Grass Pass: Bull Creek Hills

Sat. 28 April:  Grass Pass:  Bull Creek Hills

Never believe the weather forecast.  Or at least give it to the last moment to change its mind.  A couple of days ago, Saturday’s forecast called for rain, then it changed to cloud.  Finally on Friday night it showed sunny skies.  A quick call to J and we were set for today’s adventure.  Selection of destination was somewhat random.  We wanted to stay far enough east to take advantage of the more hikeable terrain.  Down in the Kananaskis Valley, for example, the snow was still deep on the mountainsides.  So we chose the Highwood Valley, and the familiar route up Grass Pass.  From there we would see if the Bull Creek Hills were snow-free.

It had cleared overnight, but the roads were still damp from the rains of the previous day.  The views westwards to the mountain wall were superb today.  We were first to arrive at the Sentinel parking area (gate still locked for the winter), but almost immediately we were joined by three carloads of kayakers out for a trip on the Highwood River.  We exchanged greetings and I asked them if they knew M – which they didn’t.  As they started to prepare for their river trip, J and I wished them luck on the water and then we strode off up the road with our snowshoes strapped to our backs.

The Grass Pass Trail is a favorite with hikers and horseback riders.  It was already snow-free in its lower sections where it climbs up the creek through the woods.  Unlike my last visit here, there was virtually no wind today.  This trail climbs to the low Pass before turning to the right up the open hillside towards the Bull Creek Hills above.  You don’t get a view of these hills until you are a few hundred vertical feet above the Pass, but then every footstep you take gives you more spectacular views backwards to the mountains.  Directly behind the Pass is Holy Cross Mountain, named for the rock strata on the east face which is shaped like a cross and holds the snow well into early summer.  Today the entire mountain was plastered with snow.

We came up onto a ridge, below the Bull Creek Hills.  The east side of the ridge held deep snow drifts, but our trail was snow free along the top of the ridge.  However,  we soon ran into deep snow.  The trail dropped down through the trees and here we were thankful for having brought our snowshoes along.  It was a short descent, ideal for snow shoes, and impossible without them.  Nevertheless, it was quite hard work to step through the snow.

Once down the slope, we continued on up the mountainside where we no longer needed the snowshoes.  This section of ridge gave good views down to Fir Creek and the Highwood River far below.  By this time we had done about as much as we wanted to for the day.  We were a couple of hundred feet below the summit ridge, and still a fair distance from the actual summit.  But here we had a superb vantage point west to the mountains, framed by rugged limber pines.  It felt warm, and so it was the ideal spot for our lunch break.

After a relaxing break, admiring the view, we returned down the hillside.  We successfully navigated the short snowy hillside, this time climbing up through the tracks we had made coming down through the trees.  After that, it was all downhill.

Instead of retuning down Grass Pass, we stayed up on Fir Creek Ridge, dropping down the wide, bare hillsides.  This was about as perfect as hiking gets: a warm breeze, lots of blue sky, sensational mountain views, sweeping grassy ridges.  Further along the ridge we came to the famous Boundary Pine.  This tree has survived for centuries, and makes a perfect setting for scenic mountain photo shots!  Further down the ridge we came across the “celebrated” Douglas fir, which has a big bend halfway up it – a perfect demonstration of the tearing winds which blow across these hills all year long.

We dropped down through the pretty hillsides all the way back down to the road far below.  By now it had really warmed up and we were rewarded by the first signs of Spring – the purple crocuses.  In fact, we have to take care not to step on these colorful wildflowers, respecting the fact that they had survived so far, and didn’t deserve to be squashed by a large hiking boot.

Back down at the road, it was a short stroll back to the car.  We stopped beside the Highwood River to admire the peaceful mountain scene.  The waters were starting to rise as the snow melted on the mountains, and already it might be a tricky crossing.  By this time a few other cars were also parked beside the gate, but we had only seen three other people on our route, and then only from a distance.

J and I do a good job of judging when we have done enough, and we got it right again today.  That’s the secret of hiking “beyond sixty”.

Post-script:  Statistics can drive a person to do strange things, and so tonight I just had to camp out, so that I could maintain one of this year’s goals to camp out in every month of the year from March to November.  This was my last chance to declare April a success.  So later this evening I headed out to the Elbow Valley where I thought that Gooseberry campsite was due to open today.  The website was wrong, as the site was not yet open, so instead I headed up into McLean Creek, which is open year round.  What a surprise!  The large campsite, with three of its four loops open, was jammed with campers.  This is well known as the centre for off-roaders, year round (snowmobiles in winter and quads or trail bikes in summer), and it seemed as if everyone was there tonight!  By good fortune I found a quiet corner and was soon fast asleep in the back of the car.  The advantage of a car over a tent is the spectacular view all round of green treetops, a bright moon and a sky full of stars.  I hardly noticed the loud revving of a bike engine nearby and the thumping of music late into the night.  When I awoke, the sun was up and silence had fallen across the campsite.  And I was able to declare another statistical success.

