Hiking – Page 8 – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

Barfing up Gatorade and Prosciutto on Ha Ling

So after Dan and his brother Aidan arrived on Wednesday, I decided to take them to Ha Ling. Amazingly, Dan had never done that hike before (I figured I would have taken him at some point). Aidan had never been to Alberta before and Ha Ling has incredible views from the top in minimal hiking time, so I figured it would be a good intro for a weekend of hiking. Right after work on Thursday, we headed to Canmore and began the hike around 5:30 pm.

I’ve blogged about the hike itself before, so I’ll focus on something else. Aidan. It was great to meet Dan’s brother after hearing about him over the years, and he was eager to get to the mountains to hike. But apparently he hadn’t eaten a lot in the two days prior to the hike, and he was a bit off. He craved gatorade and drank about four bottles of it. He also had a prosciutto sandwich right before we booted it up the start of the mountain. So after gaining about 100 metres in elevation, he stopped to say that he needed a break. Then it happened. He barfed. And not just a little. A lot. About 5 or 6 full heaves-worth. Of red gatorade. And bread. And prosciutto. I wish I captured it on Instagram. He definitely left a little bit of himself on the mountain that day. We ended up hiking a bit with a guy named Ali, who told us he heard a bunch of belching at one point and thought it was a joke. Nope. No joke. Just a fountain of barf. On another note: descending Ha Ling in the dark with head lamps while it rains = sketchy and treacherous.

All in all, despite two rounds of vomit and a bit of rain, we had a great hike with an awesome sunset behind the mountains. Aidan and Dan agreed it was a good starter and training hike for what was to come on Saturday…. Mount Indefatigable!

It’s Time for the Challenge-versary!

Dan and I at the summit of Cascade Mountain one year ago

Exactly one year ago, I was in the midst of an incredible experience. Dan and I were hiking up Cascade Mountain with a Yamnuska guide, a Parks Canada guide, and Jeff from The Real Banff. I had won the Big Mountain Challenge that month, which resulted in a $26000+ donation to The Kidney Foundation of Canada. Of course, hiking mountains was also part of the win… and hiking mountains is what we did!

Fast forward a year later, and Dan (this time accompanied by his brother) is about to board a plane en route to Calgary for what we have called the Big Mountain Challenge-versary! Dan and I don’t see each other very often since we live in different cities, but when we do, there’s usually some sort of adventuring to be had. And since I have had a lack of scrambles this year, scrambling will be part of the adventure! All I know is that I’m pretty stoked about a weekend filled with hiking, laughs, and shenanigans. I guess spending quality time and catching up is okay too eye roll.

Buller Pass

Saturday was hike #2 for the weekend. Fact: my ankles are weak now. Weak! Ever since ripping some ligaments in my left foot about a year ago, it has never been the same. Lo and behold, a short walk home from work earlier in the week would result in me spraining the same ankle again in a similar way. It’s been sore since then. My hope for Saturday’s hike was to take it easy on the ankle, so I strapped on the ankle brace from last year (it’s on its come-back tour), and a few of us headed to Buller Pass in Kananaskis.

Another fact: I very much dislike the gravelly Spray Lakes road. But it sure does lead to some amazing places!

View from Buller Pass. Ribbon Lake can be seen from here.

Buller Pass was a very nice day hike. Not super long with a bit of everything: forests (both alive and charred), a waterfall, a bridge or two (though one of them was out and replaced with a few logs for fording the water), a nice ‘meadow’, and a last push up a rocky slope to incredible views of the valley, mountains, Ribbon Lake, and Guinn’s Pass. Let me emphasis: the views are gorgeous! Of course, there was time for Shari, Robin, Bjorn, Robbie and I to take some photos… along with seemingly lots of other people. Who knew the hike was so popular?

The day ended with gorging on Grizzly Paw’s burgers and fries in Robin’s car because of a freak rain storm. Random, yes. But super tasty, nonetheless.

Stats:
Start: 12:45 pm
End: 6:10 pm
Distance: 15 km
Elevation of Buller Pass: 2485 m
Elevation Gain: 671 m

Nihahi: The Best Dinner Spot in the World

I should eat dinner here every night :) — I should eat dinner here every night 🙂

Now this is a dinner spot with a view.

On Friday, Jess, Dave, Robbie and I headed out for an after work hike. I thought about going to Nihahi, which is where we ended up, but with the nights descending upon us earlier and earlier, we didn’t quite make it to the summit. That ended up being completely okay, though. We all packed sandwiches for dinner and by the time 7:00 pm rolled around, we decided to stop and feast. We chose a spot, about mid-way to the summit, facing west.

I really do live in an amazing place. Calgary is a great city in its own right, but I love living here because of its proximity to the mountains. One minute, I’m working in the Statistics Canada data centre on main campus; the next, I’m eating dinner and overlooking the Elbow Valley while the sun sets behind the clouds and the expansive mountains ahead. The magnitude of the view was enough to create a reflective mood among the four of us, and in some ways, put us in our place. Not all dinners are that awesome in the true sense of the word.

The Iceline Trail and Takakkaw Falls

I can’t quite remember how I heard about the Iceline Trail, but it’s been on my list of hikes to do for quite some time. I had read that it is one of the most beautiful hikes to do in the Rockies. When I learn something like that, the hike gets added to the list!

Robbie and I headed out to Yoho National Park in BC expecting bright blue skies and lots of sunny weather. Well, that’s what The Weather Network had us believe. As we drove to the Takakkaw Falls area near Field, BC, it was anything but sunny sigh. We had cancelled this trip two weeks ago in fear of a rainy day, but we were determined to do this hike this time, rain or shine. We parked on the side of the road near the Whisky Jack Hostel, suited up, and then began the climb. The trail starts with a series of switchbacks through the trees. The incline is steep! Although I was dripping sweat at times, it was nice to emerge above the tree-line not too long after leaving the trailhead. Onward, there are beautiful views of Takakkaw Falls and a large glacier to the east. Once we reached the rocky area (noticeably rock deposits from a receding glacier), more glaciers came into view right in front of us. So awesome! We crossed little streams and glacial ponds and hiked our way to a false summit, which allowed for 360 degree views of the falls, glaciers, forests, mountain peaks and valleys. Gorgeous! It became quite chilly, so we headed back down and found a large rock where we ate lunch.

Building a cairn on the trail for all to see

As we were descending, we noted the ‘field’ of cairns along the route. “We should build a cairn!” So that’s what we did, right along the trail so hikers would know they were heading in the right direction. Not that it was obscure at that point, but we just wanted to create a cairn for fun that would be visible. As expected, we considered visual appeal, colour, accessibility, and dramatic background. In the end, it was definitely the best cairn there. (Note: I fully acknowledge that this is a biased opinion.) We left the mountain quite happy with our accomplishments- the hike, and our engineering skills. The return was quick, so we followed up the hike with a closeup visit to Takakkaw Falls. Nature is a pretty awesome force! That night, we had a wonderful dinner at the Truffle Pig… which I think is pretty much one of the only restaurants in Field… or so it seemed.

It turns out we didn’t reach the Iceline Summit, but that’s okay. The day was all about experiencing a nice hike, enjoying the views of the glaciers around us, and having a great day. Of course, though, this means that we need to hike it again! Maybe as a loop next time. We definitely need to reach the Iceline Summit. And hopefully when we visit again, our cairn will still be there :).

Stats:

Start: 1:30 pm

End: 6:00 pm

Elevation Gain: ~ 650 m

Distance: 9.45 km