Smoke and Snow: Upper Kananaskis Lake, Part One

Work on the new spa complex for the Delta Lodge resumed outside our window on the morning of September 19th. 

After a slow breakfast service Joan and I picked up lunch: a sandwich to share and a banana apiece at the Market Cafe, and we still had a chocolate bar.

We reached the Upper Kananaskis Lake Day Use parking area just before a bus and a large van from Olds College showed up!

We quickly set off in the opposite direction from the mob, counter-clockwise.

The conditions were chilly and blustery, but only partly cloudy at first.

There were several signs about the history and ecology of the area. The lakes have been expanded by dams created for electricity generation.

There was a lot to see. A driftwood necklace draped the eastern, downwind, shore.

The clouds continued to lower, so Joan and I decided as a precaution to don our rain gear, and put away the binoculars and pigs. This was the view across to the western shore.

Another view of the little peninsula, and more wood.

We trod on and it began to mist, but our waterproof outer layer kept us dry and warm. The cloud ceiling dropped to fifty feet or so above the lake. But by the time we reached the North Interlake Day Use area, there was only one more shower left to endure, and then the skies began to brighten. I brought my camera out again.

The day use area offered us a privy, a place for lunch, and a view of the dam. We decided that today was not the day to attempt a complete loop around the lake, just under ten miles, and instead began to return the way we had come.

In places the trail had been rerouted due to erosion, or rebuilt above piled and anchored logs.

This photo, taken the next day, shows the path crossing a vulnerable slope, easily washed away.

There were various waterfowl on the lake, but never close enough for firm identification. This picture was taken with full zoom, 20x, and cropped.

Joan and I scrambled down to explore the driftwood rows, and discovered that sculptures or "shelters" had been crafted from the debris. They don't look wind- or water-proof.

A typical view across the lake to the higher mountains.

We encountered a red squirrel who was reluctant to interrupt his meal merely because we were staring at him.

Eventually the day use area where we had begun the hike came into view. The Olds College group conveniently departed ten to fifteen minutes before we reached the parking area.

Joan and I suspected that tomorrow we would return to further explore these intriguing shores.

Smoke and Snow: Baldy Pass

Joan and I checked out of Cathedral Mountain Lodge and drove a short distance to the Siding Café, in Field, to pick up lunch supplies. They have great sandwiches and baked goods, but we discovered that after Labor Day the Siding doesn't open until 11. Oops.

At the Visitor's Center in Field Joan bought a couple of books, we picked up two Le Chocolatier bars, and we had a long chat with a warden from New Zealand about trail closures due to bear activity at Moraine Lake and Paradise Valley, the uses and misuses of GPS, and what constitutes an emergency-demanding rescue. Then it was off to Kananaskis Country.

Just east of Canmore and off the Trans-Canada there was a trail head and Mount Lougheed viewpoint which we'd never visited before. The mountain in the center is Lougheed.

We're looking almost due south from the end of the road, from the top of this map to the bottom:

Here's a zoom-in on the mountain, which tops out at 10,194 feet.

Signs described the history of the area and the role Sir James Lougheed played in therein.

We then drove to Highway 40 and the parking area for Baldy Pass, another hike that we've done once before but not since the 2013 floods. By satellite view, the route was thus,

and by map, like this.

The trail began on the far side of the highway, and after crossing, Joan and I were winding gently through woods.

The trail from the Wasootch Creek parking area joined us, and we approached Indian Creek.

 Almost there, and more stones were in the path.

Now the trail followed the rubble-filled creek. Sometimes we scrambled through the rocks following cairns, and sometimes the path had shifted to a stream bank.

As you can see, we had a lot of altitude still to gain.

In this stretch we met a guy (age 55) and his wife from Calgary ex Edmonton ex Ottawa. He was fresh off an unexpected heart attack and monitoring his heart rate as he hiked. Not long before the heart attack his doctor had said he was in great shape, and didn't need another physical for three years, but some measure (I forget which) had been 4.9 where 5.0 suggests intervention. Fortunately he survived this oversight and has been recovering well.

The trail continued to ascend. Watersheds on either side of the valley had violently contributed to the destruction lower down.

The route left the valley floor and metamorphosed into a rooty trail climbing steeply through the trees on the south flank of the valley. It was much shadier than the rock river we'd left behind, and the higher Joan and I went, the more common it was to cross snowy patches. We enjoyed occasional views of the ridgeline north of us.

The winds were blustery when we reached the cairn at the pass.

Here we met a couple with a white dog. They had planned their hike ahead of time, but somehow she needed to ask us, "what's the name of that mountain?" There's a place in the world for good paper maps, such as the Gem Trek series, and classic guide books, such as Gillean Daffern's.

Joan and I turned to the south and continued with a short climb, to the point where the trail leveled off and began to dip down into the next valley. There we sat down and lunched. This was the view back past the pass towards the north.

Descending down to the pass.

There is an unofficial trail beaten along the ridge rising to the north, and many hikers take advantage of it. We spotted the white dog couple there with our binoculars more than once.

I'm sure the view from anywhere along the top is grand.

Perhaps, if we revisit Baldy Pass in another few years, we'll give it a go.

Back in the woods, not far from the road, Joan and I spotted a trail camera we'd overlooked on the way out. From the University of Calgary.

A short drive later we checked in at the Delta Lodge Kananaskis, recently purchased by Marriott, extensively renovated, and reopened two months ago. There were oddities in the reorganized rooms, such as, no towel racks, and a common bathroom/closet door -- open it to the bathroom and you've closed the closet, and vice-versa. The staff was friendly and empowered to fix less structural problems, such as a sock left on the floor by a previous guest. The larger restaurant, the Fireweed Grill, was now dubbed the Forte, and its omnipresent mood music was classic 1960s pop ("One Fine Day") instead of disco, an improvement.

Joan and I ate well but spent a fitful night before rising for the next day's hike at Upper Kananaskis Lake.