Western Canada - Part 3 - West Wind Pass
So the day was finally here. Our first day to go out and hike!! We were both so excited to go out and explore what western Canada had to offer. Our first destination was West Wind Pass. A nice, gentle hike that leads you up between two mountains and gives you stunning views all along the climb.
We got a good nights sleep and started the day off on the right foot...with coffee! We took our coffee outside to enjoy the view of the mountains from our back porch!
After the great coffee and soaking in the stunning view, we cooked breakfast, packed our packs and headed on our way to the trail head. I've said it before and I'll probably say it many times in these upcoming blogs, driving around here is absolutely stunning. Mountains pop up along the drive with every twist and turn, and each one is so different. Beautiful lakes and waterfalls are everywhere too. It really is a treat to just drive on the roads out here.
Approaching Ha-Ling Peak from Canmore
Above is a photo of Whiteman's Pond and Ha-Ling Peak which stands at 7,897 feet tall. Ha-Ling is a local favorite. It has a heck of an elevation gain, but it's a pretty straight forward hike that doesn't have too much difficulty. Plus, the view that it gives is amazing and I've only seen them from the internet. A little before Ha-Ling peak the road started to change to gravel and became a little rougher road. We were at around 5,000 feet, so the weather up here is very different than that in town.
The picture above shows you a sign that reads: Avalanche Area No Stopping. Signs like this that are posted everywhere, reminding you that you're in avalanche area and at certain times of year, it's very dangerous. They are unpredictable. Some of the roads up here are even closed during the winter because of two reasons: 1) They just can't keep up with the snow. It takes a lot to plow these roads, especially when they are steep. 2) The whole road could be in an avalanche area and people are just too dumb to not follow guidelines. At times, the weather gets so rough up here that they require you have chains on your tires at certain points in the Rockies. Why? So they don't have to come out and rescue your ass in the horrible weather!
The jagged mountains that towered overhead were magnificent!!
The pines were massive, reaching 50ft or more into the air. Sometimes the roads and the trees combined and made sort of a tunnel feeling. It was beautiful sight to take in.
The roads were extremely dusty from the dirt. We had to stay a decent distance behind the cars ahead of us because the dust was just too thick in some places! The trees and grass along side the road was also covered in a thick layer of dust.
We finally reached the trailhead, got out and started to load our packs up with cold water and food. The weather was perfect, 75° and sunny. Great for hiking. There was a decent amount of cars already parked there, but this trail leads to other trails so it didn't mean we we're going to see a lot of people. Also, this hike is not that difficult, so a lot of people come out to this trail. As you can from the photo above, the mountains were beautiful even from the parking lot.
Jessica stopping to take a break with Mount Lougheed in the background.
Windtower Mountain and Mount Lougheed, Windtower stands at 8,974 feet and Lougheed stands at 10,247 feet!!
The higher we climbed, the better the view got. There were occasional pockets of open views, giving us a view of the southern Spray Lakes Valley. We followed a gully up most of the way and it had a good amount of elevation gain in a short hike. The total gain was around 1,300 feet in 1.6 miles.
Jessica trudging up the mountain!
Like I said, the further up we climbed, the better the view got!
Spray Lake popping into view.
Signs of spring were starting to show.
Jessica battling one of the steeper parts of the hike. Most of the hike was in this range of steepness. It was tough, but it wasn't the worst we have done. 1,300 feet of gain in 1.6 miles is a good battle. I'm used to it from my hikes in the Catskills, Jessica, not so much. But she still kicked ass and took the mountain on by the horns!
Spray Lake coming into view once again. Check out the snow clinging to the tops of the mountains!!
Close up of Spray Lake and the surrounding mountains.
Jessica taking in the view of Windtower Mountain.
A little break through the pines showing the mountains once again.
This picture shows us getting close to the alpine zone!! The alpine zone is where trees and vegetation are scarce because of the extreme weather and the lower amount of oxygen in the higher elevation. Also, the weather can change with the flip of a switch. It could be sunny like this and in a couple minutes change into a white out snowstorm. The trees are gone, so there is nothing to block the snow or other precipitation from falling. Visibility is limited up here in those conditions. You better be prepared for the worse while in the alpine zone.
