Outdoor Video Magazine

Length: 5km (one way)
Time: 2.5-4 hours round trip.
Book: David Thompson Highway - A Hiking Guide Book
Elevation: 1400m-1600m
Date Done: March 17th 2007
Effort: Low-Medium
Rating: 7/10 in Winter/Spring
Map: 83 C-1 Whiterabbit Creek, 83 C-8 Nordegg (not needed)

This one is a bit different from my normal kinda hike. A fun, rock-hop up a stream bed with some interesting terrain/features. Turn round when you get bored/have to go home.

The start of this hike is a bit hard to find…there are three wide gravel unnamed stream beds in approximately the right place (38km West of Nordegg, 3km West of Whirlpool Point). However, 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.

Then there is no trail, just start hiking up the stream bed. This was nice in March because there is little water, and it was mostly frozen so you could hike/slip up the ice, or rock hop. Whatever takes your fancy. Or you can walk along side out of harms way for a lot of it too. In times of highwater..there will probably be some wet-feet spots. But I think it would be good fun to try and get up there still!

After 1.5km you come across the hoodoos that give the creek it’s name. They are the best hoodoos I’ve ever seen. There are nice views back down the narrow, v-shaped valley to Lake Abraham too.

Carrying on up the stream, there are some fun boulders to clamber on, and some good slab with nice cracks for the climbing types to mess around on. The valley narrows into more a gorge type feature in places.

Our hike was made more interesting when we rounded a corner to find a huge wall of snow blocking the valley in an otherwise snow-less area. Avalanche! This was pretty recent too looking at it…no more than a week. We took full advantage and had a mini snow battle, before pressing on to explore the cave at 3km-ish from the start. Keep an eye out for it, it’s located at the top of a scree/talus slope on the righthand side. A faint path can be found up to it. If you brought your torch and you like climbing, you can probably have a bit of fun getting up to the back of the cave. I didn’t, so I’m not sure how far it goes. Look out for the mounds of bat poo.

To make a full day you could pair this hike with the Vision Quest hike, which is just 4km further down the road.

Length: 5km to ridge top (one way)
Time: 3-4 hours round trip.
Book: David Thompson Highway - A Hiking Guide Book
Elevation: 1400m to 2100m
Date Done: March 17th 2007
Effort: Medium-High
Rating: 7/10 in Winter/Spring
Map: 83 C-1 Whiterabbit Creek (not needed)

What a cool name for a hike, Vision Quest. I was hooked before I even read the trail description. It is named as the area was used as an native vision quest site. This hike was brilliant as a half-day hike in early Spring/Winter, as it is an open South-facing slope that is also windblown from the West meaning it clears of snow very early. We got right up to 2100m without needing to put feet in any snow in mid-March. Great views of the surrounding area, but I could see it being a lot less exciting/beautiful in Summer when there are all those other great trails accessible again.

The trail starts 42km West of Nordegg at a waste disposal site that is sign posted from the David Thompson highway. If you pass the David Thompson resort or the Cline River you have gone too far.

There is no technically no trail for this hike…but I could definitely see one. It leads from the car park straight up the slope through the trees following the edge of the waste disposal site. It goes past the well-meaning but slightly incorrect sign which notes ‘This is not a trail’. The ‘trail’ leads up through the trees, quickly coming out onto more open slopes in the edge of the ridge. You can now follow this ridge up, which gives you lovely open views all the way to the top. It’s pretty rough going and pretty steep too. There are 3 obvious bumps on the ridge, I’m not sure whether the second or third is supposed to be the end of the hike. I think it is probably the second bump. To get to the third involves a slightly exposed scramble (see background of the pic with the girls). We by-passed this given the snowy and icy conditions i.e. turned back. If you’re comfortable with heights, and in summer, this probably wouldn’t be too bad at all and it would be awesome to get right to the top. There are nice views of the Saskatchewan River Valley and Lake Abraham.

In the afternoon of the same day, we took a jaunt up Hoodoo Creek. I thought this combination of hikes was fantastic, and it made a nice change to do two short hikes (both very different) in one day, rather than one big long slog. Hoodoo Creek is just 3.5km away too.

Located near Nordegg, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies.

Length: ~43km
Time: 3/4 Days
Book: David Thompson Highway - A Hiking Guide
Min/Max Elevation: 1365m-2700m
Date done: August 24th 2006
Effort: V. High
Rating: 9.5/10
Scariness: 1.5/3
Maps:

Wow. What a hike. This has a fair bit of elevation gain (around 1800m) in total if you do the side trips. But you get to the top of 2 mountains over 2600m, you see two fantastic gorgeous turquoise mountain lakes perfect for fly fishing, and you’re probably the only person in the area that didn’t helicopter in! It is kind of a half-circle route requiring two cars/hitchhike…but this means backtracking is kept to a minimum. You approach Landslide Lake initially from the South over a high pass (more exciting then approaching via Cline River valley), and you leave Landslide Lake/Lake of the Falls via the Cline River route.

Day 1
Start from the Landslide Lake parking area 1km west of Whirlpool Point on Highway 11. This is just west of Abraham Lake, which is west of Nordegg, which is west of Rocky Mountain House which is in Alberta! Ok I’ll stop. The trail initially climbs very gradually through some deciduous forest. It soons steepens though, and the trail quickly becomes a relentless climb that offers great views back over the Saskatchewan valley. As you approach the treeline, the trail crosses a stream and then continues to climb through scree and talus. Here the trail becomes indistinct and you can take what ever path you fancy up the final hard slog to the pass at ????m. At this point we decided to dump our heavy packs, have some lunch and then head up the peak to the west. This actually only takes around 15mins to the top from the pass and is well worth it for the views. It is a tiny bit of scrambling but nothing exposed at all.

