My cornerstone trip of 2022 was a huge adventure out to beautiful Alberta, in the west of Canada. This trip was spent mostly in the Canmore/Banff area, which is about an hour west of Calgary. Particularly notable that this was my first plane trip in almost 30 months (last was February 2020 before COVID). I decided to break this trip into three separate blog posts, since it’s going to be a very action packed 11 days! Here’s the breakdown:
- Part 1: Arrival + Two Day Hikes (Read’s Tower and Pigeon Mountain)
- Part 2: Intro Mountaineering Course with Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
- Part 3: One Last Day Hike (tentatively Middle Sister)
Day 0: Departure
My flight was very late in the evening (scheduled 10:15pm departure, 12:15am arrival local time, 2 hours behind), so I had plenty of time that day to get my ducks in a line. I packed the night before, after making a quick visit to MEC (again… please help!) to get a few last minute items like extra stuff sacks. For this trip, I brought two packs – my 65L with all my hiking gear (which was a checked bag on my flights) along with my 30L day pack as a carryon item, with my laptop, electronics, and other valuable items. I packed pretty light for this trip since I wanted to leave some space in my main pack for extra gear on the mountaineering course. Checked bag was a necessity sadly as I wanted to bring my trekking poles for my day hikes before/after the course and as far as I know, they’re no good for carry on items. The stuff sacks came in clutch and was able to be very efficient with packing. Also, made use of my camp booties, socks and hiking boot to protect my trekking poles (as well as my pack itself from the tips – should probably get tip protectors at some point!).
I brought the cat to my parents place in the late morning (thank you for catsitting!) and left in the afternoon for my office, which is conveniently located minutes away from Pearson Airport. Therefore, no need to pay for Park N Fly or take an long taxi/Uber ride as I could leave my car at work (it’s a very big lot so no worries on space). I decided to head to the airport very early, aiming for 3 hours in advance of my flight despite it being a domestic flight (taking an Uber). Pearson has become infamous worldwide (not kidding) for its brutal delays the last couple months, so I wanted to give myself as much time as possible to get through security.
As advertised, it was very busy at departures but was able to get my 65L pack checked without too much difficulty (also checked in online in the morning which was super useful since I had to upload my proof of vaccination). The line for security was very long but moved relatively quickly, and was able to get to my gate 3 hours before my scheduled departure. Sadly I left my phone charger and USB adapter in my office (along with my work phone which was plugged in oops) so I had to buy a new one at the airport. Arriving at my gate I settled down, filling my bottle and finding a book from the Saskatoon Public Library on a seat. Decided to leave it behind – hopefully it finds its way home.
Plane took off with a slight delay, nothing too crazy and was very uneventful (as it should be!). Late night flights are pretty rough in general, I cannot sleep on the plane and it wouldn’t be worth it to take a melatonin since the flights was only 3h 45 min long. It was very cool looking out at the earth below over Saskatchewan/eastern Alberta..it’s so sparsely populated that the ground looked like the night sky with tiny specks of light representing individual residences/buildings.
Collecting my bag was no problem as well other than having to walk to the furthest carousel and then backtrack all the way to the door to grab a taxi to my hotel. At this point it was 1:15am local time (3:15am Toronto time) so I was very tired! I later learned upon arrival at my hotel that there’s a free shuttle…whoops should’ve looked into that. At least I was able to take advantage of that to go grab my vehicle rental the next day (technically later that day)!
Day 1: Work Lunch & Trail Closures
I woke up around 7:45am – I chilled in my room for a bit (scheduled myself for the 10am shuttle) before heading down for breakfast. My initial plan was to shuttle from Calgary to Canmore, then rent cars on either side of my course, but that fell through. I instead booked an cargo van/truck from Priceline a couple months prior rather than a car – I was late renting and everything in Canmore was taken. I was thinking to sleep in the van to save on AirBNB costs, but ended up keeping the AirBNBs I had booked since having that comfort was appealing seeing I’d be sleeping in the mountains with no comforts of home for 5 nights during the course. On the day of my departure, I switched to a minivan rental – it only cost a touch more and was likely easier on gas than the truck would be, not to mention easier to drive. I took the shuttle back to the airport after checking out of my hotel to go pick up the vehicle, and after explaining to the perplexed car rental agent that I only rented a minivan because it was cheaper than a small sedan/hatchback (confusing I know), he downgraded (or upgraded??) me to a small SUV (KIA Soul). Hooray for not guzzling gas!
