Rawson Ridge

Sat. 29 September:  Rawson Ridge

The long summer continues - even close to 8,000 feet above sea level, where the scattered larches were already past their best color.

It had been over a month since J, R and I did our last hike together.  Today we chose a popular corner of Kananaskis Country, but with a new view for us of the Kananaskis Lakes.

This was a journey in two parts.  The first section of 1,000 vertical feet took us up a forested switchback trail to Rawson Lake.  The second continued for another 1,200 vertical feet up a steep open hillside to a spectacular ridge overlooking the Upper Kananaskis Lake.

We knew it would be busy up here today, so were on the trail close to 8.30 a.m. just ahead of two young anglers who soon overtook us.  When we arrived at Rawson Lake, there were two other guys fishing for trout, along the rocky edge of the lake.  Rawson Lake’s setting is spectacular.  The towering wall of Mt. Sarrail (10,413 ft.), with its snow patches, and remnants of a small glacier, dominates the backdrop to the lake.

A sign reminded us that this is home to grizzlies, but a careful scan with my binoculars confirmed that the coast was clear.  So we continued to the end of the lake, where our angler friends had already caught a good size trout and were releasing it back into the lake.  The reflections of the mountains were magical.

From here the path headed steeply up the hillside to the ridge high above us.  This was a well used trail, as we would discover later in the day.  A couple of short sections were very steep, and required us to make use of handy bushes to pull us up over the rocks.  Higher up, the trail followed a steep grassy draw. 

The path ends abruptly at a col, with precipitous drops down the other side.  Here was the grand view we had been promised.  The beautiful Kananaskis Lakes were spread out below us, with a backdrop of magnificent mountains and one enormous glacier far off to the northwest.  On each side of the col, tempting buttresses of rock drew us upwards to even better viewpoints.  An occasional larch, still shining golden in the sun, made for good photos.  We were soon joined by a party of five kids, dad and two dogs.  They had done well to reach this point.

We spotted several mountain goats on the cliff walls of the Great Divide high above us.  They had thick white coats and were quietly hopping around on the cliffs (as you would expect them to do).  Up on the mountain wall was a large cave, which perhaps they use as a shelter.  For humans, it would require climbing skills to reach the cave.

We were reluctant to leave such a spectacular viewpoint.  I deliberately sat right on the very edge of a huge cliff, with my feet sticking over into the void.

On our steep descent to Rawson Lake, we met twenty or more assorted people struggling up the path, including a young mother and her two tiny kids.  Down at the end of the lake, it was a busy scene.  On the green grass, beside a large snowdrift by the lake, small groups of people were relaxing in the shaft of sunshine which lit up the scene like a movie set. 

From here on, we were never alone for long, with a steady procession of people heading up to the lake.  Many had foreign accents, and some were dressed ready for the beach, but making good progress up the switchback trail through the forest.  By the time we reached the crowded car park we had just about given up greeting all our fellow hikers.  A huge Indian picnic party was enjoying the ridiculously warm sunny afternoon, beside the spectacular Upper Kananaskis Lake.

For J, R and myself, we had done enough for one day, and were happy to enjoy another spectacular drive up through the colorful Kananaskis valley and back to the city.  The clouds had been clearing away all day, and in Calgary it was a beautiful sunny afternoon.  How much longer can this amazing hiking season last?

Statistics
Rawson Ridge
Sat. 29 September
Total Dist.	10.6 km (hike)
Height Gain	2,200 ft.
Max. Elev.	7,850 ft.
Time	6 hrs. 33 mins.

Other Stats.
Dep. car:        8.37 am Lake:              9.58 am Far end:       10.32 am Arr. Ridge:   11.37 am Dep. Ridge:  12.50 pm Lake:             1.41 pm Ret. to car:     3.10 pm	Temp: + 10C to + 15C Cloud, sun, warm, no wind.  Gradually clearing. To lake:       1,000 ft. Lake-Ridge: 1,200 ft.