Returning to the trail, you now have to cross the barren rocky landscape to the otherside of the pass. Luckily this is flat. When you reach the otherside you have your first view down to landslide lake. Fantastic. Pick your own route down the scree and descend quickly down to the valley bottom where you can rejoin the trail along the righthand side of the stream. It’s then not too far to the shores of landslide lake where you can find your camping spot either at the South or North end of the lake. I would recommmend going right to the north end where there is a nice little site with a view down the lake. Fishing time.

Day 2
The day starts with a nice gradual descent along side a beautiful mossy stream to the junction with the Lake of the Falls trails. Here you bear left over the stream (west) and follow the trail that passes through some nice camping spots. The first part of this trail is flat along by the river, but after a couple of kilometers it starts to rise with increasing steepness away from the river. Around the top of the climb, there is a nice view left to a large waterfall through the trees. You then drop steeply to cross the steam, and immediately rise again in a short but very very steep climb. Once you reach the top it’s plain sailing all the way down to Lake of the Falls. You pass through a gorgeous valley, surrounded by nice peaks….accompanied by the sound of HELICOPTERS. Yes, when we were there helicopters fly low and loud over the trail about every 30mins. They are doing tours to the Columbia Icefields, and taking in and picking up fishermen from Lake of the Falls.

Upon reaching the lake, you realise it was all worth it. It’s a fantastic colour, and in a fantastic setting. Lush green trees and meadows around, big cliffs (we saw a mountain goat here) and it’s full of fish. There are some nice camping spots here, and it was sorely tempting to stay the night here. However we stuck to our original plan and pressed onwards. We continued to the far end of the lake, following the stream right back to the end of the valley. It’s a gradual climb through a lovely alpine valley, however nearer the end of the valley it becomes very rocky and tough walking. The headwalls of the valley on all 3 sides provide an excellent setting though, giving a feeling of isolation compared to the busy, noisy lake of the falls. Climbing the scree to the pass at the end of the valley is tricky business. It’s unstable, steep, and takes a lot longer than it looks. Upon reaching the pass you have a gorgeous view down the Saskatchewan valley again.

Continue to climb to the left (east) over the first peak. The hiking is easy, the gradient OK, and the views remain stupendous. The ridge is not exposed. From the top of the first peak you can see for miles around, and streching directly in front of you is the inviting ridge to the next summit. At this point we descended to the saddle inbetween the two peaks, and pitched tent. Surprisingly we found a perfectly flat spot among the rocks. Camping at 2600m with no-one around, and a view reaching all the way to Abraham Lake in the distance was very special. You are one of the higher peaks around and view really is 360degrees. We enjoyed a perfect sunrise and sunset. I wouldn’t recommend camping here in bad weather though…you would become a perfect lightning conductor.

Day 3
We started the day with a trip of to the summit of the first peak (that we already climbed) for sunrise. Wow. Then we packed up the tent and headed along the easy ridge up to the more northerly and higher peak. From here you can see down to Lake of the Falls, and the view is still amazing. Then we headed back down to the saddle where we camped, picked up our stuff and descended the mountain side due West. Exactly what it says not to in the book. But the going is not too bad, loose talus that is awkward on the ankles but makes for a quicker descent than retracing steps all the way. Once back down to Lake of the Falls, it’s time for a long tiring hike all the way back out. At the junction with the Landslide Lake trail turn left, and take the trail that eventually joins the Cline River and leads back to Highway 11 on the shores of Abraham Lake. There are nice camp spots all the way along here if you don’t feel like making it out in one day. On reaching the highway it’s time to hitchike back to your car, or drive back in the sensibly left shuttle car you placed here beforehand.

Length: 18km
Time: 6-7 hrs
Book: David Thompson Highway - A Hiking Guide
Elevation: 1365m-2515m
Date done: June 3rd 2006
Effort: High
Rating: 7/10
Map: 83 C/1 Whiterabbit Creek

This is a nice hike up to a high-level ridge with some good views in the Nordegg/Lake Abraham area. Park at Two O’Clock Creek campground on Highway #11 22km East of the Banff Park Boundary. Its a nice easy (well not physically easy, but technically easy) to get up really high in some nice alpine terrain.

The first part of the hike is stiff climb up through forest along side a nice creek that deepens to a bit of a gorge. This steep path eventually brings you out onto the crest of a ridge above the treeline. There are awesome views of the North Saskatchewan river and the surrounding rocky peaks. The path then becomes a slightly less steep climb along the ridge to the high point marked by a cairn. The views here are spectacular and you really feel high up compared to everything else around.

To follow the route, you must now retrace your steps back to the campground.

If you are very fit and get here early enough, a superb option would be to carry on along the ridge, descending to a saddle, and then follow the line of the ridge up the steep shoulder of the mountain in front of you. I think it would take around an hour and a half more to reach this summit, but it would be an excellent side-trip.

An alternative route back is possible, if like me you hate retracing your steps. From the summit of the ridge where the cairn is, instead of descending the ridge you came up, start making your way down into the grassy valley on the west side, aiming for the ridge parallel to the one you came up. This is a gorgeous area with many alpine flowers. Once on the ridge stick to the East side and look for an avalanche shoot that appears just at the start of the treeline. It is possible to descend here fairly easily through some rough scree to the creek below. From here follow the creek all the way along to where you originally crossed it on your hike up, and follow the path back to the campground. The creek is fine to hike along in low water levels, if you don’t mind numerous crossings and some wet feet and some stumbling. I had fun taking some good falls down the creek and ending up jumping in thigh deep in freezing cold water brrrrrrr. My girlfriend at the time found this hilarious. This is rough terrain because it is not a path. Don’t attempt in high water.

Book Links

David Thompson Highway - A Hiking Guide