Wednesday, September 20th. Joan and I breakfasted at the Forté restaurant within the Delta Kananaskis Lodge (now the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge). The smoked salmon and eggs bake, a dish very much like eggs benedict, was good. The menu item called eggs benedict, however, had no meat in it. None, nada, zero. The server and the kitchen verified that this was correct and by design. To us, this verged on false advertising!
We drove down to the Galatea Lakes trailhead and set off, again visiting the new incarnation of a trail that had been knocked out of commission by the 2013 floods, in this case one we'd never been on. The route, meandering west and up the watershed, has been laid over the terrain in this Google Maps image.
The trail dips rapidly and then crosses the Kananaskis River on a suspension bridge.
We were passed by a faster couple here, and they told us the path ahead boasts 10 more bridges as it winds up the valley of Galatea Creek, all reconstructed.
Our second bridge crossed to the north side of the creek, and the junction with the Terrace Trail. It was framed in fiberglass, which we'd first seen in 2016 hiking down from Prairie View to Jewell Creek.
Next to it was an improvisational bridge based on the remains of the original. Probably useless after a rain!
After a section of switchbacks the trail followed the creek more gently upstream. Here Joan and I are approaching bridge #3, which was built from logs, not fiberglass.
Crossing #3. A nice fresh deck!
From #3 we could see bridge #4.
Soon we were there. In this photo there's a large, moss-covered stone at far left.
From #4, Joan and I could see two tributaries feeding into Galatea Creek.
Zooming in on the little waterfall.
Shortly thereafter, another large chunk of mountain.
On to bridge #5, another log construction.
The approach to bridge #6 skirted a large wash and the ruins of the old bridge.
Bridge 6 was not far upstream.
This bridge was built with the fiberglass framing also seen in the second one. I'm guessing that the longer spans get fiberglass.
Click on the above image to enlarge it and white spots and streaks will appear. The snow flurries that had been increasing as we ascended were now thick enough to catch the camera's eye.
My notes say this was bridge #7, not #6. Either I failed to photograph one, or lost count!
This seemed a good spot to turn around. The snow would continue to increase if we went higher, and we didn't have time to make it all the way to the lakes anyway. However, this trail is one of our ambitions for 2018. On the way down we spotted some bear scat but never saw or heard anybody of the ursine persuasion. We did yell "Yo Bear!" periodically.
At the junction with the Terrace Trail we took that trail north. In 2013 Joan and I had taken the Terrace Trail south from Kananaskis Lodge most, but not all, of the way down, and we wanted to plug that gap. It would be easy to find the 2013 spot ... the rubble outwash from Mt. Kidd. This image predates the 2013 floods, but the channel is clear.
On the way we encountered this tree, which has oozed layer upon layer of protective sap.
When peeking closer we saw trapped insects.
The rubble field came into view. There's a vague trail scuffed into the detritus, but we kept our eye on the path emerging from the far side.
It's obvious where all those stones, large and small, came from.
Joan and I lunched here. My hands grew steadily colder, and I was ready to move on immediately after the last bite. We hiked north for another quarter-hour and then returned.
From the parking area we drove down to Kananaskis Lakes and then up the Smith-Dorrien through waves of heavy flurries to Mount Engadine Lodge, where we'd spend the next two nights. The Moose Suite offers a great view of the meadow.
Dinner was great. The house wine was a British Columbia merlot, the least expensive offering, and it was good. We never get a chance to sample B.C. wines in Ohio! Dinner chats included a long discussion with a Malaysian woman about hiking in the area, including pulling out maps and pointing out options.
In late September it got dark early. It almost never happens, but tonight no moose showed up to check out the mud wallow just below the lodge.
Our choice of hike tomorrow would hinge on the weather when we woke up.
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