June 29, 2019 - Junction Hill, Highwood River Valley, Kananaskis

Monday Morning Hike Club became Saturday Morning Hike Club this week, because we were on top of things and realized last week that we wouldn't be able to make it happen on Monday this week.  Well done!!
We decided to do Junction Hill which is by the south gate on the Highwood Pass.  "Junction Hill" is a good example of a poorly chosen name.  Junction Mountain would have been a better choice, except that there is already a Junction Mountain in Kananaskis, about 15 km north of Junction Hill.  Despite being a "hill" we did about 800 m of ascent today, with the summit being at 2,234 m.  A more appropriate name would be "Cinnamon Bun Mountain", but more on that later.
We decided to make an early start, and were at the trail head by 7:20 after dropping one vehicle at our planned exit location.  We were going to take the SE ridge approach and descend on the SW side.  The sky was blue, with only a few clouds scattered across it, and the temperature was nice and cool at 10-15 C.  The winds were already strong and would get stronger as we went.

View of Highwood River from our starting point.

First few steps.

Just before gaining the SE ridge.

My shadow about to gain the ridge.

Ken leading the way up to the SE ridge.

The going was quite steep up to the SE ridge.  Once there it would be a steady climb from about 1,750 m to the summit at 2,225m over about 1.5 km.  There were many amazing views along the way.

The Picture Tree

Hiking brothers!

MMHC

The big surprise, and the highlight of the day happened a few hundred meters from the summit when Ken surprised us all during a little break with some delicious cinnamon buns complete with raisins and a thick layer of icing.  I don't know how he did it, but the buns were not even a little bit squished from being in his pack.  It was just what we needed, bringing our spirits (and blood sugar levels) from dangerously low, to pretty much as high as you could go without going into a coma!

Ken, saving the day! 

Cedric, patiently waiting for a little bit of the treat.

With renewed energy we quickly made it up to the summit.  The winds were very strong by that point, and we only stayed on top for a few quick minutes.

Summit shot.

Another summit shot.

We retraced our steps for a couple hundred meters before branching off towards the SW ridge for our descent.

We left Ken behind on the summit, but he quickly caught up.

Branching off towards the SW ridge.

The descent was a little challenging with some bouldery sections, and very little, if any, established trail.  It had just as many spectacular views, so we didn't mind.

Bouldery section.

Lots of beautiful wildflowers the whole way. 

Ken's cinnamon bun was still giving him a lot of energy on the way down!

The last part of the descent opened up onto some beautiful meadows which was a perfect way to finish a challenging, and somewhat technical hike.

We were back home by about 12:30, a little tuckered out, but very happy with a beautiful and challenging hike.

June 16, 2019 - Mount Lipsett, Highwood River Valley, Kananaskis

MMHC is cancelled tomorrow so Amanda and I headed out for a non-sanctioned event today.  We decided to walk up to Mount Lipsett, one of our favourite Kananaskis hikes (this is the fourth time we've done it).  With the winter gate opening yesterday, and nothing on the schedule at home today we had no excuse not to!  We left the house around 9:30, and were on the trail at 10:38.
It doesn't take long to get your heart rate up on the Mount Lipsett trail - today it only took me about three minutes.  It was already warm at mid-morning so we only lasted another five minutes after that before we layered down.

The mount Lipsett trail is a 6.5 km out and 6.5 km back hike, with an approximate 700 m elevation gain.  The first kilometer or two usually has a few muddy sections, but nothing that you can't get around.  About half way up the views start to become more frequent, and the last couple of kilometers is fantastic.

We saw many wild flowers in bloom, though I know very few of them by name.  I also found it difficult to catch them on camera in a way that really represents how beautiful they are.

There are actually thousands of bright pink flowers in the foreground, but you can't really see them in this picture...

It had been a little breezy on the way up, but when we reached the summit it was still, sunny, and warm.  We really love this spot, and the view north towards Highwood Pass.  We spent about 30 minutes by ourselves, snacking and making a quick FaceTime call to the other two Co-CEOs to report on trail conditions, and to let them know that they were being missed.

Word must have gotten out on how ideal the conditions were, because we passed at least ten other hikers coming up on our way down.  I can't blame them, but I'm glad we got there first, and had the summit to ourselves.  We were back at the trailhead by about 2:30, and back home after a great walk around 3:40!

