CR2015: Elk Pass and Fox Lake

There was no question whether today, August 6th, was going to be a rainy day; the only question was, how much. The prediction was for afternoon thunderstorms.

For us it was a transit day between Mount Engadine Lodge and the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis. This is a modest drive down the Smith-Dorrien Spray Trail and back up Route 40, so there was time for a hike. We chose to explore the Elk Lake trail, near the southern end of the Kananaskis Lakes.

Given the weather forecast and cloudy skies, Joan and I put on our rain pants and rain jackets at the trailhead before we set off. The Google Maps screenshot above shows that the route begins as a gravel road, used by TransAlta to access its electrical transmission lines.

That's Mount Indefatigable across the lake.

After leaving the gravel road and powerline cut, the way narrows. There's lots of evidence of flooding from the June 2013 deluge, and in places the road has been rerouted.

There was a light drizzle that came and went, so I kept my camera under my rain jacket, and didn't take a lot of photos today.

Elk Pass is wide and long, more akin to a gentle valley than a gap in the mountains. To reach Fox Lake, Joan and I were looking for a trail that would depart to the right within the pass. When we reached this point,

we debated which way to go. Joan felt that we hadn't gone far enough, and should continue on the Elk Pass trail. I fixated on the text in our guidebook, which said to always take the right-hand choice when there was a split. I persuaded Joan, and we took off to the right. Which was wrong. This was a spur trail to the Blueberry Hill lookout.

It took me close to a kilometer to decide that we'd made a mistake, based on the lack of any lake, and the curve the trail was taking. At least on the way back to the junction we had a chance to observe some spruce grouse, including including a baby, in and about a tree. They always ducked when I raised my camera.

Not much further from our false junction we came to the true trail.

After a while the trail becomes foot-traffic only; bicycles are prohibited.  We encountered a group of young folks and their chaperones returning from backpacking at Elk Lakes Provincial Park, which is remote. To access its trailheads from British Columbia, it's a good two-hour drive from the town of Sparwood on a rugged road. From the Kananaskis side, by the time hikers arrive at the Elk Lakes, they've signed up for overnight camping. Only a very strong hiker could make it a day trip, and a long one at that.

Joan and I arrived at another junction,

which included a signboard/map.

One of the features of this area is the old provincial boundary markers. This one is a modern replacement.

We came to where the trail to Frozen Lake separated from ours.

Officially the trail was closed ...

but we needed only a kilometer to reach Fox Lake, and the worst of the damage was likely further on. As it turned out, reaching Fox Lake was easy.

Joan and I had lunch here. sitting comfortable on a log. Up in the bowl of the mountains facing us was Frozen Lake,

but time and weather dissuaded us from trying to reach it today. Some other time!

On the way back we encountered both sunshine and drizzle, and, on the lower sections, a total of three mountain bikes. Overall it was a good day, better than expected, but nothing like tomorrow's hike, the challenging and unofficial route at King Creek Ridge.

Kananaskis Country Hiking

On our way to the lodge, we hiked (for the third time) Ptarmigan Cirque. It's a great high-altitude (starts at 7200') warm-up for the hiking to come. In spring (in early July, we qualified as mid to late spring visitors) the glacier lilies were still putting on a show. In general, the botanical vernal show all depends both on the microclimate and the altitude, and we were lucky:

It doesn't take long to get above the tree line, and the higher reaches of the cirque stretched all our senses after spending most of the previous day in airplanes:

On the second day, we planned to hike to Black Prince Cirque, a new destination for us, known for some steep stretches. Our invaluable guidebook by Kathy and Craig Copeland pointed out that after the initial lake, the trail was unofficial, and one landmark was "two dead larches to the left". So we were approaching this hike as a challenge/with some trepidation. But it turned out that we were not alone: a busful of senior Calgarian hikers, the Evergreeners, arrived as we were putting on our gear. Their bus displayed the sign, "Recycled Teenagers." We were not alone at the low lake where the official trail returned and the cirque trail headed on:

Crossing an avalanche slope:

 

Climbing one of the steep bits (certainly the slipperiest):

Despite the occasional drizzle on the return, a good time was had by all.

Kananaskis Country and Mount Engadine Lodge

The first part of our Canadian Rockies hiking trip was spent in Kananaskis country. It is well known by most Canadians, but most folks from south of the (Canadian) border haven't heard of it. We have always stayed at the Mount Engadine Lodge, half an hour south of Canmore and away from the beaten path of the Kananaskis Country resorts with their golf courses and ski runs. It's a great base for hiking in a region that's not overrun with tourists, and has good accommodations and wonderful dining. The lodge overlooks a meadow with a stream, with a mud wallow just below the deck of the lodge. What smacks each new visitor is the wildlife, preeminently, the moose. Virtually every evening one or several moose come to the wallow to sink up to their knees (and sometimes their chest) in the mud and slurp up the mineral-laden water. The swamp may also be visited by elk and deer; beaver can be occasionally seen in the creek; coyote and cougar have been seen in the area (and there's plenty of bear sign on some of the hikes).

Here's a section of the creek:

 

And here's a portion of the wallow:

And one day, the moose left via the parking lot of the lodge:

 

Highly recommended! And here's a photo from last year, taken from the rental car window while driving up to the lodge: