Victoria Ridge

June 9, 2018. A bike-and-hike leading to an easy scramble to the summit of a scenic ridge in the Castle Wilderness. (Post updated September 3, 2021 to reflect changes to access. Old access instructions have been deleted but time and distance information below still reflects the old route. The new route can’t be biked easily.) […]

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. June 2025 update: There have been no notable changes on the route except that there are picnic tables and a kiosk at the trailhead and the cairn on the “shoulder” has been pulled down. The post has had minor updates of format and content. Table Mountain is in the Castle Wilderness area […]

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 […]