When Joan and I left Kananaskis Village for our hike on the Terrace Trail there were still clouds hanging around the mountains.
At first our route was crisscrossed by other recreational trails, shown at the top of this map, but these dropped away as we headed south.
Sometimes the way was straight and narrow.
Not far from the Village the trail had a short detour around a washout from the floods of June 2013. In this case, a footbridge was AWOL. This photo looks uphill.
And this one downhill.
Perhaps an hour after setting out, we saw the last mists rising up out of the forest. Blue sky forms the backdrop.
The Terrace Trail passes above the Kananaskis Country Golf Course, which as of this writing it still closed from the extensive damage in the June 2013 flooding. Whether it will ever re-open is undecided.
With binoculars, Joan and I could examine each section.
Logs, gravel, debris, newly carved ponds and streams,
almost whatever we could imagine, this course was hit with it.
Soon we saw, in addition to natural calamities, autumnal berries and blooms close up. Here is a rough-fruited fairy bell.
And one of our favorites, which Joan and I have seen all over the Canadian Rockies, the hare bell.
We reached the gully between the two summits of Mount Kidd, a popular stop according to our guidebook, Kananaskis Country Trail Guide Volume 1, by Gillean Daffern. It's scenic and has plenty of sitting opportunities, and we decided to lunch here. This photo looks upstream; notice the small cairn in lower left to guide hikers towards the proper spot on the far side.
Here's the view downstream.
We ate our lunch sitting close to a large cairn, in partial shade. Joan's hand in the foreground provides some scale for the cairn.
This is not a simple rock pile, particularly in the top half, which shows careful rock-balancing. Rock-balancing can be a casual hobby or a strong artistic discipline, and it was fun to see it here. It's catching on.
We were not far from the Galatea Creek trail (see map above), but Joan and I decided it was a good time to turn around. The Galatea Trail was officially closed because of flood damage, and we had to mind Joan's foot. The strong sun continued to boil vapors off the flanks of Mount Kidd.
We encountered many more people on the return leg of this hike than outbound, and we find that's not unusual in Canada. We were the first of our day to the top of Ha Ling, for instance. One couple that caught up to us needed some guidance; they thought they were heading west on the Galatea Creek trail, rather than north on the Terrace Trail! All the flood damage and 'trail closed' signs seemed to have turned them around.
Joan's foot did not like the return trip, especially the second half. Back in our room, we decided that whether it was sprained or perhaps had suffered a stress fracture, the wisest course was to stop hiking for the remainder of the trip.
Thus our first choice for tomorrow became a visit the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary, outside Canmore. This facility specializes in rescuing canines that are a mix of wolf and dog, and adopting them out to suitable situations, all subject to the Canadian regulations on ownership of animals that are part wolf. There's a phone number for reserving a time for one of the paid tours.
Joan tried to call using her Verizon prepaid phone, which we had determined through the Verizon web site would also work in Canada. That was one of our requirements, and it eliminated most other options, such as Net10 and Consumer Cellular. I have a prepaid T-Mobile phone that works in Canada, but we thought it best to have a different carrier to maximize our chances of getting a signal.
All Joan got was a strange tone similar to a fast busy. She tried more than once. Her phone showed a good signal, the time of day, and her current prepaid balance. But the call wouldn't go through, so it was time to try the T-Mobile phone, which did work. When we returned from Canada Joan called Verizon, and the customer agent said there was a code to enter before leaving the U.S. to authorize roaming in Canada. (T-Mobile requires no such code, it just costs more.) Well, we thought, we could live with that.
A few months later Joan called Verizon again, because their web site doesn't recognize that two $50 refill cards total $100, giving her money only 90 days to live instead of 365. (Stores in our area don't sell $100 cards.) In the past this was easily and cheerfully fixed, but this time the customer agent said that such a thing wasn't allowed, but she would do it "just this once. Don't ask again." Joan also inquired about the Canada roaming code. This person said you have to enter it only once, not before each trip to Canada.
At the end of the call there was the chance to leave customer satisfaction remarks. Joan had a few to make. A Verizon supervisor called her the next day to discuss her feedback. The supervisor said that there was no code, and there was no Verizon prepaid service in Canada, because there weren't any "prepaid towers" there. The concept of a tower being prepaid or not is, of course, ridiculous. The supervisor was astonished that Joan's phone had shown a signal, time, and balance. She insisted that the Verizon web site clearly showed that there was no prepaid roaming in Canada, and walked Joan through the steps to reach the alleged proof. Joan saw nothing of the kind on that web page.
