Snow-shoe Country

Sat. 26 March:  Upper Kananaskis Lake

If it’s foggy or snowy in Calgary, you can bet that it’s different in the mountains.  Today proved the point.  It was a miserable misty morning in the city, with light snow falling, but down at the Kananaskis Lakes, the sun was shining.

Nevertheless, winter was still in full force down there, with huge accumulations of snow everywhere, and the lakes frozen over and snow-covered.  People were still enjoying ideal conditions on the ski hills and on the cross-country ski trails.  Today J and I had decided to try a snow shoe trip around the Upper Lake.  Although we did not succeed, we had an awesome day snow-shoeing beneath the Great Divide.

We ended up doing two separate trips, the first along the south side of the Upper Lake, and the second trip above the  northern shore.  The lake is ringed by gigantic snowy mountains.  The southern skyline is the Great Divide and the border between Alberta and BC.  The clouds mostly hid the summits, but there was plenty of blue sky overhead.

The Upper Lakes car park was piled ten feet high with snow, but there was room for a few cars to park.  The two washrooms were almost buried by the drifts.  The trail around the lake was immediately scenic, with views out across the wide lake to the mountains surrounding it.  The trail was packed down, and so we made good progress as far as the footbridge across Sarrail Creek, and the junction for the Rummel Lake trail. 

After this, the trail became harder to navigate, and soon petered out.  Instead of a trail, there were just deep snow drifts between the trees on the steeply sloping mountainside just above the edge of the frozen lake.  We considered walking along the lake itself, but there was no trail and we were not convinced this would be a safe route.  It was clear that we would not be able to go much further, and we would soon come to a series of dangerous and steep avalanche slopes. 

So we turned around, and made our way back along the trail to the car.  It was a sensible decision.  We had hoped to reach Hidden Lake, but that would have been another four kilometres along an impossible route.

As we walked back along the trail, we heard the sound of a small engine, perhaps a chain saw.  We wondered who might be cutting down trees on a winter Saturday.  Then as we came around the corner, we could see a party of ice fishermen out on the lake, drilling through the surface to reach the water below.  They were setting up for an enjoyable afternoon of fishing out on the frozen lake.

Back at the car, we then drove around to the Interlakes parking area, on the north side of the Lake.  Here we would travel west above the lake, below the steep slopes of Mt. Indefatigable.  A couple of snow-shoers were preparing to head out, and a lone backpacker was just setting off up the trail with a heavy pack.  He told us that he was heading out to the remote Forks campsite, and he was loaded down with beer!  A very adventurous person.  He’d need to do a lot of shoveling of snow just to make space for a tent.

This was snow-shoe country today.  The snow had drifted across the trail, and despite several people having been up the trail in recent days, the snow was deep and the only way to travel was with a pair of ‘shoes.

We decided to take the higher route on the outward journey, and so we steadily ploughed our way through the trees, gradually gaining height.  We crossed two narrow avalanche paths, before coming to the start of the huge boulder field.  Here we were faced with a wide and steep area of packed snow.  The surface was hard and a bit icy, so we removed our ‘shoes and put on our ‘spikes.  This was a safer way to cross the slope. 

Above us the steep snowy mountainside rose up to the ridge high above us.  Ahead of us to the west were the spectacular peaks of Lyautey and Putnik, their peaks hidden in the clouds.  Below us to the left was the Upper Lake and the Great Divide behind it.  From here, we could see how foolhardy it would have been to force our way along the south side trail.  Several avalanche slopes descended vertically, it seemed, straight down across the trail into the lake.

So now we were at the junction with the Forks trail, high above the lake, with the boulder field spread out below us.  Except that it was actually a smooth snowfield, with the deep snow covering even the largest boulders.  We dropped down the hill, past the viewpoint bench, which was completely covered by the snow.  Following some earlier traveler, we snaked across the open ground, to another equally spectacular, but lower, viewpoint above the lake.  This was an ideal spot for a picnic lunch, in the natural amphitheatre of mountains.  A small avalanche thundered down Mt. Lyautey opposite us.

Before the lake had frozen, the waters had dropped dramatically, and the islands seemed to sit up by perhaps twenty or thirty feet more than normal.  But of course it was all a big frozen scene, with no sign of Spring thaw yet.

As we prepared to return  eastwards above the lake, a group of four young people passed by us on their way to the Kananaskis Falls, making good progress on their ‘shoes.  We followed the lower path, back through the forest.  This trail had been nicely packed down.  Snow-shoeing is perhaps one of the better ways of getting a good workout, and by the time we returned to the car, we had both done as much as we wanted to do.  It’s always tempting to keep going a bit further, sometimes underestimating the effort needed to get back again.  Today we had it figured right. 

A breeze had sprung up as were having our lunch, and it soon turned into a strong westerly wind.  It felt warm.  Perhaps finally, some Spring weather might be blowing across the mountains to unfreeze a wintry Aberta.  Or perhaps that is just wishful thinking!   

Statistics
Upper Kananaskis Lakes
Sat. 26 March
Total Dist.	1.3 km (hike)   +   8.7 km (‘shoe) = 10.0 km
Height Gain	200 ft.
Max. Elev.	5,800 ft.
Time	5 hrs. 01 min.

Elbow Valley Ski Trails

Sun. 30 May: Elbow Valley Ski Trails


Back into winter – so why not do some ski trails?

After three days of snow, the forecast for today was discouraging. But I wanted to get out for a walk, so again chose the Elbow-Bragg Creek area being the nearest to home.

And today, apart from digging out my long underwear again, I also decided to try out my new Lowa hiking boots. It would certainly be wet underfoot – a good trial for the boots. My old Asolo boots bought in Keswick, England, are no longer remotely waterproof, sadly.

The drive west along 22X was quite pretty in a wet, wintery way – snow on higher ground and green grass beside the road made for an attractive contrast. The further west I drove, the more snow there was. In fact, the Elbow Valley was so pretty with the snow on the trees that I drove all the way to the very end of the road, past the footbridge over the Little Elbow river, up to the campsite. Here, the snow was over 6 inches deep, and in contrast to the long weekend a few days ago, there looked to be very few, if any, campers – for good reason.

A faint watery sun could be seen behind the cloud, and the trees had a thick covering of snow on them. This looked more like a January day, not two days short of June, but at least it did not feel particularly cold – perhaps just above freezing point. I also stopped at Forgetmenot Pond, to admire the wintery scenery around the lake.

Now my hiking options today were severely limited, not only due to all the recent snow, but also by a mad bear roaming the hillsides somewhere on the north side of the valley. As a result, all the trails below Moose Mountain were cordoned off. The notices warned of “an extremely dangerous bear in the area”, and “attempts to capture it are in progress”, with bold yellow signs warning hikers to “KEEP OUT”. Good enough for me!

So I decided to explore the intriguing trails which link the Elbow Valley with Bragg Creek. These are cross-country ski trails, and – as I discovered last week – muddy at this time of year. But today they were covered in two to six inches of new snow, covering most of the muddy areas. The trail starts at Allen Bill Pond (which I always think should be Bill Allen Pond – but it isn’t). The first part of the trail follows the fast-moving Elbow River as it flows under the large concrete road bridge.

This trail is the route to a popular family hike up Fullerton Ridge – C and I did this together in the early 1990’s. One pair of footprints in the snow showed me that someone was ahead of me, but as expected, the prints turned left onto the Fullerton loop, and from here onwards, I was on my own. I would follow the so-called Elbow Valley ski trail due north for about 6 km, then return on the more winding Iron Springs ski trail, arriving back at the starting point.

This turned out to be a fascinating stroll into Narnia. The snow cover was generally about six inches deep, with very wet, sticky snow. Later in the walk I tried on my MICROspikes for added traction, but the snow and mud would almost instantly stick to the spikes, so I had to give them up. Anyway, my new boots had great traction so I did not slip at all. As I walked along through the snow, I would hear sudden “flump-flump” sounds all around me as clumps of snow fell off the tall tree branches and landed all around me on the trail. Luckily I avoided a direct hit.

The trail runs entirely in the trees, on a wide cutting in the forest, generally arrow-straight, but with some curves and bends, and a couple of steep hills. There were some hoof prints of deer, but no sign of any paw prints of mad bears! Finally, near the northern end of my route, I saw some fresh footprints, from some hikers who had started from the Bragg Creek end but had not got very far. I turned east onto Sundog trail – which I had ski’d last year – and soon I turned south onto the wide Iron Springs trail. The snow-covered road climbed gradually through the trees, to a high point, where there is a gate. Here the trees were under a heavy coating of snow. Some of these trees looked eerily alive, as if beckoning me on into their secret world.

A very light snow-rain mix started to fall, so I put on my rain jacket and pants, but it stopped a little later on, although by now it was uniformly cloudy.

Now the wide, snowy trail dropped down a gradual hill, in a southerly direction. The two legs of my hike today run very roughly parallel to each other, first on opposite sides of a small valley, then wider apart as they climb the gentle hillsides at the northern end of the trails. After a few kilometers, the Iron Springs trail turns eastwards, above a lake – which was completely hidden under the snow - to a wide junction at the bottom of a hill. It was just before I reached this junction that I spotted the fresh prints of a smallish bear and possibly a cub, weaving back and forth across the path, down into the valley then up again. I made noise, but never saw them. I then picked up the trail of a person and their dog, which was a little mysterious, as they had not followed the route either from Allen Bill or Bragg Creek, but had come into the trail system from an unmarked trail from the east, following Iron Springs creek.

As I was standing in an open section of trail, admiring the wintery scene all round, my cellphone rang. It was C telling me that at that exact moment, she was sitting on a beach at Ocean City, New Jersey, on a hot sunny day, and had just been swimming in the Atlantic Ocean!! What a contrast.

Soon I was safely back on the main trail again, and made my way down the snowy, muddy path to the car. At the Fullerton Loop junction I picked up the trail of countless boots, but mine were the only footprints on the ski trails. By the time I reached the car, a number of families were arriving, for a short afternoon stroll with their dogs.

Now it really is time for Spring to make an appearance – and to stay around! As for my new boots, despite tramping through snow for over three hours, my feet were totally dry, and the boots fitted perfectly. I'm keen to try them out on more demanding routes, to those lookouts which have been hidden in the clouds and the snow for the past couple of weeks.



Statistics
Elbow Valley Ski Trails
Sun. 30 May

Total Dist. 12.2 km (hike)
Height Gain 695 ft.
Max. Elev. 5049 ft.
Time on trail 3 hr. 32 mins.

That's Alberta!!

Thurs. 27 May: That’s Alberta!!

Environment Canada's Official Weather Warnings
· Public Warnings
· Marine Warnings
· Special Weather Statements

Warnings
City of Calgary4:43 PM MDT Thursday 27 May 2010Snowfall warning for City of Calgary continued10 to 20 centimetres of snow overnight into Friday morning.A disturbance moving into Northern Montana continues to spread significant amounts of moisture across Southern Alberta. At the same time moderate northeasterly flow in the low levels is gradually injecting cooler air into the system. As a result rainfall will change to snow in most areas early this evening if it hasn't already done so. Snowfall amounts as high as 20 cm are possible especially in the foothills and over higher terrain. Due to warm ground temperatures much of the snow will initially melt however most areas can still expect to see 10 cm of snow on the ground by Friday morning.