I really can’t say enough good things about the Mount McCrae / Loomis Lake outing. I highly recommend this for any Rockies adventure seeker who likes reasonable (but still rough) bike approaches, wonderful hiking trails through larch forest and sublime backcountry lake scenery. The hiking and scrambling along this route is excellent – on trails from the parking area all the way to the headwall. Bring your fishing rod and tent for added fun. This is a little slice of heaven along the Great Divide that any (responsible) backcountry user should experience at least once. I know that I will be back some day to enjoy the peace a little longer.
I am fully aware (and plenty of folks keep me informed ;)) that there are many areas outside of the Alberta Rockies to enjoy fall hiking and scrambling. Even though I will surely branch out of my beloved Rockies at some point, there is still something about enjoying familiar areas with new objectives. For now, my soul is well-filled with a tasty Skoki diet of larches, lakes and mountain vistas. And that is good enough for me.
As you can probably tell from my tone throughout this report, I enjoyed the living heck out of my day on this relatively obscure, unofficial Banff peak. Did it have the most scenic and engaging approach? Nope, definitely nope. Was the boring approach worth it for the experience of Elk Lake and the subsequent ascent of V7? Yup. Definitely yup.
Our round trip time of 7 hours wasn’t too bad – Hanneke proved her fitness on this one! As I’ve hinted throughout this report, most scramblers will find Mount Alderson an easy hike with cairns and trails for 98% of it. Hikers are another story. They might find certain sections a wee bit exposed and might even have some issues with route finding on ascent. As experienced Rockies travelers will know, down climbing on ascent can make for tricky route finding since the terrain always looks very exposed from above. In this case, as in many others, everything is a little easier than it first appears. I would highly recommend a shuttle to Cameron Lake so that you can enjoy the GDT down from the end of the west ridge towards Waterton, instead of returning via the annoying switchbacks to the lake.
“Oof that’s an awful one, you’ll love it” was Devan’s response to me telling him I was planning to ascend Mount Beatty on August 14th 2025. With those inspiring words, what choice did I have? For some reason I am attracted to these off-the-grid, rarely ascended, manky summits. I’m glad I never have to go back, but I’m also glad that I did it. Does any of that make sense? I doubt it, but then again does it have to? Thankfully not.
The views of the Michele Lakes and panoramas from the summits rising over the GDT’s highest point more than make up for a long, somewhat dull and manky approach up Owen Creek. This trip is very highly recommended for folks who want amazing Rockies landscape views and are willing to suffer a little for them. If your name is “Edna” and you are someone’s elderly (and presumably wise) auntie, you should hire a helicopter into this area to experience the same views for a lot less suffering. Of course, as I always say – suffering is what I believe makes the views as good as they are! YMMV, but IMHO there is always something lost when beautiful things are attained too easily. Somehow it’s the hardships before and after that enhances the beauty in between. But maybe that’s just me.
As with so many of my objectives, Quartal Peak won’t appeal to most folks but it will appeal big-time to a small subset of my readers. And it should. With an easy on trail approach and continuing easy ascent slopes, I could see trail runners appreciating this particular adventure. At 56 kms and almost 2k vertical it demands a certain level of suffering but surprisingly it only took me around 11.5 hours and I wasn’t racing. Honestly the worst part of this hike is the drive from YYC – it’s a lot of wheel time. Smarter folks than myself would combine it with other worthwhile objectives in the Poboktan Creek area, but I never claimed to be a genius.
I can’t say that the scrambling on this trip was especially epic or engaging, but when you decide to tackle the Coral Creek and Job Lake area you shouldn’t be doing it for the climbing or scrambling. This area is special for other reasons. It’s the endless rushing creeks, the alpine meadows, the grizzlies, the pine forests and fresh smelling wildflowers. It’s the lack of humans and the feeling that there is nobody around you for kilometers in every direction. It’s the solitude and the views over an ocean of named and unnamed peaks marching in row after row in every direction as you top out on a wild ridge in the middle of nowhere.