All we can do is enter the magic code that may or may not work before our next trip to Canada. If her phone doesn't work there, Joan will drop Verizon when her minutes expire. But I digress -- we'll start tomorrow with an engaging visit to the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary.
The day had arrived when Joan and I would be leaving Lake O'Hara. However, we would be departing on the afternoon bus, so there was time to squeeze in one more hike. The morning was overcast,
another incentive to not stray far from Lake O'Hara. We chose Lake Oesa as our destination and set out. This was the view from the circuit trail as it passes near the mouth of Lake O'Hara.
The low clouds were no hindrance to lake navigation. This canoe has passed close by avalanche debris that accumulated in the lake.
As is often the case on unsettled days, weather came up the valley towards Lake O'Hara and the surrounding heights. So far Joan and I are staying ahead of it (this is looking back).
A cloud hangs around the Yukness Ledges as we climb past Yukness Lake.
The weather is still holding up as Joan climbs the stone steps built by Lawrence Grassi.
As we passed by Lefroy Lake we could see clouds and vapors filling the bowl of Lake Oesa, just beyond the bluff.
As we approached the top of the bluff our luck ran out, and it began to rain. We had rain covers for our daypacks, which Joan had modified with snaps. Rain covers are designed for backpacks where the body rises several inches above the point where the straps attach. The straps on our daypacks attach at the top of the pack, so there is nothing for the elastic of the rain cover to snug over. Hence the snaps.
Near the lake we managed to find a large boulder with an overhang on the lee side. At first the only parts getting wet were our boots, and we dug into lunch. As the rain continued a drip developed from the top of the boulder, but Joan and I still managed to work through lunch without much discomfort. After all, we had the incredible Lake O'Hara cookies to boost our energy levels and morale. Then we began the walk back down.
The rain was off and on, lighter and harder, as is often the way in these mountains. When we were well on the way down, about 2:oo PM, we encountered a very blasé hoary marmot.
He wasn't worried about us. Is this my better side? he seemed to ask.
Oh! Aren't I handsome?
By the time we reached Lake O'Hara the view was a mixture of cloud and sunny spotlights.
Then, sadly, it was time to leave. The lodge bus took us to the Lake O'Hara parking area, from which it was a short drive for us to Field and the Kicking Horse Lodge. Fortunately this time there were no fiascoes such as basement or double-booked rooms.
The next day Joan and I avoided the poky breakfast service at Kicking Horse and ate across the street at the Siding Café, in the original location of the Truffle Pigs Café. Not only did we get a hearty breakfast there, served on time, but we ordered sandwiches and chose cookies for today's lunch. There are some grocery and general-store offerings here in addition to meal service.
Before leaving Field we walked up to the Field cemetery, just outside of town. On our way we passed the beginning of the Mount Stephens trail, one of the guided hikes of the Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation. We'd like to take this hike, but it's offered only on weekends in July and August, and the specifics vary from year to year, so it's hard to fit into the jigsaw puzzle along with predetermined dates for Lake O'Hara.
Joan's left foot was still bothering her, but there was no bruising, so we assumed it was just a sprain. It didn't keep us from reaching the cemetery, and it was time well spent. The information on the graves tells a story of how hard life was here for the miners and early railroad workers. My only photo is of the railroad-themed gate.
We piled our gear into the rental car and headed back towards Alberta, climbing to the Kicking Horse Pass. Partway up, we stopped at the Spiral Tunnels. Click to enlarge this sign, which explains that the original railroad grade at Kicking Horse was so steep that trains frequently lost control and derailed. The problem was solved by creating two 270º tunnels, allowing the train to loop around itself at a comfortable grade.
We were lucky enough to catch a train doing just that. Here you can see the locomotive emerging from the upper end of a tunnel and about to pass other cars entering the lower end.
En route to our next destination, the Delta Lodge in Kananaskis, we planned to repeat a hike from 2004, to Castle Mountain Lookout. This hike is not long, about 3.7 km or 2.3 miles one way, but it climbs steadily for a gain of 530 m or about 1700 feet. The first section is broad, like an old logging road, but closer to the lookout it becomes a trail and crosses a few eroding gullies.
