JM and Mandy Hike (And Other Outdoor Stuff)

Sunday, July 11, 2021

July 10, 2021 - Winter/Spring Recap

As has happened before I am behind on quite a number of posts. This post will be a brief update covering our activities between late January, and late April. Despite a lot of chaos in our life this spring we managed to get out a decent amount, which helped us maintain our balance and sanity. 😁

This winter was a typical southern Alberta winter - just when you thought we were through, we would get blasted by cold and/or snow. The back and forth of the weather conditions made things interesting and kept us on our toes. Having the right gear, and expecting the unexpected makes it possible for us to stay active and have fun outside.

February 19, 2021 - Sandy McNabb Hill, Sheep, Kananaskis

Gerry, Audrey, JM

Early morning hike followed by breakfast at the Chuckwagon Cafe in Turner Valley. Thanks, you guys!!

Beautiful, Bright Sandy McNabb Morning With Ger and Audrey

March 18, 2021 - Oldman River Valley, Lethbridge

Sammy, JM

With COVID restrictions reduced, Sammy was able to go back to Lethbridge to finish his hockey season off with a few weeks of team practices. I visited him one afternoon and we were able to get out for a quick walk along the river banks in west Lethbridge.

Lethbridge Visit With Sammy

March 22, 2021 - Foran Grade Trail, Sheep, Kananaskis

Audrey, Mandy, JM

This one was a little tougher than the normal Foran Grade hike, as we had to walk in from the winter gate which was still closed. This added a few extra kilometers.

Classic View From Foran Grade Descent

April 3, 2021 - West Bragg Trails

I had to take Sam to Edmonton for the weekend but managed to sneak a quick walk in first thing in the morning. I did the Boundary Ridge/Boundary Horse loop. I saw an owl on a fence on the side of the road on the way there which was very special to me, and something that really made me feel nice when I wasn't feeling so good.

Early Morning West Bragg Creek Trails

April 15, 2021 - Death Valley Loop

Amanda, JM

Another gorgeous day on the Death Valley Loop. The first kilometer or so was quite chewed up due to anxious equestrian riders, but once we got past that we had a great walk.

Ice Floe On The Death Valley Loop

April 19, 2021 - Fullerton Loop, Elbow, Kananaskis

Mandy, JM

Fullerton Loop was the first hike we did as a family when we moved to the Calgary area in 2010. It was fun to do it again all these years later. It is a quick and easy hike, but offers some nice views and is very accessible. An added bonus was the Varied Thrush we saw on the way up, which is a beautiful species we had never seen before.

Fullerton Loop In The Snow

April 29, 2021 - Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC

Ben, JM

I was in Vancouver to pick Ben up from university. We spent the afternoon walking around Stanley Park, taking pictures, and watching the people, and wildlife.

Ben Taking A Picture Of A Heron In Stanley Park

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

January 20, 2021 - Galatea Lake, Kananaskis Valley, Kananaskis

Today was my first day off-shift, and I really needed to get outside. Fortunately Amanda and Sam had planned to go for a hike, so we were all set! We hit the road around 7:45 and got to the trailhead around 8:45. We were first on the trail. It was a little chilly and windy at the trailhead but once we started moving we warmed right up.

The trail was snow covered, but very well packed down. We put our micro-spikes on almost right away, which was a good choice. The route follows Galatea Creek all the way up to Lillian Lake. There were some very cool ice formations on and around the creek. I tried to capture some on the camera but they were much more interesting in reality.

The hike is a steady climb all the way to Lillian Lake. Once there we decided to push another 1.5 km to Galatea Lake. The last kilometer was a bit of a grind, and was also where most of the fun occurred:

While crawling under a branch my bear spray got caught up in the branch, the protective cover came off, and a small squirt came out. I didn't know what was going on when Amanda started coughing, and choking, and saying something about a bear. Once she caught her breath she explained. Fortunately, she was able to continue. I guess I shouldn't call this part fun, but it was certainly memorable!

Once we reached the top we came back down a bit to find a sheltered spot (it was very windy once we were got above the tree line) to eat our lunch - PB&M (marmalade)!! The sandwiches were super yummy and were a necessary boost for the 7 km back to the car.

The Final Push

We had a bit of bum-tobogganing before we got back into the trees:

As with almost every hike, the walk back down was much quicker than the walk up. This trail used to present a larger challenge as there is many river-crossings, including the Kananaskis. We counted nine bridges on the way down, that make this trail much more accessible than it used to be.

Suspension Bridge Over The Kananaskis

Random Bridge

Skinny Bridge

Selfie Bridge!

We were all very happy to get such a big hike in, in mid-January. The upside of not very much snowfall this winter is that these types of trails are still relatively manageable (highly recommend walking poles, and micro-spikes). We made a quick stop on the way back for some cold drinks and snacks, and Mandy and I were in the hot tub within five minutes of getting home. What a great day!! We had a great workout, spent four hours outside, and I feel like myself again.

Friday, January 8, 2021

January 8, 2021 - Banff National Park - Pipestone Loop Cross-Country Skiing

Mandy and I hopped in the car at 6:30 this morning and headed out to Lake Louise to get an early cross-country ski in at the Pipestone Trails. We arrived at the trail head around 8:15, with the sun just coming up. We had been watching the temperature as we drove out and unfortunately it went from about -6 C in our driveway to -17 C at the trail head. Oh well, we weren't going to turn around now. We were first on the trail. There was lots of new snow in the area, but the trail groomers had done a great job grooming the trails. It didn't take long to warm up once we got moving.

