Around the Valley

Sat. 13 October:  Old Baldy

It was just too tempting not to take this picture.  Even if it might reveal the author’s identity! 

For some reason (probably not a good one) there are two mountains in the same valley with the Baldy name.  There is Baldy Mountain, and then not far to the south there is Old Baldy.  They are not connected, and in character are very different.  Baldy Mountain is a challenging narrow ridge walk, whereas Old Baldy is a high, flat plateau.

 I had arrived in the Kananaskis Valley the previous evening, camping at the only campsite now open in the valley.  Mt. Kidd RV resort is well appointed, with electrical hookups and a large visitor centre with showers and lounge.  It was almost full this weekend.  Warm Chinook winds were gusting through the campsite all weekend, making it a very pleasant two days of camping.  People were sitting out around their campfires and generally enjoying the continued good weather.

Old Baldy trailhead is just a couple of kilometres from the campsite, at Evan-Thomas Creek.  A wide fire road leads eastwards through the forests beside the wide creek.  The narrow Old Baldy trail branches off to the left, climbing up a smaller side creek.  The official trail follows this creek the whole way up into the “inside” of the mountain.  It’s actually quite exciting to see how on the map it winds into the heart of the mountains.  From that point, the trail climbs up onto the ridge connecting Old Baldy with the Fisher Range mountain chain.

Not that I followed this route.  About a kilometre up the creek, I saw some red flagging, and a side trail branched off to the left.  It paralleled the main trail, climbing up the left hand side of the creek.  I thought this might just be an alternate creek route, expecting the trail to reconnect higher up.  But all of a sudden, this side trail took off up the steep hillsides, then turned west up onto the south ridge of Old Baldy, high above the creek.  This trail does not show on any map.  It is clearly in use, with new trees cut along the trail, and no obstructions.  Perhaps it was created by the horse riders from Boundary Ranch, in the valley below.

This trail proved to be a fascinating route to the summit, far above.  The east side of the south ridge consists of a series of cliffs, and the trail follows the cliff tops, providing a spectacular route for the hiker.  Higher up, I passed through an area of blackened tree trunks where a huge fire had swept through, not many years ago.  The damage was much worse on the mountainsides to the east of the creek, but it must have crossed the creek and started some fires on Old Baldy.

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Above this zone I came to a steep scree slope made up of rocks perfectly designed to break a leg or twist an ankle.  Then above the scree it was back into the forest.  A curving line of cliffs rose towards the summit.  Soon the ground flattened off and I crossed a wide, tree-covered plateau, with about four inches of snow on it.  The views ahead started to open up.    Beyond this plateau was the final climb onto the bare, flat summit of Old Baldy, over 2,800 vertical feet above the valley floor.

Here the wind was colder, blowing across the ridge top, which had a light snow cover.  The views all round were spectacular, particularly directly to the east to Mt. McDougall (8,859 ft.), seen from the edge of an impressive snow-plastered curving ridgeline.    Below me to the west was the Kananaskis Valley, with Mt. Kidd dominating the scene, and the Kananaskis Village below.  The Nakiska ski slopes and Mt. Allan were also dominant.  A small rainbow arced above Ribbon Creek.  The snowy mountains further south were partly hidden in the swirling cloud.

The summit was an almost flat rounded hill, with no cairn.  This narrowed down to a thin northern ridge.  From this ridge, the western slopes dropped steeply down to the floor of the Kananaskis Valley. 

After a short break to admire the view, ranging from wintry snow-covered slopes to an operating golf course far below, I made my way down off the ridge.  The upper slopes were steep slippery grass hiding a layer of broken rock.  I used my MICROspikes to give me more traction.  This escape route off the mountain followed a steep gulley which plunged down the mountainside.  It required careful navigation through rocks and grass.  

Somewhere along the way I saw clear evidence of bears.  New diggings and a nice footprint in the snow told of a recent visit by a medium sized bear.

Further down the mountain, a faint trail emerged, which I carefully followed all the way through the forests until I came out on a rough road above the Boundary ranch.  As I came out at a junction, I met a horse-drawn wagon taking a coach party on a trip through the woods.  Soon I was out on the Kananaskis Highway.

From here to the car it was a two kilometre hike beside the road or in the trees, past the golf course entrance and back to Evan-Thomas Creek.  Looking back up the ridge, the descent route looked vertical!  Thank heavens I was coming down and not going up that trail!

