Outdoor Video Magazine

Length: 5km
Time: 2-4hours
Elevation Gain: Approx 400m (guess!)
Techincal Difficulty: Easy, trail-less hike with no exposure (possibility of some good exposed ridge scrambling if you progress further)
Exertion: High
Rating: 8/10
Time done: November 2008

Trail Summary

A good option for a short, interesting hike in the Nordegg area that gets you off the beaten path. Varied terrain, awesome views, and a sense of being in amongst the peaks for relatively little effort. The trail starts from the Hoodoo Creek ‘parking lot’ (road-side) by a large dry stream bed about 38km West of Nordegg, 3km West of Windy Point. On closer inspection, the right one has a large cairn on the North side of the road (and a small flag when I was there), and there is also a 4×4 track leading down to the stream on the South side of the road.

Detail

Start up Hoodoo Creek itself, taking either the stream bed or the faint trail to the right of the stream. The ridge you’re heading up is the one on the righthand side of the creek. After 5 mins or so, there is a large, square, yellow boulder/rock outcrop on your right. This is a good spot to find a faint trail leading away from the creek bed through the trees. Follow this (and make you’re own way) up the obvious ridge. The going is steep through the trees, and good views of Lake Abraham quickly open up behind you. There is a little bit of easy rock scrambling that can equally easily be bypassed and no hands used at all. As you gain height, the trees thin and a number of flatter sections are encountered. Keep pushing on, and eventually you break out of the trees completely and there remains just a short push to the top of the easy part of the ridge, distinguished by a flat area with no trees. This is where we turned back, being in a foot or so of snow. The ridge would be passable for a little while further, if you navigate a fairly tricky looking narrow section. I didn’t fancy it in winter, but may have given it a look in summer.

Return the way you came, taking care not to drift too far to the left on descent or you may get lost in the trees as you try to find your car again.