Then it was off to my company’s Calgary office to meet my colleagues. Some of them I had met before either in person or on Teams, but there were a couple I hadn’t met yet, which was pretty cool. Unfortunately the Internet was down in the office, also a ton of people left the company in the last couple months, so it was a light turnout, but really enjoyed seeing the office (nicer building interior than the Toronto office in my opinion) and chatting. I ended up staying for over six hours, which was fine since I did not book this day off work, and spent most of the time talking about work-related matters.
After leaving the office, it was off to Cochrane (about 40 min drive) to my first AirBNB. The house and room were very well furnished and comfortable, and the host (Mari) was very helpful and nice. I logged onto my PC before going for dinner and found to my disappointment, that almost all the hikes I had planned, or had as backup options (Piper Pass, Tombstone Lakes, and Tent Ridge), would be no-go’s for various reasons – tons of snow (we’re talking in terms of several feet – would be great if I had snowshoes!), high grizzly bear activity (necessitating closures), and construction (geez I thought I left all that behind in Toronto!). It was also the end of the day, so I was also unable to get a hold of Alberta Parks staff to get more information about accessing other trails. My plan for the next day was to have a bit of a slow start, drive into Canmore fairly early and try and get more information onsite, and then choose a fairly moderate half day hike that wouldn’t give me too much trouble.
Some ideas I earmarked were Picklejar Lakes (which I had planned for Saturday but wasn’t sure if it was viable due to the snow issue), The Orphan (near the Three Sisters) and Read’s Tower, so we’ll see if these are doable and what other options there are! I brought gaiters and microspikes, along with my poles (with snow baskets) but definitely am not geared for any significant snow depth. Thankfully the main purpose of this trip (mountaineering course) should be largely unaffected. Will definitely plan to return to the area later in the summer next time I visit!
Day 2: Impromptu Hike Planning
After getting up and enjoying a delicious continental breakfast prepared by my host Mari, it was off to Canmore to try and get some ideas for backup hikes for that day as well as the following day. The drive over was very miserable – a ton of rain! But it tapered off as I arrived in the Canmore area and was greeted by the site of beautiful snow-capped peaks.
At the visitor’s center, I got confirmation that pretty much all the trails south of Spray Lake were impassable without snowshoes, including Picklejar Lakes. Luckily the lady at the desk offered a ton of ideas (probably far too many, it’s tough to make decisions!). I decided to do Read’s Tower (with a possible extension to Mount Sparrowhawk if the conditions were good) that day, and Pigeon Mountain the following day, and hope that Middle Sister would improve the week I would be on my course so I could do that the day before I fly back to Toronto (from what I heard, the snow makes route finding a bit tricky as it’s a scramble). So, we’ll see how that goes!
On the way to the trailhead, I was held up by a family of mountain goats crossing the road. The babies were adorable and I will always be impressed with how these animals climb up and down sheer rock faces like it’s nothing!
Read’s Tower is located right across from the northeast part of Spray Lakes Reservoir and apparently offers great views of the latter. It was billed as a roughly 3-4 hour round trip with an approach on scree near the top. Mount Sparrowhawk requires descending the final approach from Read’s along with an additional couple kilometers going past and behind Read’s. I started hiking at 11am and was well prepared with several snacks, 2L of water, along with snow gear (microspikes, gaiters, and waterproof pants). The trail started in the forest and quickly gained elevation with a bit of loose rock to negotiate. The snowline began roughly an hour in but it was mostly avoidable – for the time being! Eventually I reached the turnoff for Mount Sparrowhawk, and it looked dubious that I would be able to tack that on to my Read’s hike as the entire trail appeared covered in snow. Read’s didn’t look too bad, but I did see a fair amount of snow, so I donned my gaiters and started upwards.
Thus began my first experience with scree in the Canadian Rockies. Scree is pretty much loose rock which often originates after rockfall. It often means you have to work a bit harder than on a solid slope as you tend to slide back a bit with each step. The trail was not marked whatsoever, so a bit of route-finding was required, along with consulting FATMAP every so often. At first I tried to avoid the snow, but eventually gave in and started slogging through – it was almost waist high in places! The snow actually made it a bit easier to negotiate the scree as I had better grip. After about an hour, I finally made it to the top, and decided due to the late start, failing weather and observing that the route would be entirely through deep snow, that I would forgo Sparrowhawk and descend the way I came back to the car.
For the descent, I put on my waterproof gear along with my microspikes to help with grip and traction on the way down. The descent was actually pretty fun – I tried to stay in the snow as much as possible, and actually followed an old set of footprints for a while, but didn’t have to worry too much about slipping on the scree. I did land on my butt a few times but snow is pretty cushioning so no issues. At some point on the descent my Gatorade water bottle (which I had bought the day before!) fell out of my pack and I only realized when I got back to the car. As a result I have lost Gatorade water bottles in two Canadian provinces – New Brunswick and now Alberta. Hopefully the streak ends there. 😦 Thankfully I didn’t lose my bear spray (which was in the same pocket as the bottle)!
