Junction Hill, Highwood River Valley, Kananaskis - November 4, 2025

With winter fast approaching, and relatively little snow at the lower elevations, I knew the number of non-icy hike days remaining were limited, so I took the opportunity to get out on what we would be a beautiful day.  For some reason Junction Hill popped into my mind.  I had done this hike first with a buddy back in 2017 or 2018, and then again with Mandy and another couple in 2019 (see here).  As I mentioned in that blog post, I think there was a bit of tongue-in-cheek by whoever named the hike Junction Hill... My lungs and legs would not be laughing at that joke today.  In reality though, it was named Junction Hill due to its superb overlook of Highwood Junction.

I got to the trailhead around 8:00, where it was perfectly sunny and -6.5 C on the car thermometer.  This hike has some tremendous view points towards Mount McLaren, Mount Armstrong, Mount Muir West and Mount McPhail.  The bright, sunny sky along with the deep green of the foothills contrasted so sharply against the snow cover of these higher mountains, making for some stunning views.

First View Point On The Ascent

I was reminded on this hike of how important it is to be as informed as possible about the trails you attempt.  This particular hike has intermittently defined trails, as well as some side trails that lead to different parts of the mountain.  One of these side trails led me to a climbing/bouldering area off the side of the main trail.  I was comfortable enough to do a little scrambling to rejoin the main trail, but somebody who ends up here thinking this was the main trail, might attempt the scrambling part even though they might not be comfortable doing so.  These are the decisions that shouldn't be taken lightly and can lead to severe consequences.  I am more on the cautious side and have turned around many times in the past preferring to gather more information before attempting something I wasn't sure about, or even taking a particular hike off my list of things to do.

My normal process for picking hikes is first some online research and mapping - Bob Spirko's website (here) is a trusted resource for me and my family as he provides lots of details and photos, and we are calibrated to what his level of difficulty means to us.  I am reluctant to use Alltrails which is a popular app for research as the comments are provided by people I don't know and what is easy or hard for them can  mean something totally different to us.  I also map out proposed hikes using Gaia GPS to understand distance, ascent, and steepness.  I also have the Gaia GPS app on my phone which is an invaluable navigational tool (provided my phone is charged and doesn't get dropped on a rock or into a stream).  No service is required to use it.  In addition to the above I carry a compass, and a Garmin InReach in case I ever need emergency assistance.

Back to the hike!  Once the ridge is gained the pitch eases and the views continue to pop up. (When I wasn't looking at my feet!! 😂)

Hard To Tell But I have Never Seen As Many Juniper Berries On One Plant

The Moss On this Tree Really Caught My Eye

After a long but beautiful ridge walk I made it to the summit where I had a quick rest and FaceTime call with Sammy.

Summit Register And Cairn

South-East View

North View

On the descent, the trail is non-existent in parts.  I was however reminded of two other navigational tools that can be used only with extreme caution - flagging and footsteps.

Orange Flagging

Pink Flagging

Footsteps In Snow

Flagging can indicate that you are on the trail, but it could also indicate the way to somebody's secret spot or the way to a completely different trail.  Same goes for footprints - proceed with caution!!

About 2/3 of the way down in a spot where I was not on a defined trail I found this treasure:

Shorty's Final Resting Spot?

I am not sure what Shorty's story is but I admired his final resting spot, and hope something similar happens to my ashes when I am gone (no marker required). 😊

The final bit of descent was in open meadows and gave me the final few views of the hike.  I was back at the car around 11:30, and headed back home after the traditional Longview Esso gas station stop!

Descent Meadow With Road In Sight

Post-Hike Longview Esso Snack