Hoods Off After A quick Warm-Up

Early Morning Sun

We noticed during our outing that our glide wasn't that great. At times it seemed that we were doing little more than walking on skis. Towards the end we ran into the first people we would see and were discussing it. They told us the reason was that it was so cold. We were happy to hear that it wasn't entirely us or our gear's fault. And it is a good point to remember for future outings.

Frosty Lashes

Home Stretch

Eleven kilometers and a couple of hours later we were back in the car with the heat blasting and the seat heaters on max. Despite the cold and the lack of glide, I think it was a successful outing and a great way to start the day. It was a bit of a drive, and if there was more snow closer to home I think we wouldn't normally drive all that way. It was a great alternative though, and I would recommend it to anybody.

Trails: Pipestone - Merlin - Drummond - Pipestone

Monday, December 28, 2020

December 27, 2020 - West Bragg Creek Trails, Night Skiing

Amanda and I went out to WBC Trails yesterday afternoon for a cross-country ski. Unfortunately over 1,000 other people had the same idea. There was over a hundred people around the trail head/ parking lot area alone, and we decided it wasn't for us, so we turned around and drove home. We decided it might be a good idea to come back at night after everybody had gone home. We convinced Sam to join us and headed out around 6:30. When we got to the parking lot there was probably only two or three other cars.

The temperature was ~ -14C, and the sky was clear. There was a near-full moon so we barely needed our head-lamps. Although the tracks were in rough shape (probably mostly due to walkers on the wrong trails), it was very skiable. The solitude and quiet of night-skiing is unmatched, and we had a really great time. We did end up passing one group (the two sets of glowing eyes gave us a start, but we quickly realized it was just two dogs tagging along with the group), but after that we had it all to ourselves, and were happy to that we made the decision to come back.

Night-Ski Selfie

Sam and JM

Moon Shot - Sam and JM in the distance.

Trails: West Crystal - Loggers - Sundog East - East Crystal

Sunday, December 13, 2020

November 30, 2020 - Powderface Ridge (Loop), Elbow, Kananaskis

I decided to squeeze in one last hike before the winter gate closure. This would be a solo effort as Mandy was busy that day with some other errands. I decided to try Powderface Ridge, which I have done a few times before, but this time I would try to walk the entire ridge and come down the back way. Most people usually pop up onto the ridge for a bit, turn around, and return the same way.

I was hoping the sunrise at the end of our driveway was a good omen.

Sun peaking through the trees

I thought these clouds looked cool over Forgetmenot Ridge

Ridge shot (clouds still looking cool)

The walk up to the ridge got snowier and icier as I went, but my mocro-cleats made easy work of it. Once on the ridge, I realized how sheltered I had been in the trees. It was very windy up top. With almost no snow that I could see I decided walking the ridge and coming down the other side was a go. As I worked my way down the ridge it got snowier, but fortunately I had the hard work of another hiker to guide me through the snow and trees to the descent point. The trail they left behind looked like it had been there for a couple of days by then. The descent back to the main trail was nice, with one steep part near the end. I would recommend this method of doing Powderface Ridge, especially in the summer when the footing is likely quite good.

Happy to have done a trail I hadn't done before, I enjoyed the last couple of kilometers down to the trail head. With the winter gates closed now, I'll have to wait another six months to try it again. 😒

November 29, 2020 - Indian Oils Trail To Hill 617118, Sheep, Kananaskis

With the upcoming winter gate closures about to occur, we wanted to get a few last hikes in before we no longer had access. Today we decided to head down the Sheep River valley to Indian Oils. We made a last minute decision go to the The Knob, but when we got out of the car we realized how windy it was out so we reversed our decision and headed back up the road a couple of minutes to the Indian Oils trail head. There were already about a half a dozen cars in the parking lot, but we would end up having the trail to ourselves as the rest were doing to the more popular Mount Hoffman trail (one of Amanda's favourites).

First Viewpoint

There are not a lot of viewpoints, but it is a very nice trail walk through the forest. The first viewpoint is a good spot for a rest, and I suspect is the turnaround point for most. We stopped for a minute, then continued on a few more kilometers to our destination.

View From Our Snacking Spot

As we got further along the trail, the snow got a little more deeper and required more effort. We turned around at our end destination, walked back a kilometer or so, and then climbed a small hill to have a break and eat our snack. It was brisk and grey out, so it didn't take long to start cooling down. We quickly ate the treats that I stole from Mandy's Christmas baking stash and got on our way.

Mandy On The Trail Back

JM And A Big Rock

The rest of the way was smooth and easy (thanks to our micro-cleats). It was a peaceful and satisfying hike, and I was glad to be able to get out into the Sheep Valley one last time in 2020.

Thursday, December 10, 2020

September 6, 2020 - Summer Recap

My last post was mid-May. Because I have been delinquent in regards to our outdoor activities I have decided to list some of them here with a picture or two from each. We've done a number of new hikes over the summer which has been exciting for us. Moving last year has put us much closer to the places we love so much, and we are trying to take as much advantage as we can. This season we were lucky enough to do some amazing hikes on our own, as well as with friends from all over the country (Kanata, ON, Fort McMurray, AB, Prince George, BC), as well as with some new hiking buddies from the Calgary area. We are truly spoiled to have access to these beautiful places. With all that has gone on this year, being able to be outside in nature has become even more important for both physical and mental health. I hope everybody is staying healthy, and that you have been able to get outside to enjoy the fresh air. 😊

May 28, 2020 - Jumpingpound Mountain

JM, Mandy