June 3, 2019 - Hell's Ridge, Lower Cataract, Kananaskis

Ken and Kirsten were not able to make it to MMHC today, so we improvised a little bit.  Our good friend Kirk Taylor agreed to fill in at the last minute, joining us on our hike up to Hell's Ridge.  Kirk is not a regular hiker, but is always up for an adventure, or for trying something new.  We picked him up at 9:00 and were on the trail at about 10:30.

On the trail at about 10:30, layered down by 10:45.

The weather was beautiful and sunny, with a forecasted high of 25 C.  We did the hike in a clockwise manner, starting off north following the trail parallel to the road and Etherington Creek.  After about 4 km we headed up onto the ridge at the small cairn.

Small cairn on right-hand side of the trail heading north.

After the steep climb we enjoyed many views both east (Mount Mann, Cataract Creek, Lookout Range) and west (Raspberry Ridge, High Rock Range).

Top of Hell's Ridge after the initial ascent.

Looking back towards Highwood Junction.

I have always enjoyed ridge walks, and this one was no exception.  It was a rolling ridge with many peaks, and numerous viewpoints.  There were many great spots suitable for breaks or lunch.  I also enjoyed the wildflowers which are all starting to bloom.

Wildflowers, looking east towards Lookout Range

The trail was easy to follow, or pick up when lost, however the exit point is not easy to find (if it even exists).  This is one thing I wish was improved in Kananaskis - there are hundreds of trails and routes in Kananaskis, but almost no signage.  I think it would be relatively easy to put out a call for volunteers and donors to obtain and install trail markers that would make trails more accessible and less intimidating for new hikers.  In my mind placing trail markers or signs at critical and/or non-obvious junctions wouldn't be too difficult, and wouldn't take away from the peaceful and remote feel of Kananaskis.
The initial descent where we decided to exit, was very steep.  After about 500 m it did ease, and we were lucky enough to pick up a trail marked by orange ribbons that took us most of the rest of the way.  It was a relief to finally come out on the initial trail about 100 m from the trailhead.

Back on the trail, on the home stretch.

I think it's safe to say that we were all a little tired, and more than thirsty (it was 26.5 C on the drive home).  We tried stopping in at Highwood House for a pop, but it was closed so we had to wait until we got back to Longview, where we stopped for a pop and a bag of chips.

It was a beautiful day, and a great hike, with lots of laughs.  Thanks again to our good friend Kirk who kept us company, and provided the high-quality entertainment!!

May 27, 2019 - Cornwall Creek, The Elbow, Kananaskis

With the girls on the way home from their Scotland trip, Ken and I were on our own.  We decided to do a little Bike-And-Hike in the Elbow area of Kananaskis.  Ken picked me up around 8:15 and we were on our way.  The day was sunny but still cool (~5 C).  We got to the trailhead at Little Elbow Campground around 9:15, and we were on our way on the bikes with Cedric leading the way.

Layered down already, 15 minutes in.

Our plan was to cross the suspension bridge over the Elbow River, and bike about 7 km along the gravel road to Cornwall Creek.  From here we hiked up the creek bed to the falls about 1km upstream.

Cornwall Creek Falls

Ken, horsing around beside the falls.

This would be an ideal place for a family picnic, or some solitary reflection.  We had brought or camp chairs, and decided this was the right place to eat our PB and J sandwiches.  When you hike so much with a person, you tend to sync up in certain ways - we did not discuss beforehand, but both ended up bringing the same type of sandwich.  Neither of us was surprised.
After our break we scrambled up above the falls and found the trail that leads to the back access for Banded Peak, and also the dead-end valley on Mount Cornwall.  It would have been smarter to head back down Cornwall Creek and then head up to the trail, but we managed anyway.  We followed this trail for another couple of kilometers, and decided to head back from there.  The trail was well defined and easy to that point, and there were some beautiful views.

When we got back to our bikes, it dawned on us that Cedric had already hiked/ran over 10 km (plus the extra 50% that dogs do, owing to the fact that they detest straight lines), and he still had another 7 km back to the trailhead.  We took it slow for that reason, and encouraged him to take his time and stay cool (it was 18 C when we got back to the van).

Cedric did not hesitate to hunker down in any puddle/stream/creek he could find!

We made it back to the trail head around 1:15, happy with our outing.  We have not done much Bike-And-Hike, and we realized that with the easy bike access here, there are a number of great day-hiking options in this area.  I suspect we will be checking this area out more in the near future (or at least I really hope we do).

Ken showing off his mad bike skills.

UPDATE - I found out last night that Cedric suffered some skinned pads as a result of our outing on Monday.  He has fully recovered, but we will definitely keep this in mind for future Bike-And-Hikes.