The weather was cloudy and misty by the time we arrived at the trailhead. We hiked briskly and were soon warmed up and sweaty, wearing rain jackets in a light drizzle and, it would seem, inspired by the locomotives at Kicking Horse Pass. Joan's foot felt best at this pace. I didn't take any photos until we arrived at the lookout, where only the foundations of the old fire lookout remained. There wasn't much to see,
but it was a decent lunch spot.
Our weather karma is not good for this location. Here is what we saw during our 2004 visit. It was snowing, but you can see why a lookout was placed here.
The weather began to gradually clear as we hiked back down. This photo captures the look of the upper trail.
By the midpoint of the downhill hike the valley floor was becoming visible.
We arrived back at the car and continued on to the Delta Lodge, where we enjoyed a dinner at Grappa, the Italian restaurant there, which in our opinion was the best in Kananaskis Village; it's now replaced by Forte. For tomorrow Joan and I decided, given the state of her foot, that we would hike the gentler Terrace Trail between the lodge and the Galatea trailhead. We could turn around at any time, and there would be views down to the Kananaskis River.
By September 5th Joan and I had hiked Mount Yamnuska, Ha Ling, Rummel Lake/Pass, Karst Spring, Lake Oesa/Yukness Ledges, Lake McArthur/All Souls' Prospect, Wiwaxy Gap/Huber Ledges, and Last Larch Prospect. Of these only Karst Spring had been a shorter hike, and we had been able to "train" for only two and a half weeks after returning from our extended Arctic trip. We were ready for an easy day, especially for our tired feet, but we still wanted an enjoyable hike. Our go-to in this situation is always the Opabin Plateau. Just look at the map.
You can enter and exit the Plateau by different routes (East and West Opabin), visit the Prospect and meander on West, East, and Highline trails, and work your way back to Opabin Lake. What's not to like?
Joan and I started up the West Opabin trail, rockier but more scenic than the East trail. We soon encountered a hoary marmot that was staring intently out into space.
Our first extended stop was at Opabin Prospect. This photo looks up the plateau and to the west, not out to the grand view around Lake O'Hara.
The prospect is an excellent viewpoint for inspecting Mary Lake as well as Lake O'Hara.
Here's a closer look at Mary Lake.
There's a Robin Crusoe tree down there.
On this sunny day the canoes are in use on Lake O'Hara.
Across the lake, on the trail to Lake Oesa, is the viewpoint Joan and I call "lunch rock." It's a dandy place to have lunch, or a snack, while your legs dangle over the edge.
In the other direction there are already hikers at All Souls' Prospect.
From Opabin Prospect you can even watch the comings and goings at the lodge and cabins. Take your binoculars!
At places such as this we'd love to have a geologist as well as a naturalist along. What story does this mountain have to tell us about our planet's history?
Joan and I then turned and began hiking towards the interior of the plateau. Soon there is a view of the lower of the Cascade Lakes.
Here's a section of the cascades.
The trail comes down to the level of the lakes, and here we spotted what we later identified as female harlequin ducks. Yet another reason for binos. (The males all fly back to the coast soon after mating season.)
We continued up the plateau, and at one rocky pile were greeted by a pika.
But what truly stopped us in our tracks, as we started up the final slope to Opabin Lake, was this tree-eating marmot. (Click to enlarge.)
He soon tired of the small sapling and moved off to the right.
There he found prey more his own size.
Continuing up the slope by the west-side trail, Joan and I began to catch a view of Opabin Lake in its mountainous nest.
This late in the season, the glacier at the foot of Opabin Pass looks fragile and dirty, desperately waiting for the first snows.
A closeup of Opabin Lake. Sometimes we lunch by the shore; this time we lunched with this broader view.
We exited so as to make a loop. This image is of Hungabee Lake from partway down the east-side trail. More than once, when lunching in the rain, we have taken shelter under some of those trees on the far shore. Which ones? That's a secret for Joan and me.
Back down on the Lake O'Hara circuit trail, I paused to take a photo of the water cascading down from the Seven Veils Falls.
Joan returned directly to the cabin to rest her feet, while I wrapped up a photo project that will be the subject of a later post. Dinner, as always, was excellent and reviving. My final photo for today is a twilight picture of Lake O'Hara. At this hour the day-hikers have disappeared and the campers are preparing their evening meal, away from the lodge. It is ever so quiet, and becoming chillier.
This was our last night at Lake O'Hara for 2013, but Joan and I would be taking the afternoon bus tomorrow, leaving us time for one more hike in this secluded alpine retreat.
