Finding the Top of the World

I met a couple of acquaintances at the west end of the city, and we carpooled out to the Engadine Lodge turnoff. The sky was reasonably clear overhead, but the mountains on the horizon were shouldering a grey shroud.

Snow had visited in the last couple of days, and all those peaks I've become familiar with, had a new look, under a white dusting of snow. Where the Kananaskis Valley narrows beside Mount Kidd, slush was ridged along the edge of the pavement.

The farther south we went, the less snow there was along the edge of the forest. And it was higher and higher up the avalanche runs that there was any white. At the Spray Lakes Trail turnoff by the Kananaskis Lakes, there were only a couple of dustings of the stuff, hiding under the trees on the south side of the road.

The Spray Lakes Trail didn't offer up the usual cloud of grey dust as we travelled. Cloud hid the surrounding peaks for the most part.

At the turnoff to Engadine Lodge, we parked on the side of the road, and started up the trail through a long straight cut through the forest. It eventually turned sharply, and we trudged through ankle deep snow and scrub forest, which was slowly reclaiming the area. The sky cleared a little and the sun peeked through a couple of times.

The trail wound through more scrub, and looking over our shoulders, we had a great view of Spray Lake Reservoir, all the way up the valley. And at the edge of the cut-out, we plunged into older forest on a twisty trail through the trees.

Except for the initial climb of a couple of hundred metres, which we gained close to the start, this was almost flat. We did gain more altitude, but it gently lifted us. The snow thickened, and I was glad that one of my companions was so familiar with the trail.

We skirted a creek to a new bridge, and across that, new trail, marked every few metres with pink plastic ribbon, and lumpy with snow covered bush. Lots of fallen trees to clamber over, and somehwere we gained another hundred metres.

We finally spilled out into a clearing, all white and grey. The water in the tiny lake was lightly riffled with a stiff breeze that had somehow found us through the trees. Across the water, a scree slope rose to the ragged wall of the west face of Mount Galatea, into low cloud. To the north, our left, a valley continued along side, up a low headwall, and in the distance below the cloud, the lower flanks of The Tower.

We brushed snow off an old weathered log and dug out lunch and cameras. After awhile, another hiker blundered out of the bush behind us. I thought it was a little extreme to be hiking in shorts, given temperature close to freezing. He said hello, and wandered toward the north end of the lake.

After awhile, we shouldered our packs and headed back into the forest. It wasn't long before we met a couple of groups heading up. The trail we had broke in the snow on the way up was now getting pretty well packed. We went down without a break, and half way across the cut out, the cloud finally broke enough to let some sun through.

At the car, we unloaded, rested, and took in the view that had earlier been hidden by cloud. Across the valley, one companion pointed out Tent Ridge, a horseshoe shape that she said was a great hike. And peeking from behind, the impressive block of The Fist.

After that, it was an uneventful drive back to the city. This wasn't the spectacular climb that some of my earlier hikes have been. But for a season closer, it was pretty nice. And hiking with company enhanced the experience.

Rummel Lake
Starting elevation: 1836 m (6024 feet).
Highest elevation: 2238 m (7343 feet).
Lowest elevation: 1836 m (6024 feet).
Elevation gain: 402 m (1319 feet).
Distance: 9.7 km (6.0 mi).
Time: 3:36.