Grizzly Peak

This was the first hike back with the trio (Sandy, Chris, and I). We started the hike at 8:30am June 27, 2015. The forecast was sunny and high of 34C. So we thought “great day for a hike!”.

From the parking lot at Ripple Creek (it’s a ditch. The first creek/bridge/culvert right after Grizzly Creek turnoff), it was a steady climb. Under the morning sun, it was warm.

There were rock ridges that the path went up, so there was some very light scrambling involved within the first 30-40 minutes. After that, it was a steady uphill battle in a huge alpine meadow. You traverse along, going up and around the back of the mountain.

There were some interesting ravine sections that hadn’t seen water for at least a century because they were so dry (ok maybe a few days with the heat). Good gripping hikers are a must on this hike. By this time, we were on our second application of sunscreen and the sun was beating down. There was no shade at all in this trip; great for a 34C day 😅.

When we arrived to the back, it was a solid incline of scree and dirt (third application of sunscreen). The path traversed (steeply) up and through. Sandy and I continued and Chris relaxed in the some of the only shade we found. We got to the saddle and looked out over the trip we just made; it looked easier than it was…

Next small push was up to the double peaks. It was easy compared to what we just went through. By this time, we could feel our skin frying with sweat and dirt and the sun. I was worried of getting burnt (but never did).

We finally reached the top and looked out over the valley. To the North was Fortress ski area and to the south was Kananaskis Lakes. Gorgeous views that I would t trade for anything (which is why I do this!).

We shimmied along the ridge to the other peak and was granted with very uniquely shaped mountains. After a few seconds taking in the view, we made our way back down. When we got to the saddle, we strapped on our gaters (and fourth application of sunscreen) and skied down the scree (I ended up sliding a bit on my ass because I hit a few flat rocks which sent my feet out in front faster than I anticipated). I was down in less than 2 minutes to meet Chris who said we were gone for about an hour and 45 minutes (oops!).

The way down was hard, almost as hard as the way up. It was so dry on the path and it was steep so there was no gripping to much. We never did find the fork that others were talking about… (And we stopped for rest for our feet and another application of sunscreen)

In Summary

This was a difficult hike and a easy scramble; the blogs were right about that. It’s a good hike to do when it’s not going to be so hot and perhaps some clouds; it was incredibly warm and unending sun.