We completed another Kananaskis first for us today - Grizzly Peak. Amanda has wanted to do this one all summer, and I think we picked the perfect day to attempt it. At 9:30 at the trail head it was ~4 C, sunny with partially cloudy skies. Over the course of the hike we probably ranged from 0 C at the top to 15 C back near the bottom.
Our good hiking buddy Professor Lexie, and her son Mikey were with us today, which made for a fun and enjoyable hike. I think it is safe to say for all of us that this was the hardest 6 km we have ever walked - three kilometers straight up (885 m elevation), followed by three kilometers straight down. It took us 4.5 hours to cover 6 km, with a quick stop at the summit and a short lunch break on the way back down, which is a good indicator of how tough this hike was.
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| Beautiful Leaves |
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| It Didn't Take Long To Start Gaining Elevation After Leaving The Road |
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| Lexie and Mikey - Looking South Down The Kananaskis Valley |
The highlight of the walk (aside from the incredible scenery) was watching a grizzly mama no more than 100 m below, lead her cubs away from us down into the valley. This is only our second encounter with a grizzly while hiking, but it was very special as we were able to relax and watch the three of them walking through the meadow without any fear or concern. It was also pretty cool to be able to say that we saw some grizzlies on our way up to Grizzly Peak!!
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| Mama Grizzly With Her Two Cubs |
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| Two More Mama Grizzlies!! |
There were a number of good vantage points on the hike also that allowed us to get good views of Mount Pakenham, Mount Even-Thomas, Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes, Mount Hood, and the near-vertical layers of the south end of Opal Ridge. In addition, we managed to spot the two baby larches mentioned in "Scrambles In The Canadian Rockies" on the final approach to the summit in their full autumn colours.
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| Scree Section Approaching The Saddle - Lower And Upper Kananaskis Lakes In Background |
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| Still Smiling At The Saddle Before The Final Approach |
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| Baby Larch |
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| Final Steps Before The Summit - With A Terrifying Drop-Off To The Left |
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| Lexie Loves Mountains, Hates Heights!! |
The hike down was as slow as the hike up but the satisfaction of having made it to the summit kept our minds from acknowledging the fatigue that was starting to creep in to our muscles and joints. We made our customary stop at the Esso at the corner of Hwy. 40 and the Trans-Canada for a cold pop and piece of beef jerky. It was a good ending to an exciting and challenging hike!
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| Lunch Break |
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| Small Scramble Section On Way Down |
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| Home Stretch - Grizzly Peak In Back |