Statistics
Grass Pass/Bull Creek Hills
Sat. 28 April
Total Dist.	9.0 km (hike)  +   1.0 km (‘shoe) = 10.0 km
Height Gain	1,970 ft.
Max. Elev.	6,725 ft.
Time	5 hrs. 23 mins.

Other Stats.
Start hike:      8.20 am Grass Pass:    9.35 am High pt:        10.50 am Bdary Pine:  12.06 pm Ret. to car:     1.43 pm	Start Temp:    + 3 C Finish Temp:  + 12 C Thin cloud, increasing sunny spells.  Cool breeze.

A Change of Seasons

Sun. 22 April:  A Change of Seasons:  Pine Creek Trail

How suddenly the seasons change here.

Just a week ago I was wading through deep snow with my snowshoes.  Today I was strolling across bare hillsides wearing shorts!

With limited time available, what better place to go than the Cross Conservation Area, just south of the city?  I had imagined that, on such a fine Sunday afternoon, the place would be mobbed by visitors.  But it was not.  One reason might be that no dogs are allowed here, and so this eliminates some of the crowd.

My journey today took me in a clockwise direction around the perimeter of the Park.  This roughly nine kilometre route is called Pine Creek Trail.  It undulates across the low hillsides, then turns west to follow the gentle Pine Creek as it climbs up to the spectacular viewpoint on the western edge of the Park.  Turning east, it then dives back down into the woods, finally coming back to the start in a long circle.

After seeing a dozen or so hikers coming down the hill, I saw only two other small groups of people.  There was nobody else along the entire route.  Unlike my last visit, I saw no deer today, and just a few birds of prey soaring above the trees.  Apart from one small patch of snow the recent rain and warm temperatures made short work of the remaining drifts.  It was just a day or so too early for the wildflowers.  The landscape was of brown hillsides and bare trees.

I stopped at the west end viewpoint to admire the panorama of snowy peaks to the west, trying to name as many as I could.

It was warm work today.  Spring had arrived as if by the flick of a switch.

Statistics
Cross Conservation Area
Sun. 22 April
Total Dist.	9.0 km (hike)
Height Gain	600 ft.
Max. Elev.	4,270 ft.
Time	2 hrs. 15 mins.

Other Stats.
Start hike:      1.36 pm Barn Jn:        2.30 pm W Side:          3.01 pm Ret. to car:     3.51 pm	Start Temp:   +19 C Finish Temp:  +23 C Sunny, some clouds over mountains.  V. warm breeze.

Snowshoe Paradise

Sun. 15 April:  Deer Ridge

A snowshoe paradise – but only after an early struggle.  The observant reader may wonder why it took me four hours to cover about eight kilometres.  I would normally expect to average at least three km/hour.  The reason is that I spent the first hour trying to battle my way up a steep cutline covered with a deep layer of soft snow and a tangle of fallen trees.  I finally gave up and had to back-track up the “official” trail.  Despite this, my trip today turned out to be a great success.  My snowshoe journey took me up a tree-covered ridge, on trails covered by several inches of new snow.  It was a Narnia landscape of evergreens laden with heavy snow.  At the surprise viewpoint on the summit, the sun magically appeared out of a dull sky.  I had these hills to myself.

My original plan was to tackle the Eagle Ridge trail, starting from the Sibbald Lake campground.  J and I had planned a similar trip last year but were beaten back by high winds and swirling snow, which threatened to maroon us in the parking lot before we even had a chance to get out of the car.  Today there was not a breath of wind.

It had snowed the previous day, leaving a good four inches of new snow cover.  I broke trail the whole way round, although there was a faintest sign of a previous show-shoer’s tracks under the new snow cover.

Sibbald Lake is a pretty corner of the foothills.  There is a boys and girls camp called “Camp Adventure” across the other side of the lake.   Various trails start at the picnic area on the near side of the lake.  The latest Kananaskis Country Trail Guide (Vol. 2) has an accurate sketch of these trails as they wander up into the hills.  I decided to explore a lesser used trail which skirted the hillside lower down, then turned up the steep cutline. I soon ran into fallen trees and deep snow which did not hold my weight.  It became simply impossible to make progress, so I turned around and back to the main trail. 

This trail was easy to follow as I climbed to a high point then dropped back down to the cutline before swinging south to pick up the Eagle Hill trail.  The trees were covered by a heavy coating of new snow, and it was an enjoyable stroll through this wintery landscape.  Perhaps because the latest snowfall was so recent, there were few animal tracks on the path.  I followed the Eagle Hill trail until I reached the snow fence.  Here I decided not to continue up to Eagle Hill, but instead to explore the trail up onto Deer Ridge, making a handy circuit of about seven kilometres.

To reach the tree-covered ridge-top it was a simple matter of heading directly up an arrow-straight cutline (the same cutline I had been following all day).  The narrow path ran between rows of snow-plastered Christmas trees.  At the high point of the cutline, the trail turned left up onto the ridge.  From hereon, my route was easy to follow, and increasingly exciting as I followed the path as it climbed the ridgeline in the trees.  I stopped for a snack at the first summit, where I had slight glimpses of the surrounding hillsides.  The cloud hid the horizon. 