I eventually made it past all the scree and snow, and back on more conventional hiking trail, and it was a quick descent to the car. Thankfully, I didn’t see any bears. Overall, a pretty good hike, but definitely would recommend doing it with no snow! Here’s a FATMAP route (not mine) for this hike (includes Sparrowhawk, which I definitely will do some day!).
After getting back to the AirBNB, I went for dinner at Half Hitch Brewing Co in Cochrane. Veg burger, of course! Probably one of the better veggie burgers I’ve had at a restaurant. Went to bed pretty early, the plan is to get up for 6:15am breakfast so I can tackle the Pigeon Mountain trail as early as possible.
Day 2: Pigeon Mountain and Dinner with Alain!
I woke up at 6am and quickly gathered my stuff for the day, before heading downstairs for breakfast. I ended up packing an extra bun with Nutella for the hike to supplement the two Clif bars I had. I was out the door and on the road by 7am, and arrived at the Skogan trailhead at around 8am. I reveled in the beauty of the nearby Lougheed massif, and read a plaque with some information on its namesake, James Alexander Lougheed, before setting off on my hike.
The hike started off fairly straightforward, following a well marked, gradually ascending track through the forest for just under 5 kilometers where the Pigeon Mountain trailhead was located. The scenery was not fantastic as many of the peaks were blocked by trees, but I knew that soon after starting on the Pigeon trail, the views would quickly turn amazing. I saw a couple deer heading up but my presence along with bear bells scared them off before I could get any photos. I took a 20 min break at the Pigeon trailhead after a speedy 1 hour of hiking, before starting up.
Wow, the trail got tough quickly. After a short forest section, the trail emerged onto a grassy hill that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was very steep, but that wasn’t a problem, since I was now above the treeline, so I could see (and often stop to take photos of) a ton of peaks in the background, including the Three Sisters! This trail reminded me strongly of the Karaula/Mali Polich hike I did in Bulgaria, just over 3 years prior. During the climb I saw a lot of rodents (likely Hoary Marmots) running around (and hiding in their burrows when they heard me coming). Unfortunately I did not see any Bighorn Sheep – this trail is closed for a large part of the year so they aren’t disturbed during breeding season. There were also several snow patches to traverse, but it was nowhere near as much as on Read’s Tower.
After about an hour on the steep pitch, the trail flattened out and I could finally see the summit in the distance. The trail, which had been mainly dirt to this point, became quite rocky, requiring careful foot placement. Also, the clouds and fog began to roll in, making it hard to see the view at times, but I was still able to take lots of great photos. After roughly 1.5 hours of hiking from the Pigeon Mountain trailhead, I finally reached the top, and immediately donned my hoodie and windbreaker as it was quite windy and cold. After about 30 mins, it started to rain, so I began my descent.
I saw a ton of people coming up (I later learned from Mari that the Calgary crowd loves to hike in the afternoon – super great for me since I had the mountain all to myself in the morning!) and chatted with a few of them, including a couple roughly my age who were very friendly and we shared some hiking stories. I also saw two guys pushing their mountain bikes UP the mountain – I was initially perplexed before they told me it was a wicked ride down the mountain. I can believe that! The weather turned around about halfway down the Pigeon trail and it was very sunny and clear. The descent was very quick – it only took me just over 2 hours to return to the car, including a couple short breaks and chatting with fellow hikers. All in, it was just under 16 kilometers of hiking, with about 960m of vertical in just over 5 hours. Not bad, would definitely recommend to anyone who wants a long, non-technical, no scrambling hike with decent elevation gain in the Kananaskis area. Here’s my FATMAP route.
After returning to the AirBNB and relaxing for a bit, it was off to dinner with my brother! He had been in Alberta for a few weeks for work, and was arriving in the Calgary area for a week or so of vacation. Unfortunately our schedules didn’t quite line up to hike together but we did have some time to go for dinner the night before my course started. We went to My Greek Plate, a pretty popular restaurant in Cochrane. We caught up and shared stories from our trip thus far, was good to see him! Food was really good as well.
After dinner, we went our separate ways. I returned to my AirBNB and relaxed for the rest of the evening, starting to pack up my stuff for the mountaineering course which was the next day. Really looking forward to it!
Stay tuned for Part 2 of my Alberta trip, covering the mountaineering course!
Veg 'n' Alpine 