It was time to return to the campsite and to relax in front of a nice fire as the warm wind swirled and gusted through the trees all evening and all through the night.  

Statistics
Old Baldy
Sat. 13 October
Total Dist.	12 km (hike)
Height Gain	2,830 ft.
Max. Elev.	7,830 ft.
Time	5 hrs. 42 mins.

Other Stats.
Dep. car:        8.30 am Ridge Jn:       9.15 am Summit:       11.30 am Hwy 40:         1.40 pm Ret. to car:     2.12 pm	Temp: + 8C to + 12C Mix of sun and cloud, cool breeze on summit. Some snow under foot at top.

Sun. 14 October:  Valley Circuit

My plan today was to make a circuit of the central part of the Kananaskis Valley, making use of the great trails and paved bike paths which start at the Kananaskis Village.

A brief, spectacular red sunrise heralded another blustery day.  A few specks of rain were being hurled across the Rockies, but they never amounted to anything.

It is a short drive south down the valley from Mt. Kidd RV park to Galatea Creek parking area.  Judging by the number of vehicles in the car park, the Lillian Lake campsite must be full this weekend.  I hid my bike in the trees, then drove north up the valley to the Kananaskis Village, where I parked the car.

Terrace Trail starts right in the village, and traverses the lower slopes of Mt. Kidd, high enough above the valley to give some great views.  It is about eight kilometres from the village back to Galatea Creek.  The northern section of the trail is more open, with good viewpoints over the golf course to Old Baldy across the valley.  A strong wind was blowing as I left the car park.  One gust blew my baseball cap right off my head.  This was the sort of “exciting” weather that I recall from hikes in Scotland.  The wind is blowing, the trees are swaying, clouds zoom across the sky, flecks of rain blow into my face.  Everything was “alive” today.

This was a great hiking trail.  Not too much climbing, a towering mountainside directly above me, and an amphitheatre of snowy peaks all around.  I had a good opportunity to view my route of yesterday, up and down Old Baldy.  The true size of that mountain was hidden by the soaring peaks which rose behind it.  I met just one early biker along the trail.  I am sure that this would be a busy place on a summer afternoon.  There was one particularly impressive gulley that I had to cross.  This rocky gash, which drops down from the heights of Mt. Kidd, would be filled with avalanches in winter and raging water in Spring.  Luckily it was dry today.  The mountain rose thousands of feet up into the cloud.  The scene was made perfect by a few scattered trees which today were quickly losing their last golden leaves.

At the Galatea Creek junction I met a huge crowd of noisy kids being shepherded up the mountain trail, and in the process almost knocking me off the path.  The Galatea Creek trail is jammed most weekends in summer, and needs an early start to avoid the worst of the crowds.

The return journey was an enjoyable bike ride, first on road to Wedge Pond, then on the almost deserted Bill Milne paved bike path all the way back to the Kananaskis Village.  The strong wind was at my back, but the heavy mountain bike still needed pedaling!  Wedge Pond is a pretty lake set beneath the mountains, with one lakeside tree in its finest yellow/orange color.

It didn’t take me long to whizz down the often dead straight path, empty apart from a handful of scattered travelers.  The final hill back up to the village climbs in gentle curves with official “rest stops” at every bend, with benches where you can sit and catch your breath. 

It was close to noon by the time I returned to the car, and so I raced back to the campsite to pack up the trailer and head for home.  Most campers had already left and it looked a little deserted.  But it’s open all year round, and judging by this weekend’s crowd, you will find hardy folks sitting round campfires here even in the depths of winter.  I might try it out again in December (or I might not!).

Statistics
Valley Circuit
Sat. 13 October
Total Dist.	8.0 km (hike) + 15.0 km (bike) = 23.0 km
Height Gain	490 ft.
Max. Elev.	5,250 ft.
Time	3 hrs. 16 mins.

Other Stats.
Dep. car:        8.50 am Galatea:       10.33 am Kovach:        11.35 am Ret. to car:   12.06 pm	Temp: + 9C to + 12C Blustery, light sprinkles, mostly cloudy, very warm

Statistics
Weekend Summary
13/14 October
Total Dist.	20 km (hike) + 15 km (bike) = 35 km
Height Gain	3,320 ft.
Max. Elev.	7,830 ft.
Time	8 hrs. 58 mins.