Kananaskis Country and Bow Valley - A Hidden Secret

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Kananaskis Country I had heard was quite beautiful and had some great hikes but in the last 3 days I saw just why the locals like to keep it 'their little secret'! As it is I fill bad writing about it, but some of the views I have seen in the last few days I still feel I am dreaming. Each of the hikes I participated in were unique in their own way and had different weather conditions as well but nothing beats that feeling of reaching the top of the mountain and receiving the reward of the view of the mountains.



RAWSON LAKE & SARRAIL RIDGE

On this particular hike I was lucky enough to go with Simon and Brian M who I went with to Crypt. This time we had another Bryan D (a work colleague of mine), his mate Duane and Simon's wife come along as we ventured along Highway 40 and towards Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes. Highway 40 was as Doug (the mate of mine I went to Mara) had said. It was spectacular! Even if you don't go for the hike, go for the drive as again the view of the mountains is stunning. We also saw some big horn sheep on the way on a picturesque drive to a carpark overlooking Upper Kananaskis Lake.



The walk starts with a beautiful undulating path along the river with the view only blocked by a line of Pine Trees at the bank of the river. Not far into the hike we pasted a fairly nice looking waterfall and crossed a clearing that gave you a stunning view of the Upper Kananaskis Lake where we said people in their boats fishing and others in the distance who were preparing for their water activities for the day from a local camp ground. The walk, while steep was like walking through a tropical pine forest if you can have such an environment before we stumbled across Rawson Lake. The Lake, like most in the Rockies was a crystal clear blue colour and from our first vantage point gave you an amazing view of the mountains in the background. It was nice and relaxing walking along the edge of the lake, listening to and getting to know better Bryan and Duane before we found a nice place at the end of the lake to have first lunch.



The next part of this hike is not for the faint hearted or for those who are not quite fit and agile. It was a hike with a 60 degree angle incline, or there abouts through thick, green stunning vegetation and along a path you could only barely see. The most difficult part of this walk was the a dripping rock, part way up the hike to the ridge where we had to scramble a bit to go further in the walk. We also found that sand shoes could not handle this particular walk or made it quite difficult at least. I was lucky that the trek shoes I bought from an ex-student who was working at an outdoor store at Colonades back home were more than worthy to handle the hiking terrain.



The view from Sarrail ridge I'm not sure is rivaled in all that I have seen. Words and the photos I will post can not give you a true understanding of how majestic and spellbinding this view is in person. I loved Crypt Lake for many reasons, but this hike with the final view of Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes on one side and Rawson Lake and the valley we had treked through on the other is just amazing. We even saw rain travel through the along the valley from the North East and drift past us towards the Lower Kananaskis Lake which was also pretty awesome. I have managed to eat lunch in some pretty special places of late and this was another place were I was spoiled, not by cuisine but by location.



The walk down is an interesting one! The surface is slippery and the lactic acid build up in your quads grows by the minute as you try and maneuver yourself down through the green vegetation. I was impressed by the fact that Bryan D and his mate Duane could run down this hill. I also thought they were mad as well but it may not be a bad way to avoid the fatigue in the legs. One slip though and, well, that could be quite painful. On the way down, we were amazed at a woman who carried a baby on her back and her partner who was walking his dog to the Sarrail Ridge. We weren't sure how they were going to get down with the baby but hopefully they did so safely.



When we returned Bryan D went for a swim in the freezing cold Upper Kananaskis Lake while I dipped my lower leg in the water and enjoyed its refreshing reviving of my aching lower muscles and joints. We then just relaxed by a table that overlooked what we had achieved and watched as Kayakers and stand up boarders paddled in the distance before enjoying the beautiful drive back home.



BURSTALL PASS

My second hike in as many days was quite different to the one I had done the day before. While the reward was not the stunning lake view, the gradual incline of this hike will test most people out. Today I offered to drive Dave (PE Coordinator or learning leader as they call them here) out along highway 742 that leaves out of Canmore and drives along the beautiful lakes where I had driven past in winter to go snow shoeing at Chester Lake and Dog sledging with the exchange teachers. Instead of white snows and slippery roads it was crystal clear blue lakes and very green trees that climbed their way up the mountains. The road however is a dirt road, something you might find in the country areas back home. I only discovered it was Chester Lake I had snowshoed (although Steve had told us at the time and I had forgotten) as the start to Burstall is right opposite Chester Lake car park which I recognised instantly.



This hike started with a different feel to the pine forest. Unlike the day before where we were deep within the forest and the day light fought hard to make its way through the trees, we had the pine forest either side of the path which gradually waved its way towards a large valley that had a number of trickling streams from water run off that lead towards a big green lake in the distance. On the way we had stopped at this lake I believe where we both admired the the green murky waters surrounded by the enormous green mountains in the background. Apart from getting lost and off track, we found that our path towards a dark, mysterious hike through another pine forest was blocked off by water. The fun part of this was trying to navigate over interesting dead trunks of trees or jumping over streams to find our way to our chosen path. The walk that followed was actually quite spooky. The weather on cue had gone dull and cloudy and the trees were not as green and lush but had a mix of red dead pine needles that were hanging on to their final moments before hitting the ground. The root pattern on the ground was awesome to look at but at times hard to maneuver if yo weren't fully concentrating on the ground. While the surrounding was murky, the sweet, relaxing sound of a flowing stream through the rocks down through the valley helped to make the journey more relaxing. The incline however was not so forgiving. It was similar to what I had experienced the day before and tested Dave and my fitness out in some points.



