Summit Elevation (m): 1842
Trip Date: Saturday, November 16, 2019
Round Trip Time (hr): 2
Elevation Gain (m): 320
Total Trip Distance (km): 8
Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 1 – you fall, you tripped over your own shoe lace
Difficulty Notes: A very short, very easy hike just past the Elbow Falls area.
Technical Rating: TL2; YDS (Hiking)
GPS Track: Gaia
Map: Google Maps
Wietse and I found ourselves with a few hours to kill on Saturday, November 16 2019. Since I now live in SW Calgary and am essentially neighbors with Wietse, we can do things like drive 45 minutes west and hike meaningless little bumps such as the Mustang Hills on a whim. From my old place in the NE it took me 1.5 hours to reach the Elbow Falls area! Expect to see more of these easy hikes along the Elbow River on my site over the next few years.
You have two options for completing the Mustang Hills circle route. You can start from Hwy 66 like we did, or do a more traditional up and down circuit from the Cobble Flats day use area near the Elbow River. We had to lose 200m right off the bat, down to the day use area before gaining back 300 and then descending to the highway. This was a very strange elevation profile for most Rockies hikes!
The most unexpected part of the 2 hour hike was running into 4 actual Mustang horses! I really didn’t expect that despite the name of the hills we trekked over. Views were somewhat limited, especially with all the recent logging in the area, but this hike is more about the fresh air and conversation than the views.
Nice. I did this route about three years ago….but kinda got lost – or rather the trail is quite faint if I recall correctly and I wound up just making my own way up. I think I just went up one of the bumps and not both though. Lovely area along the flats by the river when your starting. I think I rambled along the flats for quite a while as well.
Yeah it’s nice enough for a short trip.