Category Archives: Outdoor Adventure

Big Hill Springs: great family hike for fall colours

Posted on September 22, 2014 | Leave a comment

It had been exactly three years since we hiked the 2.3-kilomtre loop trail at Big Hill Springs Provincial Park near Cochrane. September is a wonderful month to hike here, as the foliage is changing colours and provides a beautiful golden backdrop to the main attraction: a series of waterfalls that cascade over rocky terraces.

During a rest stop along the trail Avery said, “Wow, look up!” Gorgeous.

We like to hike the loop backwards so we're rewarded with the waterfalls at the end of the trail.

We like to hike the loop backwards so we’re rewarded with (read: the kids can play in) the stream and waterfalls at the end of the trail.

Back then, the kids were six and four, and it took much longer for their little legs to tackle the trail. Now, at ages nine and seven, we seemed to effortlessly crest the hill and zoom through the groves of aspens and stands of spruce trees in no time, ending the hike at the spring-fed stream and falls for which the park is named.

Avery (then 6) and Bennett (then 4) at hike’s end in 2011.

Avery, 9, and Bennett, 7, at hike’s end this past weekend.

Really, this is the perfect hike for children: it’s close to Calgary, it’s not too long and the total elevation gain is only 20 metres. What’s more, there’s plenty to keep kids interested including giant tufa boulders to clamber upon, a couple of wood ‘tepees’ to explore midway along the trail and lots of opportunities for water play.

This wood fort ‘tepee’ was a new addition along the trail.

My favourite part of the hike was walking along the leaf-littered path through the aspens as new yellow leaves floated down to join the seasonal carpet, with Avery exclaiming, “It’s so pretty!” It’s seems amazing how much more the kids can do — and how much more they appreciate hiking — in three short years.

My how they’ve grown.

Hidden Lake: a new Fernie discovery

Posted on July 7, 2014 | Leave a comment

One of our favourite things to do near Fernie, B.C. is to spend a hot summer’s day at Surveyor’s Lake swimming, kayaking and looking for turtles and crayfish. We often hike around the lake from our HQ on Saunder’s Beach, and enjoy views into secluded Engineer’s Lake from the bridge that bisects the two mountain lakes. This visit, however, we learned of a new hike to a new lake: Hidden Lake.

Avery surveys the scene looking for Western Painted turtles at Hidden Lake in Kikomun Creek Provincial Park.

The lake isn’t “hidden” so much as out of the way of the majority of day-tripping beach-goers. You can access it via the loop road at Surveyor’s Lake campground in Kikomun Creek Provincial Park, a 30-minute drive southwest of Fernie on Hwy. 3. Hidden Lake has the same Western Painted turtles as the other two lakes, without the crowds to scare them from their log perches into the cool water.

See the water glimmering beyond the turtle sign? That’s Hidden Lake.

There’s a narrow trail around the lake — lined with Saskatoon berry bushes, I might add — that lets you get close to the shore in many spots where the deadfall has washed up and the turtles are out atop it sunning themselves.

Five Western Painted turtles sun themselves atop a log at Hidden Lake near Fernie, B.C.

Five Western Painted turtles atop a log at Hidden Lake near Fernie, B.C.

Our group of 16 managed to get quite close to a “turn” of turtles (I had to look that up!). Honestly, they’re not very interesting to watch, but these reptiles are considered a vulnerable species and it’s neat to see them in their natural habitat. Plus, the kids love spotting them — and eating copious amounts of Saskatoons along the way!

Avery shows off her bucket-o-berries along the Hidden Lake Trail in Kikomun Creek Provincial Park.

Training hike No. 1: Grassi Lakes

Posted on June 24, 2014 | 2 comments

Blake and I are tackling Fernie’s famed Mountain Lakes Trail (known locally as Heiko’s Trail, after Heiko Socher, the long-time Fernie resident who built it) in late July. It’s a challenging 20-kilometre day hike that will take us up 1,400 metres of elevation, over two passes and around the flank of Mount Fernie on a long alpine traverse before dropping us back down 640 metres and depositing us on the Island Lake Lodge patio for a cold beer eight to 10 hours later.

The view from up where they blast avalanches all winter = sublime. And it was a beautiful 30C day too -- with no wind!

The last time we tackled a difficult hike in Fernie was when we were training for Kilimanjaro in 2012. Here we are on the Polar Peak loop.

Since our urban bodies would suffer greatly if we stumbled into this epic hike unprepared, we have embarked on a series of training hikes. Over the next five weeks we plan to knock off three or four day hikes that will become progressively harder and hopefully make Heiko’s feel like a cake-walk when the day comes (I can dream, right?).

Embarrassingly, our first “hike” hardly qualifies as a hike, since most Canmore residents consider the Grassi Lakes Trail a morning warm-up (the more fit among them have been known to run the four-kilometre loop daily). Also, I’m pretty sure I huffed past a couple of toddlers on Saturday — whom I might add were walking under their own power — so that should give you an idea of the walk’s ease. There are two ways up to Grassi Lakes: we took the more “technical” trail that switchbacks up along the waterfall and stream; the other, easier route is more like a gradual logging road that’s popular among Moms and Dads pushing Chariots (we chose this path for the descent).

The lakes get their colour from minerals in the water.

Regardless, the hike provides a decent enough ascent (165 metres) for a first-hike-of-the-season and at the top you’re rewarded with nice views of Canmore and the Bow Valley as well as photo ops by the two stunning tourmaline-coloured lakes (the lakes and trail are named for Lawrence Grassi, a coal miner-turned-mountain guide who built the trail). At the top it’s fun to stop and watch rock climbers attempting various routes up the surrounding dolomite limestone walls, which have natural holds from erosion.

Climbers love the cliff wall that tower above the lakes as they're riddled with natural holds.

Climbers (on the left) love the cliff walls that tower above Grassi Lakes because they’re riddled with natural holds.

To make the hike more challenging we brought along Piper, our Brittany yearling. She still walks like a bit of a yo-yo on leash, zigzagging hither and yon, so we had to constantly watch where we were stepping to avoid her paws. At the lakes we continued hiking up to Spray Lakes Road, where Piper had a swim in the reservoir, then we turned around and headed back down.

Piper poses by one of two turquoise lakes after her first hike in Canmore.

Piper poses by one of the two Grassi Lakes after her first Canmore hike.

Drinking cold beers and eating delicious paninis on the Mountain Mercato patio on Canmore’s main street while Piper sunbathed on the adjacent sidewalk proved a perfect reward for a day well spent in the mountains.