Once getting through this section it was a walk through a variety of fauna and flora and in amongst sections of pine trees as we walked up a gradually inclining rocky terrain to the amazing view of the valley. It was mountains in all directions and if it wasn't for the dull clouds that restricted our view somewhat, we could have clearly seen the highest peak in the Kananaskis area and I think maybe in Alberta, but I am terrible with names and can not for the life of me remember it. Our only threat in this hike was of lighting cracking onto the top of the peak so our time to enjoy the view was not as long as it could have been but we still had a quick lunch allow the eyes to soak in the riches around them.



The journey on the way back was just a mirror image of the journey there. The moment we hit the large valley with the constant streams the sun returned and the day got brighter and brighter the closer we got to the car. We also found the path we were meant to take which when we looked at the signs with bright orange stickers on them actually seemed pretty hard to miss. Our only little scare on the way back was discovering a large, relatively fresh black turd of a bear, as the style of poop did not match the moose or horse poo we had seen along the way. We were also treated to watching a woodpecker pound away at a tree as he searched for his light snack before venturing to another tree on the opposite side of the path. This is most definitely a worthwhile hike and one that gives you a variety of different terrains surroundings and conditions and it was good to enjoy another hike with Dave as well as a cold beer at the Grizzly Paw in Canmore with him as a reward for the energy we had burned for the day.



MT YUMNASKA

This hike is more in the Bow Valley than Kananaskis Country but pretty much on its door step. I had my third different party for a hike in as many days and it was great to spend it with Carmen and Jennifer. Carman is a very interesting man who's life style I envy and wish I could have a taste of every once and a while. He has a coolness about him that Fonzy would be jealous off and such a likeable mannerism that draws people towards him. He had invited me to join him and Jennifer (who was a friend of Carman's) on this hike to Yumnaska which I had heard very little about before.



The hike started quite steep, which I didn't really remember until we walked back down it on the way back, before the track ventured away from a completely different tree type to the amazing view overlooking the Bow Valley and out beyond towards Kananaskis country. For the second time in as many days I found that we had taken a wrong path and had to back track back towards the path we needed to take. And like yesterday, instead of orange stickers, a large big arrow pointing the way to go that was located on the path informed us of where we were destined to go. This hike again was quite different as it had the beautiful valley o the right (or east and then outstanding views from the lower peak. The part towards the end was very similar to Crypt with the pathway rocky and narrowish, but instead of a tunnel, we climbed through a crack (or gap) in the mountain which was pretty cool.



Unfortunately we didn't go to the highest peak (due to time constraints), which would have tested my fear of heights even further than it was getting tested at the lower peak. It had a similar finish to Crypt with a chain or guide rope used to help you get to the final destination. Where we ate lunch was basically on the edge of a huge drop that I would not dare to get any closer than I needed to. There was also a little of track hike to another peak where the Canadian flag flapped proudly in the wind which was a fun little path to climb. I also saw a chipmunk that cam pretty much right up to me to say 'gadday' before continuing his search for food. Again the view was spectacular and I was surprised just how many people were doing this particular hike. It was a regular trickle of people who had also shared the same idea as Carman had to spend their Wednesday in this beautiful location.



The way down tested me mentally and challenged my fear of heights once again. The terrain was steep and slippery and as I had down at Crypt I took it slow, steadily and calculated. I seem to struggle with balance when the drop is on my left side and apart from having deep concerns of falling I felt completely unbalanced. However, I got back onto a normal path and enjoyed the walk back down the hill towards the car. We even saw a good metre long garden snake on the path which wriggled its way back into the camouflage of the bushes at the sound of our approach. It was great again to share conversation and getter to know Carmen and Jennifer alot better and each of the three hikes I have been lucky to have awesome company. It was great that it was also with work colleagues as it makes you feel alot more at home and comfortable at school but with only 5 months to go the enjoyable experience and new friendships are getting close a short term absence.



BEAVER

I was lucky enough when I was having a walk through Prince's Island (my island) with a friend to see my first beaver in Canada. I was quite taken by how much it looked like the beavers in the most recent movie adaptation of the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe and enjoyed watching it swim to a small block in the water way where he climbed out, gave us a glimpse of his beaver tail then slid back into the water and swam away. Only now do I need to see a moose in the wild and then the key animals to see would have been ticked off the bucket list. Having said that though, Bryan D had shown me a swampy area on the way to Rawson Lake where they can sometimes graze but unfortunately today was not one of those days.

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Photos

Climbing up towards Sarrail Ridge
Rawson Lake in the background

Burstall Pass
Walking through the pine trees near the peak

Burstall Pass
The tree routes on the path in murky pine forest

On route to Sarrail Ridge
The green vegetation that surrounded us