Rocky Mountains
First-hand hiking stories, trail notes and mountain adventures from the Canadian Rockies and surrounding ranges.
Smith-Dorrien Creek
We snowshoed this creek on Sunday November 29. Present company was Curtis and me. The day started out a bit chilly but as the sun began to warm the mountains, the chill quickly left the air. We parked just south of the Mount Burstall parking area on a closed road (before the gate). There were…
Ink Pots
Sandy and I did this short hike on November 15. There wasn’t much snow but I brought my new microspikes from Kahtoola. The Johnston Canyon trail is closed for reconstruction so we had to go through the next trail to the north to access the ink pots. It’s a short hike with relatively small elevation…
Mount Allan – Olympic Summit
We did this hike Sunday, October 25. Present company was Sandy, Fiona, me. Second hike in a row and we felt it. The hike started off on the old coal mine road. It’s a gentle hike until you get off the road and on the trail. It becomes steep and full of switchbacks. The hike…
Bourgeau Lake
We did this hike Saturday, October 24. Present company was Sandy, Katy, Kyle (Katy’s boyfriend) and me. We started at 8:30 on the trailhead. It was cold and frost was still on the ground. We were on the north face of the mountain the entire time so we had no chance of sun. The hike…
Mount Indefatigable
We did this hike Saturday October 17, 2015. Present company was Curtis, Sandy, and me. The morning started off crisp. The cars had some frost on them in the parking lot and the ground was frozen in spots. There was no snow below but the upper sections had some light dustings. We wore too many…
Mount Cory Cap
We did this hike Sunday, October 4, 2015. Present company was Sandy, Curtis, and me. The weather forecast for Calgary was a scorching 5C and Banff had a forecasted 8C. We were optimistic that it would be a nice day, but it sure didn’t start out nice. Decked out in somewhat winter attire (long underwear,…
Nihahi Ridge
Nihahi Ridge and summit was done on September 13, 2015. It was done with Sandy, Curtis, and myself. The weather was not fun; it was cold, wet, and raining off and on all morning. We started the hike at 7:30 at the Little Elbow Campground. We parked in the first parking lot but could have…
Mount Rimwall
Mount Rimwall was done on 2 separate days. The first day was August 1, 2015 with Chris and the second was August 3, 2015 with Curtis. For the sake of this entry, both days will be combined into one post. From the “parking lot”, the hike is a fairly easy walk through the forest. There…
Mount Yamnuska
I did this popular hike with Sandy and Chris on July 18, 2015. Since it is such a popular hike, I wanted to get an early start so we were on the trail by 7:15. When we got to the parking lot, we were the second vehicle there. The first part of the hike had…
Surprise Creek Backpacking
I booked two weeks off in July and decided to do an overnight hike on July 2/3. Curtis joined me and we set out the morning of July 2nd. Surprise creek is in the Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park in BC off of highway 93. The hike is 10km one way through a valley. The trail…