In the Highwood

 Tues. 27 May:  In the Highwood

Final trip to the Highwood on a perfect day.  First a bike ride beyond the closed winter gate at Highwood Junction as far as Lineham Creek.  A few white tailed deer but no other people except for a maintenance truck at Cat Creek bridge on my return. 

Followed by a short stroll up the enticing ridge directly beside the Kananaskis Country flags below the Bull Creek Hills, down to the saddle above Marsden Creek, then back down the main trail to the car.  The photos will tell the story.

Statistics:

Total Distance: x.0 km (bike) + x.0 km (hike)

= x.0 km

Height Gain:       x ft.

Max. Elev.:        x  ft.

Time on Trail:    5 hrs. 5 mins.

Start bike:           7.25 am

Lineham Creek:  9.30 am

Ret. to car:         11.29 am

Start hike:          12.00 am

Ret. to car:           1.01 pm

Temp:               +7 C to +16C

Weather:           Cloudless, a few clouds start to build later, cool earlier in day

Heading west beyond the winter gate at Highwood Junction

Dramatic roadscapes (Mist Mountain)

Lots of birds - wish I was a (better) ornithologist

Beside the Highwood River at Cat Creek:  Elk Range

On the open road (closed to traffic until June 15th)

Several white tailed deer along the way

Mist Mountain (10,302 ft.)

Lineham Creek flood damage from June 2013

Lineham Creek - a lively flow under the damaged road

The temporary diversion at Lineham Creek

The Highwood Valley: View SE from the ridge above the Kananaskis flags

Finally the wildflowers are blooming in abundance

The Bull Creek Hills

Stunning views to the west

The entry into Paradise

Bonus

 Sat. 24 May:  Hikes from the Ware Creek road

The Passionate Hiker has slipped back into Alberta for a couple of weeks, and so (of course) an adventure was quickly planned.  Today’s short trip took him, along with his two long-time hiking colleagues, J and R, up onto the hillsides and ridges above the Ware Creek road.  First Mesa Butte (Deaths Head) via North Fork Trail and back along the ridge, then along an unnamed ridge on the south side of the road in search of remote geocache sites.

The pictures tell the story of another highly enjoyable hike, and perhaps the last one for the three of us together.

Statistics:

Total Distance:  About 7 km (hike)

Height Gain:       About 800 ft.

Max. Elev.:        tba ft.

Time on Trail:     4 hrs. 13 mins.

Dep. car:             8.30 am

Deaths Head:    10.01 am

Ret. to car:         11.36 am

Start 2nd ridge:  11.53 am

Ret. to car:          1.00 pm

Temp:               +11 to +16 C

Weather:           Sunny, clouds building during the morning

North Fork Trail

Very long distance shot of a noisy eagle

View west to Ware Creek and Front Ranges

Climbing Deaths Head - recent bear scratchings

Deaths Head summit

A few small pockets of snow remain on the ridge

Summit profile:  looking east

Clouds building up

Quirk Creek gas plant

Contrasting view west to Front Ranges

Heading south along Deaths Head ridge

Mesa Butte 

On the unnamed ridge to the south of the road

Ware Creek bridge

Discovery of a well-hidden geocache

Hey Presto!  It's disappeared!!

......and Far Away!!

A Change of Scene

Just a note to my millions of followers (or to my follower...... if I have one??):

The Passionate Hiker now resides a long way East of the Canadian Rockies.  But this doesn't mean that he will no longer be hiking passionately across the Canadian landscape.  Stand by for future tales of adventure on the hiking trails of Eastern Ontario and beyond.

Here is my first new-found friend, who met me on a lonely side road yesterday.  He (or she) measured about a foot from front to back:

There is plenty of beautiful country just outside my front door as these three pictures will show:

Daffodils blooming all around

Perth, Ontario

The River Tay as it surges through Stewart Park in Perth

More to come once I have settled in.

The Passionate Hiker
May 4th, 2014