Trail to Peak: The Adventurous Path
Hiking, Exploring, Travel & Adventure
Category: Adventure
Iceberg lake + Bow Glacier’s Big Toe
We climbed ancient moraines, balancing along their very pointy, lofty, narrow ridge-like tops. We scrambled up steep scree slopes. We accessed heights that from below seemed totally daunting, but up close were simply a grunt. We crossed (and got soakers in) many mountain streams. We hiked through pristine high alpine meadows with no trails, marmots, pikas and fall colours. We revelled in lofty views. We walked along airy ledges. We scrambled a bit through notches in cliff bands. We saw cascade after cascade of icy glacial water. We got above the Bow Glacier to marvel at its wrinkled skin and poked our head into the vast blue depths of its toe (a little like peeking under a toenail!!).
Blustery Bourgeau Peak
Battling the wind up that rocky rubble, we eventually found ourselves standing on a very large, wide peak, with views all around, having climbed 1500m on the 23km trail to get up there… that’s a long hike that includes climbing one and a half kilometres straight up into the sky!
Smutwood Peak
With mountain peaks cresting like waves all around us, picture perfect alpine lakes and wildflower meadows far below us, snow patches for Seamus to roll in, a bit of scramble on rock added in for fun, and moody skies all around, it was both a challenging and a super fun day!
Rae Lake Romp
Wanting to explore a little more of Kananaskis country, we set out for Rae Lake on Canada Day. A busy day in the mountains, July 1st tends to be when Canadians come out in droves to celebrate one of the things they love best… Continue Reading “Rae Lake Romp”
Mist Ridge
Spring has been a long time coming in the mountains around Canmore this year! Rain, snow, rain, snow. Would it ever make up its mind and dry up?!? Finally, a rainless weather forecast with warm temps was upon us, and we had a free… Continue Reading “Mist Ridge”
Ancient Rock Art: The Petroglyphs and Pictographs of Moab
Petroglyphs, an ancient form of rock art, of communication, of pictorial mapping… holds such fascination for me. Perhaps it’s my love of any rock. Or my fascination with the development of creative expression throughout human history, but those ancient pictures, painted or chiselled on cliff faces, are inspiring. Intriguing. They fill my mind with questions. And with stories imagined of lives lived, and the experiences that might have shaped their personalities and the development of our shared culture.
Riding at Dead Horse State Park
Having to turn back on Day One of riding in Moab, separating from the group, was disheartening. Nine kilometres into our ride, I was hacking away with my upper chest in a lot of pain whenever I breathed hard on uphills. Only a third… Continue Reading “Riding at Dead Horse State Park”
Riding My Trusty Steed in Moab
At one time, riding horses in the Moab area, shod with metal shoes, was a treacherous thing. The horses would slip like crazy over the surface of the sandstone. And so the rock earned its name, “slickrock.” Today’s modern steeds are sleek, two wheeled,… Continue Reading “Riding My Trusty Steed in Moab”
A Desert Journey
With my fingertips missing their defining ridges, my legs covered in a bevy of happy bruises, and my heart light from a week spent outdoors, playing on rock, we headed toward Moab Utah for the next stop on our holiday. It was a long… Continue Reading “A Desert Journey”
The Mass Production Wall of Calico Tanks
And now, back to our regularly scheduled program once again… Located high above Red Rocks’ popular Calico Tanks trail, the hike into this crag was my favourite part of the day. Part scrambling and route-finding, it takes you up a dry stream bed, along… Continue Reading “The Mass Production Wall of Calico Tanks”
Do you know your ABCs?
Trail to Peak: The Adventurous Path 