West Mendenhall Glacier Trail

August 9, 2019. A guided hike to a viewpoint above the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau, Alaska. Distance: 6.4 km round-trip Total Ascent: 214 m Elevation of objective: 221 m Total time: 2h 57m (as part of a diverse guided hiking group) This year’s summer vacation was a cruise to Alaska. I packed some trail shoes so I […]

Mount Haig

August 3, 2019. A straightforward scramble up a peak on the continental divide. Distance: 12.7 km round-trip Total Ascent: 1400 m Elevation of Objective: 2611 m Total time: 5h 47m Earlier in the summer I had set out to climb this peak, but the weather didn’t cooperate. I salvaged my days by exploring the trails to Haig Lake […]

“Rogan Peak” (Dungarvan SE2)

July 29, 2019. A straightforward scramble to an unofficial summit in Waterton Lakes National Park. Distance: 21.1 km round-trip Total Ascent: 1200 m Elevation of Objective: 2437 m Hiking Time: 6h 40m Rogan Peak is a relatively easy scramble described in Andrew Nugara’s More Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies. The name was bestowed by Nugara in honour of his nephew. The […]

Headwall Lakes

July 22, 2019. A fantastic Kananaskis hike featuring high mountain lakes and waterfalls. Distance: 15.9 km round-trip* Elevation Gain: 475 m Elevation of Objective: 2350 m Hiking time: 5h 46m *The 3 apps I was running to track this hike gave 3 different values for the distance. This was what my Garmin InReach tracked. Published trail descriptions give a […]

Pocaterra Cirque

July 21, 2019. A hike with kids to a lovely but lesser-visited cirque just across the highway from one of K-country’s most heavily trafficked trails. Distance: 3.67 km one-way Total Ascent: 415 m Elevation of Objective: 2435 m Hiking time: 2h 13m ascent Pocaterra Cirque is accessed from the same trailhead as the massively popular Ptarmigan Cirque, but draws […]

Sarrail Falls and Hidden Lake

July 20, 2019. A rainy day hike hike to one of Kananaskis Country’s most popular waterfalls and one of its lesser-visited lakes. Distance: 1.1 km one-way to Sarrail Falls; 6.1 km one-way to Hidden Lake (this seems to be the distance most closely matching the Gem Trek map, another app on my phone said it was […]

Paradise Lake

July 2, 2019. A short hike to a tiny blue lake in the Castle Wilderness, with a return via Haig Ridge. Distance: 4.9 km one-way to the lake, 9.8 km loop with return via the ridge (quite a coincidence) Total Ascent: 575 m to the lake, 807 m if returning by climbing the ridge Elevation […]

Haig Lake Loop

June 23, 2019. An enjoyable rainy day hike to a picturesque lake. Distance: 8.3 km loop* Total Ascent: 460 m* Elevation of Objective: 1800 m Total Time: 2h 25m *Due to the fact that I wandered around en route, these figures may vary from the most direct route. Castle Mountain Ski Resort is the closest […]

Heart Mountain and Grant MacEwan Peak

June 15, 2019. An enjoyable and popular scramble to a pair of low peaks near Canmore. Distance: 8.2 km out-and-back* Total Ascent: 1038 m* Elevation of Objective: 2135 m (Heart Mountain) and 2149 m (Grant MacEwan Peak) Hiking Time: 6h 30m* *I did this trip as part of a scrambling course, so we went back and forth on […]

Star Creek Falls

June 9, 2019. An easy hike to a waterfall in the Crowsnest Pass. Perfect for young kids. Distance: 1 km one-way from the parking area to the best views of the waterfall Total ascent: Approximately 90 m Star Creek Falls is a picturesque waterfall accessible by a short trail. There’s actually a loop route that […]