Summit Elevation (m): 1712
Trip Date: Saturday, April 18, 2020
Elevation Gain (m): 275
Round Trip Time (hrs): 2.5
Total Trip Distance (km): 8
Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 2 – you fall, you sprain something
Difficulty Notes: There are no difficulties on Dawson Hill. Other than navigating all the roads in the area!
Technical Rating: OT2; YDS (Hiking)
GPS Track: Gaia
Map: Google Maps
I was wrapping up my 12 km local walk in YYC on Saturday when I got a message from Dave Salahub regarding an afternoon hike up Cox Hill or possibly Dawson Hill. Since I’d already done Cox in 2011 I figured why not tag another new “Covid-19” summit (i.e. a summit with no challenges or meaning). I texted back that I was up for it and we agreed to meet on the Powderface Trail at the bottom of the hill on the way to the Dawson Parking Lot. Parking along the road here would be entirely legal given the ongoing restrictions on hiking and parking in the mountains during this pandemic.
There isn’t much else to say about this simple snowshoe trip. I certainly wouldn’t recommend hiking it dry – what’s the point? There’s essentially zero views and we were in pretty tight forest for most of the afternoon – thankfully on various old fire roads for 80% of it. We struggled up some steep slopes in the forest once turning uphill off the approach road but other than that it was a pleasant, chatty outing. When Dave announced we were at the summit I was surprised that we’d gone 4km already.
Thanks to more snow (!!) our limited views were nonexistent. Despite the lack of views and the snow globe hiking yet again this “spring” I found myself enjoying the company, the conversation and the lack of city traffic. No surprises there.
