July 29, 2019 - Grizzly Col, Kananaskis Valley, Kananaskis

Another beautiful Monday, and another beautiful hike.  The summer of guest hikers in the MMHC continued with Ken and Kir off hosting their cousins from France.  In addition to Sam returning for a third MMHC hike this summer, our very good friend TT, and her daughter Abby, joined us on a MMHC first-time hike - Grizzly Col.
We arrived at the Highwood Pass parking lot around 9:30.  It was about 15 C with mostly sunny skies and a light breeze - perfect weather for a great hike.  The going was a little muddy at first, but nothing that would make us contemplate turning around.  Once we got through the forest portion the views started to appear.  There are beautiful meadows all the way until the final approach to the col.  The wild flowers were in full bloom today with just about every colour present.

View back towards Mount Rae, Ptarmigan Cirque on the very right.

Sam on a snow patch on the way.

When we arrived at the final approach to the col, a slowly rising scree traverse, we decided we would go for as long as everybody felt comfortable.  Except for one steep section, which was more of a worry for the descent, the trail is well defined and relatively easy.

Sam on his way up  the final approach.

Mandy and TT just below the col.

The views from the col were spectacular as we sat and enjoyed our lunch.  We knew TT would have something gourmet and she did not disappoint!  Parmesan covered chick peas as an appetizer, and quiche (veggie or with bacon) was offered up to everybody.  Mmmmmmmmm!!  We were entertained (or horrified) by a group of four plus one dog, that were in the final stages of gaining the summit ridge of Mount Tyrwhitt.  Truth be told, I felt a touch of vertigo on their behalf.  Once we saw them gain the ridge successfully, and now with full stomachs, we decided to head back down.  After we passed the one steeper section it was easy going.
Sam and Abby decided to butt-toboggan down a couple of the snow tongues.  It looked fun, but I declined when they asked me to give it a try.  But TT decided to play the "Carpe Diem" card and I gave in.  Mandy, TT, and I decided to go at the same time and it was a blast.

Don't worry, despite how the video ended, Mandy was OK.  It wasn't as bad as it looks, although she will likely have a bit of a bruise.  TT will likely have sore abdominals as a result of Mandy's misfortune, because she just could not stop laughing.  In the end, it was a great way to end the hike and I'm glad TT talked us into some fun.

Group shot after descending from the col - see, Mandy is fine!

The rest of the walk out was uneventful.  We all had a good chat, and enjoyed some more wildflowers on the way out.  The parking lot was quite full when we arrived, but I think most people were heading to Ptarmigan Cirque.  We made the customary stop in Longview for a cold drink, and were back home by about 15:00, happy and a little tired.

July 22, 2019 - Mount Burke, Lower Cataract, Kananaskis

This week we were three - Mandy was also in Kananaskis, but she was on Day 1 of a 4-day back country hike with Sam and his buddy Gabe.

Ken suggested Mount Burke.  None of us had done it before, but as always we were always up for trying something new.  If I am being honest, I was initially a little nervous for what was ahead, because Ken is a "Think Big" guy.  This feeling was balanced out by the knowledge that he would never put us in a dangerous situation, and would not hesitate to turn us around if one ever came up.  We were on the trail at about 9:00.  It was a beautiful sunny morning with a few clouds and a light breeze.

View from the parking lot

Hiking the trail above Salter Creek

This trail has a little bit of everything from start to end: grassy meadows, spruce forest paths, switchbacks, rocky alpine meadows, scree, and finally after lots of uphill, the summit.

View of old firewatch hut in the distance

Looking back to knob on the way up 

After a lot of hard work we made it to the summit, satisfied with ourselves and our effort.

Final push to the summit

Cedric having a rest in the only summit shade

Summit shot

South Burke summit

North Burke Summit

We enjoyed the summit and some rest for about a half hour before deciding to head back down.  The sun took it's toll, and we were all tired and thirsty by the time we got back to the van.  We drove a couple kilometers and stopped beside the river to let Cedric and Ken cool down a bit.

