Deer Ridge Discoveries

Sat. 26 October:  Deer Ridge Discoveries

Early signs of weather change - snow tomorrow

The last time I came here it was on snowshoes.  Within twenty four hours I would have needed snowshoes again, but today was a warm, sunny day, ideal for a stroll through the woods and along the ridges of Sibbald Creek.

This might have been the easiest trip that my two trusty hiking colleagues J and R and I had ever done together in thirty years.  Between the three of us we have conquered Mt. Temple, Mist Mountain, the Great Divide above Three Isle Lake, and many other grand adventures.  Today we settled for a stroll along Deer Ridge.

Gusts of wind were whipping through the car park at Sibbald Lake.  J and I recalled our previous attempt at a winter hike here, when we just escaped being drifted in by wild winds.  It was not so wild today.  Our route took us clockwise past Moose Pond, and up onto the ridge, then back down and around the lower section of Eagle Hill trail, over the hill to Sibbald Lake in an enjoyable circuit.  The trail was good, especially over Deer Ridge.

From the trail up the ridge we had spectacular views southeast to Moose Mountain and south to Cox Hill.  Our views west were obstructed by the high forested Hunchback Hills.  From the eastern summit of the ridge, on a rocky outcrop, we could see northwest to Yamnuska and the Front Ranges, with the Sibbald Creek road threading its way through the hills into the Kananaskis Valley.

While this was a pleasant stroll through the woods, our minds were largely focused on GPS coordinates as we sought out the many geocache sites along the way.  J happily told us that there were five hundred of them in the general area of Sibbald Creek.  In the end, we found ten sites on our particular route.  Some of these little treasure boxes were hidden under fallen trees, others hidden inside the branches of fir trees, or in tree stumps.  One was even hidden up a tree tied to a branch, disguised as a tiny fake rock!  We found them all.  They all had names, such as:  “A hike up a hill”, “Backside of the loop”, and “Halfway out of the dark”.  One day I will write a story of my geocaching exploits.  In the meantime, I will just say that, for those not in a hurry to get anywhere particular, geocache hikes are a very good way of achieving your goal!

I should perhaps win an award for the most pointless escapade of my hiking year for my efforts in the Windy Hills the previous day.  Up on the high ridges I went in search of geocache sites without a GPS.  It seemed to me that the ridge top, with its gnarly trees clinging to the rocks, was an ideal place to have a cache site, and so I went looking for one.  I soon found that there’s a reason it’s called geocaching.  After an enjoyable half hour of searching the ridge, I came up with about a hundred ideal sites and no treasure.

Our stroll today took us over the hill above Sibbald Lake and back to the lakeside, where we relaxed in the warm sunshine at a picnic table.  There were a few people out on the trails and beside the lake enjoying the last of the Indian Summer. 

Earlier, as I was half way up a tree replacing the cache, a family of mom, dad, two young kids and a dog stopped to ask if there was something to see up the tree.  We replied that we were just geocaching.  Both parents looked blank, but the little daughter, perhaps six or seven, brightly replied: “Yes, geocaching, you do that with a GPS!”.  Their parents looked a little surprised as they moved off up the trail.  I have no idea whether this game will ever catch on with hikers, but perhaps it should.

Statistics:

Total Distance:     8.5 km (hike)

Height Gain:          1,300 ft.

Max. Elev.:            5,570 ft.

Time on Trail:       4 hrs. 00 mins.

Dep. car:              9.14 am

E. Summit:          10.22 am

Eagle Ridge Jn:   11.31 am

Sibbald L:            12.48 pm

Ret. to car:            1.14 pm

Temp:               +4 to + 16 deg.C

Weather:           Sunny, cloud bands blowing in on the NW wind

Setting out from Sibbald Lake.   Cox Hill in background

Notice the deer at the right, by the woods

Moose Pond and Eagle Ridge behind

Moose Mountain from lower slopes of Deer Ridge

On Deer Ridge east summit

Descending from east summit.  Front Ranges in distance.

Aspen grove

Sibbald Lake

Most colorful geocache of the day!