The MacKenzie half of the MMHC is on vacation in Ontario for the next three weeks, so we are currently down to minimum staff. Mandy and I decided to go back to Lineham Ridge today, one of the first walks the MMHC did back in 2016. After hitting snooze for an hour we finally got up around 7:00, hit the road at 8:00, and were on the trail by 9:30. With no clouds in the sky we were happy to get there early(ish). Thankfully the first half of this hike is done in the shade, so we weren't out in the blazing sun for too long.
We crossed Lineham creek twice en route to the bottom of the ridge trail. The first crossing proved to be a little tricky for us, with one wet foot for me. Amanda spent more time choosing a good location and got across with both feet dry. We took a slightly different approach on the way back and found that had we walked up the river a little more we would have for sure crossed with no issues. The second crossing was easy with a nicely placed wide log to assist.
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| Lineham Creek, near the first crossing |
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| First views as we begin the ascent. Lineham Creek in the background. |
The trail up to the ridge is very well established and easy to follow. There is a long approach to the ridge - sometimes gentle, sometimes steep, but definitely worth the views that you will find once the trees start to thin out.
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| View looking south from the ridge with the forested approach visible just to the right of Mandy. |
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| View east towards Highwood Range. |
Although our bodies got up after the extra hour of sleep, our brains must have still been in bed. For some reason we left the house without having breakfast, and we only packed one bar each for the walk. We know way better than this!! We ended up deciding to turn back with about 1 km left to the summit. The upside of this is that we have an excuse to go back at least one more time!! The walk down was just as enjoyable as the walk up with more spectacular views and beautiful wildflower-filled meadows.
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| Heading back down the ridge. |
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| Every colour of wildflower! |
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| Not sure what this was but thought it was very unique. |
With less than 2 km left we ran into the first and only people we saw on the trail all day - two very friendly and funny gentlemen. After a bit of chatting we found out that one of the gentlemen was celebrating his birthday today - 75 Years!!!! We were truly inspired by his energy and determination, and can only hope to be as active as him when we get to be that age. After a bit more banter we parted ways and finished up the walk, with two more successful creek crossings. Although we missed having our MMHC besties with us, we really enjoyed the hike today, and would definitely like to get it in the queue for a future meeting.
Bird watch: Dusky grouse