Ken and Cedric shedding some heat in the river

We were all in agreement that this is a great trail in terms of defined path, lack of exposure, and big payout.  I would characterize it as challenging in terms of physical exertion, but if you are up for some hard work this a great option.  Also, I would not recommend this for anybody in questionable weather.  There is not much in terms of shelter once you leave the forest, and you could probably get into trouble relatively quickly.

I suspect that this won't be the last time the MMHC visits Mount Burke.  We will for sure have to go back at least once so that Mandy can enjoy the same amazing experience we had today.  As per normal protocol we stopped for the customary cold drink at the Longview Esso.  Nobody's drink lasted long!

Bird watch: One raven on the summit, and several missed opportunities in the forest sections - they all seemed to be playing hide and seek with us.

July 21, 2019 - Raspberry Ridge, Cataract, Kananaskis

Note: This was not a MMHC sanctioned event.  It was just some good bonding time for father and son.

Ty and I have been trying to get a hike in together for a few weeks now, and the sun and stars finally aligned the other day.  After a lazy morning, I got him up at 10:00, and we decided to head out to Raspberry Ridge.  We were on the trail by about 12:30.  The lower section was very wet and soggy in places.  There was one section of about 250 m where it would have been better described as a stream.  It didn't slow us down however, and we were able to reach the ridge by about 1:40.

On the way up, before the trail gets steep

Quick break before making it to the Ridge

Despite all of the cars in the parking lot, we were able to have the summit to ourselves for long enough to enjoy our lunch at the picnic table.  The views were spectacular, and the cheese buns delicious!

Summit view west towards Mount Burke

Lunch break

Raspberry Ridge is a great hike if you are looking for the dramatic summit moment.  Hiking up the east face offers some beautiful views, but the hard work really pays off when you step up onto the ridge and get the 360-degree view.  It is very breath-taking.

I really enjoyed the hike.  Ty and I had some good conversations about friends, school, and life in general.  This is one of the great things about hiking - your thoughts and conversations just wander in a natural way, and end up wherever they do.  Sometimes it's serious, and sometimes it's nonsensical, but either way it's good for the heart, and good for the soul.

We got back to the car around 3:00, and made the customary stop at the gas station in Longview for a drink and a bag of chips before getting home at 4:30.  Another beautiful day and great hike in Kananaskis!

Bird watch: Clark's Nutcracker, Red-Tailed Hawk, Chipping Sparrow

July 15, 2019 - Forgetmenot Ridge, The Elbow, Kananaskis

We had some first-time guests join us for the MMHC.  Today the ladies were not able to make it so Sam came along for the second week in a row, as well as two first-timers: Ken's friend Other-Ken from High River, and Other-Ken's daughter Cinnamon Rose, who arrived last week from New Zealand for a six-month visit.  We all met at Ken's at 8:00, and piled into his car for the ride out to Forgetmenot Ridge.

We were on our way at about 9:30, and it did not take long for the excitement to start.  We had to cross a few arms of the Elbow River right off the hop.  The first one was easy, and we were all able to go solo.  The main arm looked a little more challenging.  Ken instructed us on the best way to cross.  We formed a ring holding each other by backpacks and shoulders, and slowly walked across in a group.  This worked great, and is a new skill I will remember for the future.  Cedric did not like this technique at all.  Once he realized we were leaving him behind he quickly caught up and put himself in the center of the ring where most of the flow was being blocked by our legs.  It worked well for him, and made it only slightly awkward for us.  No matter though, we all got across safely, and dry from mid-thigh up.  The third arm was a solo crossing again, and then we were changing out our river-crossers for hiking boots so we could get down to business.

Interesting vegetation on the river bed.

Cinnamon Rose post-crossings, changing into hikers.

The Forgetmenot Ridge trail is a well-defined trail.  I would say it is best left for warm, dry conditions such as today as the steep nature, and loose rocks would make it rather challenging in muddy or icy conditions.  Other than that it is easy to follow, and offers many great views and interesting features.

