Walking in the Rockies - Ribbon Falls 2012 August 3

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Our trip was supposed to be to Burstall Pass, but the condition report said that there was three feet of water on the trail. So it was announced on the bus that we would go to Ribbon Creek. Outside, it was steadily raining from dark widespread clouds.

The C group was dropped off at the Kananaskis Village, which is just a multi-purpose building not far from the hotels. I didn’t feel like spending the day wandering along local paths in the rain, so I took the advice of Wolfgang and Gerdie, sitting in front of me, by joining the B group. Ten minutes later when we arrived at the parking area for Ribbon Creek, the rain had stopped and never came again. I was decked out in my rain pants, fleece, long-sleeved light thermal, rain jacket and sun/rain hat, with my pack covered with a plastic bag. That was ok for a while because there was a lot of water in the air, which settled on us as we walked. Gradually we all peeled off to a more usual shirt and pants.

Almost all the way we walked beside the creek. Sometimes it gently meandered through mossy woodland; in more places it rushed by in a bouncy torrent. Hard to believe that both aspects channeled the same amount of water. Small bushes grew lushly amongst long grasses dotted with purple, pink, yellow and red wildflowers. Thin pine trees towered over all. Thick cloud and fog throughout the mountains dispersed, leaving the puffy bits that emphasize how blue is the sky.

Even though I found the pace quite brisk, fairly soon I was trailing with the slow-pokes in the B group. Plus, I stopped to take photos and rushed to catch up. The rise was later revealed to be 400 feet, but the incline was usually just a slight change with every step. Also revealed later was that the length was 9 km. The route started as a small forestry road, continued as a well-groomed path, and for the A group finished as a narrow gap reaching to near to the top of the falls. I surprised myself with both my fitness and stamina.

The final, bit steeper rise led to the rushing noisy wedding-veil falls crashing over a almost graphic rock-face. Few more photos and then lunch spent admiring the beauty before us.

As the last ones in, we had the shortest lunch - about 25 minutes. (Ham bunwich, carrots and kolrabi, one cookie.) Because we had to be back at the bus by 3:30 and we had taken 2 ¾ hours to arrive, we started the return journey at 12:45. Once again the “B-“ group, as we named ourselves, were the last ones on the trail, sometimes not really walking fast enough as we reveled in the green glory and clear air. All the same, we did arrive at 3:20, in time for a much-needed pit stop. I was very grateful for my left-over lunch: the other cookie, a Welsh cake, and apple juice.

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Photos

Ribbon Creek
Bubbling, splashy white water

Ribbon Creek
Deep pools of green water

Lunch View
Wonder why the rocks are still so sharp?

Ribbon Creek
Tranquil silence defined by woodland noises

Ribbon Falls
Rewarded by crashing wedding veil falls

Forest Glen
Natural colour and sculptures

Flowers
From looking large to looking small

Comments

[Isabel Gibson]

Nine K?
Good for you! I'm impressed too....