The Passionate Hiker: August 2019

TOP TEN (2)

More than three decades ago, between 1983 and 1987 the Passionate Hiker was busy setting the foundations for his career, and his family, in Alberta, but it didn't stop him from going on a number of exciting adventures in the Canadian Rockies.

Here is the second of his selected "Top Ten" trips during that time frame. The narrative comes from his diaries, written at the time. Several of the photos come from the original negatives and have never been printed before. He is also grateful to his long-time hiking colleague John M for many photos used in this blog. Thanks again, John.

SAT. 16^TH JUNE 1984:

ROOM WITH A VIEW

Background to this Story:

Four of the five hikers from my Top Ten (1) adventure gathered one weekend in Calgary. The idea of climbing up to a remote, abandoned fire lookout on the summit of a steep mountain on the east side of Banff National Park appealed to our sense of adventure, and it did not disappoint. Just getting to the trailhead was an adventure, along rough roads and down a steep hill into a river valley. Here is the story.

Our route: 3000 vertical feet from the valley floor

My Diary:

No, this story title doesn’t refer to the living room of my 27^th floor apartment – which is certainly a room with a view! Looking west, in the gaps between the tall skyscrapers of downtown Calgary, one has a magnificent panorama of the snow-covered wall of the Rocky Mountains.

Dave T and John M have camped out at my place and we collect Roger H before setting off for the mountains at 6.30 a.m.

Our hike was inspired by a recent article in Canada’s ‘Explore’ magazine on Alberta’s fire lookouts. We chose Black Rock Lookout, located about 60 km NW of Cochrane, via the forestry trunk road and finally west on the Ghost River valley ‘road’. We had taken the precaution of using Dave’s truck – squeezing in 4-abreast. The road takes a dive down a hill into the Ghost Valley – a rough steep drop, but amazing to relate we find a car and a large bus at the bottom!

Above us, all round, are mountains – Phantom Crag, Devil’s Head and – looking intimidating – Black Rock, rising to a rocky point exactly 3,000 feet vertically above where we stand.

We find a likely trail up into the forest. Soon find a ‘lectern’ inside of which is a book. It’s a hikers’ log book – find we’re first up here for 10 days or so. Somebody wrote: “were beaten back by blizzards”! So we’re on the right track, more by luck. A little further up we have luck in choosing the less obvious route which branches left. Make well planned zig-zags to gain height easily. Finally come out of the trees to find a huge bare cliff staring down at us. Skirt left then up again. Scramble up a scree slope on a path that squeezes up a gulley, to a grassy ‘meadow’ that leads to the final steep-sided rocky bastion and the narrow summit, on top of which perches the tiny lookout.

This final zig-zag pull to the summit reminds me of Ben Nevis, and the surface is similar. It’s the last five or six hundred feet that make a Munro [name for all Scottish peaks over 3,000 ft. above sea level] special.

It’s a very battered looking old lookout hut, held onto the summit by strong wires. A superb 360° all round view. Westwards the Canadian Rockies, with the distinctive Devil’s Head in the foreground. The wind blows strongly. We enjoy our lunch – my famed melon makes its appearance once more!

Whizz down the scree slopes, half sliding. Stormy showers had been spreading out over the prairies but hadn’t touched us – wet Calgary streets greet us.

STATISTICS:

Summit Elev. = 8,078 ft.

Height Gain = 3,028 ft.

Hike Distance = 11 km

Time to Top * = 2 hrs.

*from hikers’ log-book stand