Well, summer has certainly come to an abrupt halt! It has been snowing across Central and Southern Alberta these past few days, and my fingers are crossed that it is merely a little blip in Momma Nature's schedule. I have been lucky enough to enjoy a few more miles in the Rockies however, prior to this dismal potential end of the fall season.... And I even saw my first bear in forever, plus a lovely moose!
Earlier in September, we took a drive one Sunday afternoon out to Bowden to the Sun Maze and wandered around the sunflower fields. If you've never been, I highly recommend it!
Then I skipped out of work mid-week and joined some Canmore friends for a stroll up to Bow Glacier Falls. This trail is one of the best reward-for-effort trails in the Rockies I must say, and I have hiked it multiple times. I do suggest hitting it on a weekday though, as Bow Lake is incredibly popular with the tourists.
Last Saturday (when it was still autumn!), a couple of friends and I did the Centennial Trail traverse of Mount Allan, starting at Ribbon Creek and finishing at Dead Man's Flats.... Years and years ago, I hiked up Mount Allan by myself, and I laughed out loud when I went back and read my account of that day. This recent excursion was exponentially more enjoyable, and the ridgewalk was nothing short of spectacular. It is a committing hike, with about 8 to 9 kilometers of the 19 being exposed, so you do need to pick a decent weather window for it. And do it from south to north. And be prepared for an unrelenting stretch of steep downhill once you drop off the north section of the ridge and down into the trees... my knees didn't bother me but my toes were sure happy to be done!
The day after the traverse, I took it a bit easier and zipped out towards the Forks at Upper K Lake. A beautiful bruin and a huge bullwinkle crossed our path, which was so cool to see, especially because my wildlife sightings have been almost nil this year.
This past week I put on several steps in a much less fun way, and the upcoming week will be the same - between plant turnarounds and unit outages, work work work is all consuming! One distraction that I get to look forward to, is the stained glass class I signed up for. Tuesdays are my new favorite evening, with a small glass panel and a lampshade on the agenda.
Happy Sunday! Stay warm everyone!
Cheers.
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| Many many hours in hiking boots followed by a week straight in work boots has been hard on the toesies! |
