Re. Kananaskis Trails Blog: "Info on Kananaskis Country Roads and Logging"

Re. Kananaskis Trails Blog: "Info on Kananaskis Country Roads and Logging"
March 28, 2014

Just a few comments on the latest Kananaskis Trails blog titled:  "Info on Kananaskis Country Roads and Logging":

Gorge Creek Road:  I hiked up this road on October 13th (see my Blog posting) from the Sheep Valley junction to the barred gate, just to take a look at the damage.  There were only two places where the road had been damaged, one total washout about a kilometre from the start, and one partial damage high above the gorge, a little further up the road.  There was no other damage.  Here are some pictures:

Major damage, looking south

Closer view of the washout

Some interesting old pipes exposed by the floods

The second partial washout above the gorge

Highway 532:  On October 25 I biked up this road all the way from the Indian Graves campsite junction to the top of The Hump - actually I pushed my bike most of the way, enjoying a speedy return!  There was considerable damage right at the Indian Graves turnoff, although construction traffic was getting through on a temporary bypass.  The main area of damage was much further west just before the hairpin bend, where a single creek had destroyed the road in two places.  Repair work was well in hand even in late October and repairs to this road were probably largely completed before winter.  Here are some pictures:

Just west of Indian Graves, this creek washout had already been repaired

The road was busy with construction traffic

The major damage area, largely repaired already

This one small creek did all the damage

Lots of culverts to replace

The power of the floods

Damage at Indian Graves junction, looking west

Highway 40 at Lineham Creek:  I took a long bike ride up Highway 40 on October 5, all the way from the closed winter gate at Highwood Junction to the section of road below Nameless Ridge.  The one major area of damage was Lineham Creek, as these amazing pictures show:

Ominous barrier at Lineham Creek

Here the road has disappeared

Taking a careful look at the damage

The barriers survived!

Temporary bridge beside the missing road

Another view of the damage

Hog's Back:  Comment:  the best part of the Hog's Back trail is the bit where the trail narrows to an almost knife edge, but the ridge is mostly hidden in the trees at that point.  I can hardly imagine anyone trying to drive a road through that part, especially when there is a perfectly good access road running just north of the Hog'sBack, and over the ridge down into Quirk Creek.  I hope that this section remains untouched?  Maybe I am too hopeful?

The Passionate Hiker (more "Passionate" than "Hiker" over the past 3 months for reasons which will become clear soon).