Last weekend we suffered a serious case of gold fever! The result? We joined hundreds and hundreds of people hoping to find Larix lyallii (aka alpine larch). Our search area was Larch Valley, so of course we found them - in all their golden glory! A few weeks ago we accepted an invitation from one …
Continue reading Hiking Banff National Park – Larch Valley / Sentinel Pass
Over the past decade or so, we've become accustomed to September day-hiking in Kananaskis Country. Once a week or so, as the school bell rings to confirm that our youngest son is busy for the next 6 or 7 hours, we drive to the mountains to enjoy one of the last days of summer, observe …
Continue reading Hiking Kananaskis Country – Pocaterra Cirque
Yesterday's sunrise and moon set revealed a covering of fresh white snow over the peaks of the Canadian Rockies. As soon as the lads were off to school, Mr. GeoK and I loaded our day packs and trekking poles into the car and headed for Highwood Pass. We had high hopes of photographing golden larches …
Continue reading Hiking Kananaskis Country – Ptarmigan Cirque
On September 9, @Albertaparks tweeted that Highway 40 was open at the winter gates, allowing access to the summit of Highwood Pass. Normally, these gates are open from June 15 to November 30 each year. Alberta Parks, highway crews and volunteers have been working hard to re-open all of Highway 40 and Kananaskis Country since …
Continue reading Hiking Kananaskis Country – Pocaterra Ridge
Taking advantage of bargain end-of-season pricing for seats on the shuttle bus, we caught the Saturday morning 9 o'clock ride to Sunshine Meadows. Earlier this summer, we hiked from Sunshine Meadows to Healy Pass and in 2009 we hiked to Citadel Pass. This time out, we opted to walk the approx. 12 km Sunshine Meadows …
Continue reading Hiking Banff National Park – Sunshine Meadows