We kept on pushing up the mountain, finally coming to the alpine zone and boom!! The view exploded open, showing us a phenomenal view of the Spray Lakes Valley. We were blown away and left speechless.
Windtower Mountain
A close up of some people hiking up Windtower Mountain. They still have another 2,000 feet to climb!!
Looking up at Windtower Mountain. Windtower stands at around 8,974 feet tall. We were around 6,800 feet, so the mountain was a good 2,000 feet above us!
The view looking south east into the Spray Lakes Valley.
Looking north into the Bow Valley Provincial Park. This area is closed at particular times in the season to allow elk, bear and bighorn sheep to thrive after the winter seasons with their newborns.
I decided to explore around the pass while Jessica had lunch. I took this picture of her from the north side of the pass. I was over 1,000 feet away. A pass is an area between two mountains. Think of it as a street between the towers of a city!
Now there is a reason why they called this West Wind Pass and Windtower Mountain. You guessed it. The wind. It was at a constant 15-20 mph with gusts reaching up to 40 mph at times. While down below the treeline it was 75 degrees, up above the treeline, it was barely 60 and the wind made it even colder. I kept moving around, taking as many pictures as I could. I was still blown away by the beauty that surrounded me.
Jessica snagged a picture of me going to explore the north side of the pass.
Can you see me?
I climbed up that that little hill to get some more great pictures of the Spray Lakes Valley. Like the photo below.
After getting hundreds of amazing pictures and having lunch, it was getting a little chilly and we decided to make our way down the mountain. The wind dropped the temperature so much, that we had to throw on some extra layers to battle the cold. But, as soon as we started descending, the wind died down and that extra layer came off. Actually, a couple of hundred feet down from the pass, there was no wind at all. The pass is basically a wind tunnel between the two valleys. Just imagine what it would be like up there during a snow storm!
We took every chance we got, to pause and take in the stunning scenery the mountains offered.
Jessica heading down the trail and the view still there, making every second worth it.
The line in the rock is showing the presence of glacial movement that was here thousands of years ago. There are still glaciers up here in Canada and we got to visit one, but that for another blog post.
Another great view beside the gully. This is one of my favorite pictures. Everything was picture perfect. I must of said "wow" over a thousand times on this hike!
So, it's tough to see in this picture, but we ran into a grizzly bear on the way down! He or she was on the side of the gully and we probably came within 40-50ft of it when I finally spotted it. Sometimes while descending, you keep your eyes on the trail, so you can plan your next step so you don't fall. I probably could of spotted the bear sooner, but the trail had a lot of roots on it and I don't like tripping and falling on my face. We took a different route on the way down, which was closer to the gully, so we probably could of avoided and not even noticed the bear, had we gone on the upper route. When I spotted the bear, I grabbed Jessica's pack and pulled her towards me whispering "Shhh, there's a bear down there!" She froze and I told her "It's ok, just go back up to the upper trail. I'll be right behind you."
Now, most people will tell you that when you see a bear, scare it off. To be honest, that only applies when you feel threatened or are in danger. I didn't feel threatened or in danger, but I still scared the bear off in case any other people were on the lower trail coming from the other direction. I yelled and clapped my hands for a few seconds. The bear was caught off guard and quickly ran down into the gully. I looked down to see if it was still there and it was gone. Wow, what a great experience!!
We got back to the upper trail and ran into a family who was hiking up to the pass. I alerted them of the bear that I scared away down below and the woman went into a panic attack. She was breathing fast and heavy, thinking that the bear was still right on the trail. I reassured her over and over that I scared off the bear and saw it go down the gully far away. She eventually got her breathing back to normal and I felt sorry I said something. I only told them so that they would stay on the upper trail when they come down, just in case. Wow. On our first hike in the Canadian Rockies and we encounter a grizzly bear. Didn't expect that!
We eventually reached the trail head and saw that there were more cars parked everywhere! A lot of people were taking advantage of this beautiful day and I don't blame them! This is why I like to get out and hike as early as I can, to avoid the large crowds.
I don't know what else to say other than what a great first hike!!!