Outdoor Video Magazine

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.