Window Mountain Lake

May 27, 2018. A bike-and-hike to a backcountry mountain lake in the Crowsnest Pass. Region: Crowsnest Pass. Traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, Tsuu T’ina and Blackfoot First Nations. Distance: 22 km round-trip (18 km biking, 4 km hiking round-trip distance from the signed trailhead) Total Ascent: 632 m (includes a some significant gain and loss during the […]

Carbondale Hill

March 17, 2018. A rewarding snowshoe trip up to a fire lookout in the Castle Wilderness. (see November 2019 update below for a shoulder-season report, and the May 2020 update for a summer hike with kids report) Distance: 9 km round-trip (winter distance due to road closure) Total Ascent: 496 m Elevation of Objective: 1798 m Total […]

Mount Lineham and Rowe Lakes

July 21, 2017. A solo trip, with a challenging hike/easy scramble to the 2nd highest mountain peak in Waterton Lakes National Park, and a visit to a family of mountain lakes on the return trip. Region: Waterton Lakes National Park. Traditional Territory of the Blackfoot, Ktunaxa, and Tsuu T’ina First Nations Distance: 24 km round-trip Total Ascent: 1433 […]

Goat Lake

July 17, 2017. A moderately challenging hike featuring an exciting traverse leading to a lake in a hanging valley. Region: Waterton Lakes National Park. Traditional Territory of the Tsuu T’ina, Ktunaxa, and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 14.3 km round-trip Elevation Gain: 520 m Elevation of Objective: 2017 m Total time: 4h 55m I’d been promising my 9-year-old daughter that we […]

Chester Lake & Three Lakes Valley

July 10, 2017. A solo hike to high mountain lakes in Kananaskis country. Region: Kananaskis Country. Traditional Territory of the Stoney, Tsuu T’ina, Ktunaxa, and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 15.6 km round-trip Total Ascent: 600 m Elevation of Objective: 2460 m Total Time: 4h 31m This post was updated July 27, 2021 with some map improvements to more closely match […]

Ptarmigan Cirque

July 8, 2017. This was a family outing with kids, aged between 5 and 11. Ptarmigan Cirque is definitely in my top 3 in terms of best hikes to do with kids (Grassi Lakes and Bear’s Hump would be the other 2 on that list). There’s a bare minimum of uphill slog followed by amazing […]

Table Mountain

June 24, 2017. Region: Castle Wilderness. Traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, Tsuu T’ina, and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 14 km round-trip (this is based on my own tracking, others have tracked this hike as only 10 km) Elevation Gain: 739m Elevation of Objective: 2225 m Total Time: 5h Safety and Disclaimer June 2025 update: There […]

Bovin Lake

June 23, 2017. I decided to make my first foray in to the Castle Wilderness by checking out Bovin Lake. The trail is described in Ambrosi’s Southern Rockies Trail Guide, and seemed like a reasonable half-day objective for a solo expedition. The weather was partly cloudy and slightly cool, with a possibility of rain, so I […]

Turtle Mountain North Summit

June 3, 2017. *Update as of May 24, 2020* Region: Crowsnest Pass. Traditional Territory of the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina, and Ktunaxa First Nations Total distance: 6 km round-trip Total ascent: 824 m Elevation of objective: 2105 m Total time: 3h 15m UPDATE: In the 3 years since my last visit, there have been some changes, both in […]

Bertha Lake and Bertha Bay

Hike Date: May 27, 2017 Region: Waterton Lakes National Park. Traditional territory of the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina, and Ktunaxa First Nations Distance: 11.4 km round-trip to lakeshore, add 4.5 km if you circle the lake, add 1.6 km to round-trip if visiting Bertha Bay Total Ascent: 540m, add 100 m if visiting Bertha Bay Elevation of […]