Day 4: random alpineering
today, with no prior plans as usual, we set our gaze at the mountain in front of our campsite and decided that it didnt looked too unclimbable! we probably got ourselves over our head for our first hike but no regrets were had between us as the views where absolutely stunning
wake up early get out earlyer!
after waking up in our second questionably legal campsite, we got out as fast as we got in, before anybody spots us and starts asking question. this is a really good motivator to get up early and start the day!
before we left our spot, we had a look at the surrounding mountains and decided that the one in front of us looked like it could be climbed! and sure enough after a quick search we found out there was a trail going up to the peaks then around the ridge. after that our minds where set that we where going to climb a mountain today.
Ft. heart mountain in the background.
heart mountain horseshoe trail
This trail passes by five different peaks, including: Heart Mountain, Grant McEwan Peak, and three smaller unnamed peaks. starting our hike we didn’t know anything about how hard the trail would be or where the trail would take us, but with the power of a GPS we started our ascent. the first part of the hike was grueling, at every step it seamed that the slope was getting steeper and steeper. At one point, we arrived over the tree line to a pretty rad scramble, where we had to climb up a few short vertical rock faces. On the bright side, despite the difficulty the reward was more then worth it. With a stunning view over bow valley as you climb and once you reach the top you are greeted with a full 360 view of the surrounding mountains, lakes and rivers. it made the pain we endured to get here all the more gratifying and worthwhile.
this is the reason we came out west.
tim’s tally is on the rise again!
about 3/4 up the first peak, while climbing one of the rock faces, Tim forgot to secure his wide angle lens to his bag…. Before we knew it, we saw the lens fall down 2 separate cliffs before resting on a third ledge. sadly it did not survive (see picture to the left).
rip lens.
meet our new friend
as a small sub goal of this trip, we really wanted to see some snow in July, thankfully we where greeted by a small patch of it near the top of one of the summits! so of course we rushed to it and made a snow man.
this is Bertrand.
a jolt of energy
as we made our way up the peaks along the ridge, we heard thunder crackling in the distance and we noticed dark clouds forming just above our heads. rookie mistake. always check the weather. realizing that the top of a mountain is the worst place to be during a thunder storm we picked up our pace and hurried along down the mountain. to make matters worse we sadly ran out of water 3/4 of the way along the trail. the descent was mentally and physically challenging to say the least. but the looming clouds and rumble of the thunder was a great motivator to keep going.
a bed and shower was now a desperate need
with the hike done, we where burnet by the sun and our legs didn’t want to function as they should. Tim decided that a shower and bed was needed, so we looked up a hostel in Canmore. this was one of the best experience of my life. we met up with a group of backpackers, travelers and similarly minded people. one of the locals showed us a secret place along the river where we built a small campfire looking out at the sun set over the valley
absolutely beautiful, the vibe of it all was beyond my wildest dreams. sharing our adventure stories in this stunning setting with a few drinks was one of the best nights so far.
