views west, to the bare, snowy ridges of Moose Mountain, 7995 ft.
The older guide books describe this trail as running through open cut-blocks. But over the years, the trees have started to grow back, and it is now mostly enclosed. Nevertheless, there are still some fine views to the west. I was glad to be able to follow the snow-shoer and the skier, as the route from here was not obvious. The trail started to angle downwards, swinging to the right. The scale of my map was a little misleading. Once again it reminded me how easy it is to get disoriented in the foothills, especially when the snow hides any sign of a trail.
In the end, I was on the right path, but I turned off it earlier than planned, and quickly joined the western leg of Telephone Trail just south of its high point, instead of about a kilometre or so further north. Here I swapped my snowshoes for my skis. Telephone Trail runs through a narrow valley. Several skiers had passed through here, but the trail had not been track-set. My light skis were not ideal for semi-off-trail conditions, but I stayed upright and soon came to the junction with Moose Loop.
Turning west, I immediately came out of the forest into a wide, sunny valley, below the high ridges of Moose Mountain. I ski’d along this open valley for a short while, until I reached a junction with a more tricky ski trail heading up into the trees. Here I turned around and returned to the junction. The wind had blown the snow around, leaving bare sections, and exposed rocks and stones. I negotiated that section, then ski’d and walked down a slippery steep road to the creek (Bragg creek). Crossing over, I was now on the final section of road back to the car. Here were plenty of skiers out already, as well as some snow-shoers and hikers with their dogs. It was a pleasant glide back down the road to the car.
In the short time I had been on the trail, the car park had filled up, and weekend bedlam was well under way. It was still cold, perhaps around minus 14 degrees C, and people were well wrapped up. But the sun shone out of a cloudless sky.
I had found this Telephone connector trail quite fascinating, and look forward to returning in the summer to explore its northern section. In the meantime, it was time to leave Bragg Creek to the weekend crowd.
Statistics
West Bragg Creek Trails
Sat. 4 December
Total Dist. 4.0 km (’shoe) + 4.5 km (ski) = 8.5 km
Height Gain 660 ft.
Max. Elev. 5350 ft.
Time on trail 2 hrs. 37 mins.
Temperature Minus 16 degrees C
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