The second of three Holey Rock trees that we saw. 

Sam and Ken beside the third Holey Rock tree.

Sam taking a break part way up to the ridge.

When we got to the lower ridge we decided to stop for an early lunch (PB and J was a popular choice today).  After a little rest and a quick photo-shoot we got on our way with the north summit in view.

Post-lunch group shot. (Everybody looks happy again!)

It didn't take long before we made it up to the north summit.  We took our packs off and some shenanigans got started...

Ken and Sam shenanigans.

Arrow shot shenanigans. 

"I'm gonna pump (clap hands) you up!" shenanigans.

Sam at the north summit cairn (no shenanigans).

The descent seemed long at parts, but in reality it was much faster than the ascent.  We did the same river crossings in reverse with no major incidents.  We were back at the car by about 2:30, ready for a warm ride home.

It was a great day, with some great scenery.  I really enjoyed some new discussions with Other-Ken and Cinnamon Rose, and am very glad they could join us.  As always, CEO-Ken did a great job guiding us, teaching us, and keeping us entertained.  I was also very happy to have one of the future MMHC CEOs with us for a second week in a row!

July 8, 2019 - Pocaterra Ridge, Kananaskis Valley, Kananaskis

We were short two members today but no worries, we brought Sam and two of his buddies - Gabe and Caleb.  This was good strategy as they not only helped drag us up to the top, but they made good future candidates for the MMHC executive!  I spent an hour looking through Gillean Daffern's books last night, and we landed on Pocaterra Ridge.  We had not been there, and I don't think I know anybody who has, but it looked reasonable, with no major river crossings, and I thought it had the potential for some great views.  We were not disappointed!
We got to the Little Highwood day use parking lot, at the north end of the ridge, around 9:30.  After ten or fifteen minutes crossing Pocaterra Creek and a few small tributaries we were on the very well established trail.  It didn't take long for the uphill to start.  Sam and his buddies were out ahead of the two co-CEOs most of the way, seeming to bound up the hill like gazelles.  I'm not ashamed to say that I was very sweaty and out of breath all the way up.  Once the trees started to thin out there were views in every direction.

Caleb, Sam, and Gabe
Looking south towards the fourth peak, Rockfall Lake in the valley below.

Looking north towards Gap Mountain, and Elpoca Mountain on right.

We continued along the ridge, enjoying the easy walking, and all of the spectacular views.  As everybody was getting hungry, we stopped short of the third peak, headed back a ways, and set up for noodle lunch.

Noodles with a view!

The descent was quick, with the future MMHC executive out front again.

The boys out front on the descent.

Sam's friends are new to hiking but really seemed to enjoy it.  They seemed to really appreciate the views, and had lots of questions along the way.  On the way down we discussed bears, whether we had seen many on our hikes, and what to do in case we saw one.  I told them not to worry, as we were probably way too loud to see a bear, and that we were much more likely to see one from our car on the way home home, than on the trail... more on this in a few moments.
Amanda ended up taking the lead once we got back into the trees and the four of us boys had troubles keeping up to her.  She is very sure-footed!  Once we got back to Pocaterra Creek we took turns crossing on some fallen logs.

Sam's turn doing the butt-scooch along the dead-fall.

Mandy proving she is still a gymnast after being on the gymnastics team back at elementary school!

Once we were all across safely I turned around to begin the last 250 m to the road, only to see a bear less than 30 feet away from me foraging in the grass.  Needless to say our hearts kicked in to high gear, but fortunately we were able to keep our cool.  After taking a second look we realized that the bear (grizzly, with a tracking beacon on neck) was not threatened and had probably noticed us much earlier than we noticed him.  We took a wide detour around him and were back at the trailhead soon enough with a great story for Gabe and Caleb, who were on their first mountain hikes.
We made our customary stop at the gas station in Longview for a cold drink, and were back home by mid-afternoon, tired but excited about the great hike!