According to Bivouac.com, “Circle Game Peak” is named after the Joni Mitchell’s classic 1970’s song, “Circle Game”. Ok, that’s in line with other peak names in the area such as “Lonely”, “Strong Winds”, “Quixote” and “Ribbon”. If you delve into the lyrics it all starts to make more sense, almost like I planned for this particular summit as my 1k mountain objective. I feel good about my choice for a 1000th summit – probably 997 of them in the Canadian Rockies. It suited my style and current love of remote places to a tee and I had no regrets on this particular day in the hills.
As we made the long drive back home Wietse and I agreed that this little outing was much nicer than either of us was expecting. The larch forests near Bennett Pass and along Ashman Ridge were unexpected and in prime condition and the dramatic scenery over North Kintla Creek was a perfect way to spend such a perfect fall day in the hills.
There isn’t much to say about Guinn’s Peak. For a simple hike with some great Kananaskis views and a short drive from YYC, it’s one of those peaks that is perfect for either a family hike or one of those days when everything bigger feels like a suboptimal idea.
I enjoyed Honeycomb Peak more than I thought I would to be honest. The approach trails are all in very good condition and the sheep highways are icing on the cake! Views are always great along the Great Divide and this was no exception. Let’s just hope that the dirt bike crowd stays away, they are not welcome here. I can’t say I regret hiking Cyclamen Ridge either, but I can say that this is not a worthwhile summit to chase for its own sake. My advice is to enjoy the lower south ridge until the trees close in on the views and the trail becomes hard to follow. Stop there and enjoy your day.
I loved this trip and highly recommend it for experienced scramblers looking for a rarely ascended mountain with stunning views and an engaging route. It’s not often that one can nab a 3rd ascent in 30 years via a major trail network and minimal bushwhacking in a 10-hour day. It’s even less common that the route is as fun and hands-on as this one, despite looking impossible from every angle.
After a very long day the day before, we were up and at it again by 06:30 at our improvised camp along Job Creek on Sunday, the first day of September. I wasn’t sure I’d be feeling it this morning, but happily I most certainly was! We slowly got ready and abandoned camp, leaving the tents up to dry while we were gone. This would be our longest side trip at over 15 kms and an unknown route that we weren’t at all sure of. In the end, we couldn’t believe how easy the south ridge turned out to be, considering how it looked on the satellite maps. Views to Cloud Buster and Dark Storm over lush valleys and unnamed tarns were brilliant in the late summer sun and clear blue skies. Winds were light as we enjoyed ourselves immensely.
I can’t say enough good things about our ascent of Obstruction Mountain. After years and years of thinking about it, obsessing about it and planning it, we got perfect weather and conditions. There is almost no way to guarantee such a great set of circumstance on a large, remote peak, much less a route that was easy and straightforward. When it takes a minimum of 2 to 3 full days of backpacking and hiking just to access a peak, you never know what you’re going to get once you finally set steps on it. We got perfection, it’s as simple as that. As I always say – I’ve taken the bad luck on many other challenges, so I’ll happily take the good luck on this one!
Although there is a far easier line to the summit of Horseshoe Mountain via SE ones from Lightning Lake (Tony and Gillean Daffern’s original ascent line in 1973), I didn’t mind taking a slightly harder one. Sure! I’d be talking a little different if the crux had turned me around, but sometimes completing a planned route with unknown challenges is more rewarding than taking the easiest line. In my case the easier line simply wasn’t part of the itinerary – getting to Lightning Lake is way off our hiking route. The views from Sam Rogers were some of the best of the trip and the only ones that clearly showed Samson, Leah and the steep headwall plunging to an unnamed lake above Job Lake.
I have zero regrets about ascending Ribbon Peak from Red Pass, even though it would have been nice to have more beta on this moderately complex route beforehand. For a much easier ascent on scree and rubble with no downclimbs, take the same line as Alan and Alistair did via north and west slopes from Samson Lake.
I highly recommend this lofty, well situated and scenic ascent for anyone in the upper Coral Creek area with some time and energy to spare. There is really no scrambling on this mountain, just a long, steep hike for some million dollar views.
