Bow Valley Wildland

Fri.  22 February:  Bow Valley Wildland: beneath the mountain wall

This trip had an unlikely trailhead – the local landfill site!  But this strange access led to a magical world of hidden valleys and icy lakes, blasted clear of snow by howling Chinook winds, and all beneath a mountain wall dominated by the distinctive cliffs of Yamnuska mountain.

I had no idea this secret world existed.  It was only thanks to the Kananaskis Blog website, with an article by Gillean Daffern, that I found out about it.  The Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park lies beneath the mountain wall to the north of the Trans-Canada Highway as you enter the mountains.

This hike took me up through the trees onto the lower slopes of the mountain wall.  I wandered off the trail to climb up to where I had a good view of an impressive icefall, which I would imagine should be a popular destination for ice climbers.  But perhaps they don’t know about it.  Dropping back into the well-named Hidden Valley, I strolled in an easterly direction through the three or four inches of new snow cover on a trail that was at times indistinct.  To my left was the mountain wall and ahead of me were the vertical cliffs of Yamnuska (Yam – the well known climbers’ mountain). 

The trail swung south and dropped down to a series of small lakes, each on a lower level than the next:  Crescent Lake, Hilltop Pond, Reed Lake.  These intriguing frozen lakes were being swept by the powerful Chinook winds which were blowing the snow off their surfaces, leaving bare ice, which reflected the low sunshine.  They were not smooth enough for skating, nor snow-free enough, but in slightly different circumstances they might become wonderful ice rinks, in a wild mountain setting.

I returned westwards along the forest trail with the wind racing through the trees and the sunshine breaking through the clouds.

I had seen the fleeting bodies of some deer racing away through the woods.  I didn’t see any other hikers out here. The wind was fierce as I made my way alongside the landfill fence-line, making it feel a lot colder than the plus three degrees.  Once again I wore my trusty MICROspikes all the way around. 

There are more lakes to explore in this secret world.  It’s worth a return trip on a warm summer’s day when the wind might be less violent!

Statistics:

Total Distance:   9.2 km (hike)

Height Gain:         500 ft.

Max. Elev.:       4,760 ft.

Time on Trail:    2 hrs. 59 mins.

Start hike:         10.56 am

Crescent L:      12.39 pm

Ret. to car:          1.55 pm

Start Temp:        + 1 deg.C

Finish Temp:     + 3 deg.C

Weather:           Howling Chinook winds, making it feel cold.  Chinook cloud, sun.