I am back in the hiking boots again, well maybe sorrels. My wife and I did a small hike for Family Day. We headed to Banff and walked up Johnston Canyon. Nothing hard about it but some great things to see and some amazing colors in the frozen ice. The trail is about 3km and I believe it is paved all the way up to the second falls. If you are going to do this trail in the winter I would recomend some type of spikes for your shoes as the trail is very icy and we saw a few people fall along the way. The falls were great and we saw a group of people ice climbing the second fall. If you are looking for something to do to kill an afternoon I would recomend this a very enjoyable hour and a half hike.

 

Burstall Pass
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Hwy 742
15 km round trip
Elevation Gain - 470m (1542ft)
Hiking Time -  5-7 hours
Difficulty - easy

  For our next hike we wanted to do Chester Lake but the trail was closed due to Grizzly Bear activity. After much discussion with my very indecisive friend Jeff and our wives we finally decided to do Burstall Pass instead. To get there you can go one of two ways. If you are coming from Calgary the longer way is through Canmore , it's faster to go down highway 40 and take the turn off to Spray lakes.

  We arrived at this hike raring to go, but a bit hung over. It probably wasn't a good idea to go to the Rose and Crown the night before a big hike, but we still made it, as we are real troopers. We also roped our good friends Jeff and Marcie into coming along to try out hiking. We were all very excited as we started out on the trail. You leave the parking lot from the North end and walk up an old gravel logging road with Mudd Lake to your immediate right as you are leaving the parking lot. It is an easy walk along the road, no real elevation gain just a few ups and downs. You will pass Burstall Lake on your right. This trail goes for about 4 km, then you will reach an alluvial flat (big open field/meadow), where there are many streams to cross. They were all very small and shallow, although apparently they can be much deeper in the spring as they are the formed from the run off from the glacier. Some had a log you could use to cross over, others you had to attempt a bit of a jump, but it made the hike a bit of fun seeing who was going to get the first soaker of the trip. Also, it's always fun to laugh at our wives struggling to get over the streams. Not fun hearing about how your friend is a great husband as he helps his wife to cross.

  After this you reach a dense forest where you will have to ascend for about 30-45 minutes depending on what type of shape you are in. I myself found it a bit of a struggle, but I made it no problem. It didn't help that Marcie was telling us before the hike how out of shape she feels, then she was leading the way like a mountain goat tearing up the side of a cliff with my wife in tow. After this slight gain of elevation you come to a sub alpine meadow with some great views and you feel like you are in a scene of a movie. A small trail wanders you through this meadow on your way up to Burstall Pass. You will reach another small forest area where you will make your final ascent to the pass. It's a bit steep at times and can tire you out, but once you reach the top it's well worth the view. You will reach the top and some great views of the Spray Valley and off in the distance you can see Mt.Assiniboine, the one from you Alberta drivers license. We found a place out of the wind and stopped for lunch. Some great views but a bit cold up there with the wind. There are some great opportunities to do some easy scrambles to different peaks if you have the energy. We did a bit of wandering but started to head down as it was beginning to get late in the afternoon.

  The way down was easy but feels like forever after you cross the streams on the way back. Also, it doesn't help if you spend 20 minutes trying to decide if that's a bear or just a rock in the distant field. I stand by what I saw, it was a bear! Maybe he was sleeping that's why he wasn't moving. Yeah, that's the ticket!!! After what seemed like forever we reach the parking lot to find some one decided to empty all their garbage all over the parking lot, some people. Marcie took the high road and cleaned it up, very nice of her. We then sat on the back of the truck and had a beer to cheers our accomplishment. Another hike down and some new hiking partners, What a great way to spend another Saturday.

  Keep your laces tied tight and your pack light.

  Mr. Day hike

   

   

So my wife and I decided we should take up hiking for some exercise on the weekends and now it has become quite the passion. After every hike the first thing we talk about is what hike we should do next. For our first hike we chose Pickle Jar lakes due to some recommendations from friends and through the internet. It is located in the Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park on Highway 40, southeast of Highwood pass. It is 9km round trip and a 442 m elevation gain.  This hike is rated moderate, mainly because of the steep final approach.

We arrive at the hike with our new Low alpine pack and my wife in her new Hi-Tech hiking boots, feeling like your everyday hikers who have been doing this all summer long. We cross the highway from the Lantern Creek day use site and begin our journey up to the lakes. At first I am feeling great like an old pro moving a great pace. It is a slight incline but nothing too hard. We get going for about half an hour and I begin to realize that spending my summer eating chips and indulging in a few too many beers is begining to catch up with me, I am not 21 years old anymore with endless energy, I am know a 30 year old man with a bit of a ponch gasping for air after any small incline. I try to act tough though as my wife, who is a few years younger then me is doing great.

After climbing through a nice forest with some great views across the valley, you come to what I considered a wall of black death, a steep black shale hill. You must gain about 100m in a very short period, I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest. I am sure it isn't that bad, but don't forget this is our first hike and I am a bit out of shape. We finally gain the top of black death and I am feeling like a champ until I realize that you still have a bit of a climb left before you reach the lakes. It really isn't that bad after this. You go up a small hill then along a large scree hill where you get some great views and a glimpse of the first lake. It was definetly worth it and now I am happy to have put myself through the journey up.

We ventured to the first lake where there were tons of people fly fishing and I swear every time they put their lines in the water they came out with a fish. Maybe not the biggest fish but they seemed to be having a great time. We then ventured to the second lake as the first one was pretty crowded with people fishing and stopping to have lunch. On the way to the second lake their is a small river/creek with a neat waterfall in between which was very nice. It all seems some what surreal when you are up there, probably why we love it so much now.

The second lake was nice, a bit smaller and a great place to stop for lunch. We found a log to sit on and relax and just try to take it all in. The third lake was just a bit farther maybe 5 or 10 minutes away. This seemed like a snow run off, as it is completley surrounded by rocks and the lake is very small. Still worth a look but the first two I found to be a lot more picturesque. Apparently there is a forth lake as well, but we didn't know about it when we were there.

All in all this was a great day hike. it is fairly easy except for the last little climb, or as I refer to it, Black Death. I would recommend this hike to anybody looking for some alpine fishing or for something to do on the weekend. It was definetly worth it and it's a great drive from Calgary. It probably took us about an hour and half to get there. So don't be afraid to get out and try a hike or two, you wont regret it.

Keep you laces tied tight and your pack light.

Mr. Day hike