Situated in between the White Goat Wilderness and the Upper Clearwater / Ram PLUZ the Job / Cline PLUZ reflects both of these remote wilderness landscapes. Just as in the Ram and Clearwater area, it takes a little extra endurance and perseverance to penetrate the prime areas. Just as in the White Goat Wilderness, it takes off trail adventuring and hardy legs to take in the wildest views. There are sublime, peaceful alpine meadows and brilliant, shimmering lakes and tarns tucked into almost every valley and canyon you pass. This is a landscape that belongs to powerful grizzlies, agile mountain goats and soaring eagles. You feel small as you cross its powerful streams dozens of times. Huge stone walls gaze sternly down on you as you shuffle underneath them. Clouds race overhead as waterfalls gush down sheer cliffs on all sides. Even wildfires are untamed here – allowed and even encouraged to burn unhindered when they flare. Despite the obvious presence of humankind, this is a land that you feel privileged to experience, not entitled to.
I have zero regrets scrambling Mount Invincible from its namesake creek. Sure! There were moderate amounts of bushwhacking and some very steep and exposed slabs, but this is what Rockies scrambling can be all about when you go off the beaten path and focus on more obscure peaks via obscure lines. I would certainly NOT call any part of scrambling this peak “easy” or even “moderate”. You should go in expecting plenty of routefinding to keep things 3rd-class with maybe a touch of 4th-class thrown in to keep you on your toes (literally)!
Forks Peak had it all in the end. A frustrating start with a soaked trail and fresh snow greeted me. Then an unknown route worked out perfectly, getting me quickly to treeline and the upper south ridge. An intimidating summit was no more than difficult scrambling. Stunning views entertained me almost all day and I got to enjoy a fast bike ride at the end of it all. The best part was the deep solitude that I always seem to enjoy more than expected. This is a highly recommended outing for those looking for obscurity, distinct views and a healthy challenge.
I enjoyed this hike quite a bit. It’s very similar to something like Healy Pass / Egypt Lakes or the Skoki Lakes area but much shorter. I’ll admit that I was a wee bit disappointed in the lack of larches almost the entire way until just below Gibbon Pass but this isn’t unlike many other larch marches in the Rockies. If you are a fit hiker and don’t mind a 25km day with over 1600 meters of gain, than this trip is definitely for you. I would time it a week better than I did to catch the larches at their prime but this is always a bit of a “hit-and-miss” game.
Mount Allenby is a trip I won’t soon be forgetting. I can’t recommend the south ridge as a scramble due to its disturbingly loose and exposed nature. I’ve noticed a trend on Social Media where folks with limited technical climbing experience are confidently giving 5th class ratings to their scramble routes. I won’t do that, but I’ve been up enough mountains to know what’s safe and what isn’t. Mount Allenby’s south ridge is not a safe place to be, no matter what technical rating you might attach to it. When holds are falling into the abyss underneath you and moves are made downwards to avoid pulling critical holds off the mountain as you ascend it, this is cannot be called safe terrain. I certainly used some of my luck coins on this trip. The hike up Bryant Creek and into the upper Mercer Creek valley with its larch forest was beautiful and exactly what I needed out of one of my last trips of the year before snow starts falling in the Rockies.
After hundreds of laps on Prairie Mountain, I wanted to write a short article on the do’s and don’ts and tips and tricks for folks who might be headed to this small peak for the first time. This is called a “dummies guide” rather than a “beginners guide” for a reason. As an endless user of the mountain and various of its trails, I have some advice for those who might not realize they are behaving in ways that degrade the experience of myself and the hundreds of other hikers who come after them. The advice all comes down to one thing. Please. Don’t be a dummy.
Laughing Bears Creek will always stand out in my mind as a quintessential Rockies backcountry adventure. I’ve been planning and dreaming of it for so many years, it had the potential to disappoint but instead it exceeded even my best ideas of what it might be. It will stand out as one of my favorite trips of all time and certainly a highlight of 2023.
