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canada hiking moosling trip reports

Barrier Mountain in the clouds

Trying not to be put off by the miserable weather forecast, we decided to set off for a hike anyway – it might make for a good time to test our rain gear, including the new little Oaki Adventure Suit for the Moosling.

In the end it never rained, just stayed cloudy and drippy and miserable all day. At least it was atmospheric. The trail up Barrier Mountain (in K-Country) was thoroughly muddy too – definitely not good cycling yet.

Thanks to the cloud we didn’t bother going all the way to the summit. Just most of the way. Still a nice little hike though, and thanks to the weather we had the place to ourselves.

Distance: 12km return

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canada general hiking moosling

Let’s try this again

After last month’s disastrous Ha Ling Peak attempt – well, not disastrous exactly, we didn’t fall off the mountain, and weren’t eaten by bears or grues, we just didn’t make it to the top, but did spend a lot of time wallowing about in thigh-deep snow.

Anyway, I thought we’d had enough warm weather that it was worth trying things again. So the Moosling and I set off from the carpark. But only after we’d spent some time discussing whether or not he’d be wearing a hat and sunglasses – the removal of which is a new trick that he’s working on perfecting.


 

The first half of the track up is nearly bare, although with plenty of snow patches and mud. Closer to the tree line the snow patches morph into permanent snow. The traverse across the treeline to get to the start of the scree trail isn’t clear at the moment, and nor is there a packed trail in the right spot – there are a couple of meandering paths that are getting down to bare ground in completely the wrong spot though, and some good deep snow to wade through otherwise. The scree to the summit is clear though.

mostly bare

Mostly bare trail

 

nearly a chipmunk

Not quite a photo of a chipmunk

 

It was a lovely warm day with barely a breeze (unlike the gale you get sometimes), so we hung out on the summit for a while, and the Moosling had a play with some rocks and dirt, but totally failed to notice the chipmunk that was bouncing around all over the place.

summit shot

mountain baby

Mountain baby

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bikes canada general moosling

Legacy Trail

It’s a far cry from a few weeks ago when we last tried to cycle along here and were stopped short by huge drifts of snow. The trail has been ploughed and swept, and as we cycled to and from Banff, it felt like a Summer weekend. The trail was busy, the day was warm and sunny (I’m sunburnt now), and the snow was staying up on the mountains in a very civilised fashion.

The Chariot doesn’t induce sleep half so well behind a bike as it does when being towed by skis, but the Moosling still enjoys the ride.

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bikes canada general

Look at that, it’s a bike that’s not on snow

We’ve ridden out along the bike path towards the Three Sisters a few times in the last couple of weeks. Finally, it’s nearly clear of snow, and the Chariot is only getting a little muddy when we venture out.

Rumour has it that the Legacy Trail between Banff and Canmore has now been cleared and swept too, so once there comes a day without rain or snow in the forecast, I might get out there with the Chariot for a ride.

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canada general snow

Spring skiing at Lake Louise

We spent Monday enjoying the free snow at Lake Louise. They’ve stayed open an extra week because the snow is so good – and it really is! There’s still snow all the way to the lodge, even if it does get a bit mucky towards the end. And thanks to their (as Brendan put it) either random generosity or attempt to deviously poach pass holders from other resorts, we got to ski for free (thanks to having passes to Sunshine Village).

The extra week of skiing lasts until this Sunday, but was gorgeous on a warm and sunny weekday. No crowds, and lots of slush all to ourselves! And very nice slush it was too. I even forgot my gloves, and didn’t get cold hands – ahhh, Spring skiing.

We wandered up to Lake Louise afterwards, which is looking less than inspiring at the moment. Still covered in snow and ice, with hoards of tourists tromping back and forth across it. It will be a while before all the lakes have melted properly, and we have the hiking trails back again. I’m beginning to wonder if I should buy some snowshoes, or just invest in a little more patience.