Sunrise from Nose Hill

Sun.  10 February:  Nose Hill Sunrise

For some reason, I had never visited Nose Hill Park, in over thirty years since first coming to Calgary.  I had missed out on a gem. It doesn’t look like much, when seen from the city; just a low hill overlooking the northern end of Calgary.

Nose Hill is more than a bare grassy plateau.  There are a couple of wooded valleys on the east side, and an interesting southeastern summit area with an old quarry and nice treed pathways.  And of course, the views all around are superb.  West to the mountains, south across the city, east across to the airport and the flat prairies, and to the north the lines of houses which were halted in time to save Nose Hill.  This is a favorite place for people to walk their dogs on a weekend.  The stiff, short climb from the many access points around the perimeter of the hill probably puts some people off, but there are good pathways all over the plateau, and they are popular.  Today my MICROspikes were essential for most of the journey, especially on the steep sections at the start and end of the trip.

I was early enough to enjoy a spectacular sunrise, with an orange glow leading to a golden sun rising up from the flat prairie horizon.  Very soon the plateau was bathed in a warm morning sunlight – on a not so warm morning!

Statistics:

Total Distance:   9 km (hike)

Height Gain:         300 ft.

Max. Elev.:       4,040 ft.

Time on Trail:    2 hrs. 43 mins.

Start hike:           7.31 am

Ret. to car:        10.14 am

Start Temp:        minus 7 deg.C

Finish Temp:     minus 4 deg.C

Weather:           Cloudless, windless, slightest occasional breeze from NW