Continuing in an easterly direction along the undulating tree-covered ridge, I came to a junction where a horse-rail lay broken beneath a fallen tree.  The side path led up onto a magical rocky outcrop above a steep cliff, with spectacular views down to Sibbald Creek to the hidden mountains.  The snow was untouched on the rocks and the trees.  It felt like an act of vandalism to be tromping through this natural paradise in my large snowshoes.  And now the sun came out, bathing the scene in its bright light.   After enjoying the views I turned around and headed back down to the junction, before continuing eastwards down the ridgeline to the valley below.

In the valley was another pretty lake and a meadow with a First Nations prayer circle made of tree branches festooned with colorful pieces of cloth.  From here it was a short contour of the final hillside and back to the car.

This had been the perfect trail for snow shoeing.  To have this pretty ridge all to myself was a special delight – and then to have the sun miraculously come out from behind the cloud, shining on the newly-fallen snow, made this an adventure into an unexpected paradise.

Statistics
Deer Ridge
Sun. 15 April
Total Dist.	8.0 km (‘shoe)
Height Gain	850 ft.
Max. Elev.	5,570 ft.
Time	4 hrs. 5 mins.

Other Stats.
Start hike:      7.56 am Gate:            10.00 am 1st Top:        11.02 am 2nd Top:      11.21 am Ret. to car:   12.13 pm	Start Temp:   - 6 deg.C Finish Temp: -1 deg.C Thin cloud, sunny breaks at summit, no wind

Up in the Snow: the Coyote Hills

Sun. 8 April:  The Coyote Hills

An Easter Day snowshoe adventure, into country I had not explored for almost three decades.  It was in April 1983 that I wandered up into the Coyote Hills on a random route, finally reaching the summit by climbing precipitous avalanche-prone slopes, sinking two feet into the snow at every step.

Today there was still a lot of snow on these hills, and I wore my snowshoes the whole way.  Although I did not make the summit ridge this time, it was a worthwhile adventure, if only for the stunning mountain views under a cloudless dark blue sky.

The trip started from the Forestry Trunk Road, just over three kilometres south of Highwood Junction, beyond the Baril Creek bridge.  Over the years I had passed this spot on many occasions, each time wondering if the Baril Creek trailhead would be easy to spot.  There was no sign of anyone having been here since the recent snowfalls, and so I only found the trail after an initial climb up the forested hillside and a traverse through the trees.  Here I met what was clearly a trail heading west up Baril Creek.  After less than a kilometre I dropped down to the creek, and crossed easily enough to the northern side where I picked up an old trail.  Climbing the bank, I came across some footprints in the snow, which led to a nice campsite in the trees.  These people had been here recently, but had not ventured any further into the valley.  I saw no other signs of people all day.

My planned route was to head directly up to a first hilltop, then a second higher top, before tackling the

summit ridge.  The first hill was easy enough to reach, with the snow firm under my snowshoes, albeit steep at times.  The lower parts of this hill were snow-free, but the top was still snow-covered.  From here the views were already very good, both up Baril Creek to Baril Peak (9,837 ft.) and east to the Highwood range.  Several larger and smaller creatures had left their tracks in the snow, heading in various directions.  I left my own tracks across the hillside.

Now to reach the second hilltop I had to climb through the trees on a steep slope.  Soon I found myself sinking in two feet of snow.  If you want a good workout, try climbing a steep slope in snowshoes where at every step you sink deep into the snow.  I found a way to reach the top by taking a diagonal route up the slope, not trying to head straight up it.  Finally, quite exhausted, I came up over the steep ridge and followed the now gentle slope to the open hilltop, dotted with trees.

To my west the summit ridge of the Coyote Hills rose high above me.  The approach would require me to drop down to a col, then climb very steeply up snow-packed slopes to the cornice-lined ridge-top.  I knew this would be more than I could manage today.  So instead I sat on a handy tree branch and admired the views all round.  To the north, the jagged outline of Mist Mountain (10,297 ft.) filled the horizon.  To the south I could see snow-plastered Plateau Mountain shining in the sun.  This was well worth the effort, and I did not feel disappointed not to have reached the summit.  It looked avalanche-prone and very steep.  At least that was my excuse, although twenty nine years after my last successful attempt at these hills, I may have lost a little bit of that limitless energy I once had.

I returned the way I had come.  From below, my tracks were visible high above me in the snow.  My trip back to the car was uneventful.  It seems that Baril Creek is not often travelled in winter, although it is supposed to be a recognized snowmobile route to the Continental Divide around Fording Pass. 

I was in no hurry as I made my way back along the Highwood Valley, stopping to take yet more pictures to add to my collection of scenery shots that nobody will ever want to see!   

  

Statistics
The Coyote Hills
Sun. 8 April
Total Dist.	6.0 km (‘shoe)
Height Gain	940 ft.
Max. Elev.	6,188 ft.
Time	3 hrs. 1 min.

Other Stats.
Start hike:      7.56 am Top:               9.35 am Ret. to car:   10.57 am	Start Temp:   - 6 deg.C Finish Temp: +1 deg.C Cloudless, a few very scattered clouds later.  No wind.