Pocaterra Ridge

Sat. 25 August:  Pocaterra Ridge

Early-start mountain!  It seemed that, despite being on the trail before 7.45 a.m., we were almost the last people on Pocaterra Ridge today.

Setting off from the Highwood Pass parking lot, J, R and I were just ahead of two hikers who were on their way up Grizzly Col.  Our paths coincided for the first couple of kilometres, before they turned left up the steep mountainside.  It was a cold morning, at zero degrees, and there was a light snowfall on the mountainsides as well as on sections of the trail.  This route starts at over 7,200 feet, from the summit of the highest paved highway in Canada, and so the chilly temperatures and the snow were not surprising, especially after the heavy rains in Calgary the day before.

At the trailhead, a notice asked hikers to keep an eye out for a missing hiker, who had gone missing on this trail a year ago.  Nobody knows what happened to the 59 year-old Aussie.  The first section of trail dives into the forests, and perhaps he immediately went astray.  There are several trails wandering through the trees, some a bit vague.  We picked one of the lesser used options.  Coming out of the trees, we contoured around Pocaterra Cirque, below the steep sides of Grizzly Peak and Tyrwhitt Mountain (9,429 ft.).  

Our trail was heading towards the mountain wall ahead of us, through some of the prettiest alpine meadows you could imagine.  The bright green grass was covered by a light snowfall, and frozen wildflowers had not yet given up the fight for survival.  We passed beside a small lake, with perfect reflections of the mountain wall.  Coming out into the sunshine, we reached the foot of the Pocaterra Ridge, separated from our trail by a curving frozen river of snow, sweeping around the corner from the hidden heights of Little Highwood Pass.

Once on the ridge, the going was straightforward, if steep, all the way to the summit.  Open slopes gave increasingly superb views of the stunning scenery around the Highwood Pass.  Directly to our left, the ridge dropped down to the narrow Little Highwood Pass route, with the Elk Range cliffs immediately behind.  At our backs, to the south, was Grizzly Col, which looked far too steep to hike up - but there were our hiking friends already standing at the top, tiny dots on the high horizon. 

We stopped to admire an eagle soaring effortlessly up the mountainsides on invisible currents of air, with perhaps just an occasional lazy flap of its wings.  To our surprise we saw two groups of hikers far ahead of us up the slopes.  Being an early starter, I rarely find anyone ahead of me.  These people were REALLY early starters!  We never did catch up with them.

The summit of Pocaterra Ridge presented a suddenly breathtaking view northwards of mountain scenery of the highest order. This narrow snow-brushed mountain top is, at 8,750 feet, the highest point on Pocaterra Ridge.  The guidebook gives it the unromantic name of “Peak 4”, since for hikers starting at the other end, it is the fourth of a series of independent peaks along this rugged ridgeline.  Our route today took us in a northerly direction up and down this switchback, paralleling the Highwood Pass road far below us to the right.  To our left was the bare Rockfall Valley, leading down from Little Highwood Pass, underneath the mountain wall to our west.  A more spectacular place to stand would be hard to imagine.

As we walked along the summit ridge, we were even more surprised to meet three guys who had already traversed the whole ridge from the north side. They must have started way before dawn.  What was it about this ridge that drew such early birds?

The next four hours were a delight, and occasionally a minor challenge.  We steadily made our way up and down the ridge, making sure not to miss each summit along the way.  The finest views were perhaps eastwards to the Elbow Valley and the blue waters of Elbow Lake nestled in its steep-sided valley.  Between Peaks 2 and 1 the trail dives into a larch forest, which must be a colorful place in late September. 

By now it had warmed up a little.  Earlier, the occasional sharp wind had us scurrying to put our jackets on.  Peak 1 (our final peak) was an attractive rounded grassy summit, with fabulous views of the mountains immediately to the north, and west to the Spray Valley.  Far below us was our parking lot. 

Dropping steeply down off the open ridge, we entered the forest and followed the narrow trail as it plunged down and down to the valley floor far below.  For some reason, the guide book describes this route in the reverse direction from ours, which adds at least 1,000 feet to an already strenuous outing.  This long steep ridge would not be a good start to a day.  Apparently, not many years ago, hikers used to have to bushwhack up here, which defies the imagination.

At last we came out onto the forested valley floor, found a handy log spanning the creek, and were soon back out onto the highway, just a few metres from the Valleyview parking area.  Here, at the start of the day, we had left one car, before driving in the other vehicle up to the Highwood summit where our hike had started.  It was a simple drive the eight or so kilometres back up the Pass.  Near the top, a large herd of bighorn sheep was standing in the middle of the road, not the least inclined to heed passing vehicles – and of course this is exactly what the tourists have come to see anyway.  It was a busy scene at the summit of the Pass.

We completed our circuit by driving back to Calgary down the Highwood Valley, stopping in the sunshine at Cat Creek for a slice of melon, as is the occasional custom.  Last week, R and I had been almost certain that our hike up Snow Peak could not be surpassed.  Having declared today’s trip the best ever ridge hike, we had found a way to beat, or at least equal, the best!  Now where do we go from here?

Statistics
Pocaterra Ridge
Sat. 25 August
Total Dist.	8.9 km (hike)
Height Gain	2,100 ft.
Max. Elev.	8,750 ft.
Time	7 hrs. 20 mins.

Other Stats.
Start:             7.44 am Peak 4:         10.24 am Peak 3:         11.30 am Peak 2:         12.40 pm Peak 1:          1.55 pm Car:               3.04 pm	Temp:  0 to +17 C Cloudless, cool wind at times Car locations:  Start (Highwood Pass:  7,230 ft.) is 1000 ft. higher than end (Valleyview)