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Prior to falling off a mountain 3 weeks ago I had made plans to go back to the Kananaskis Lakes area to undertake this hike as my guide book states "if you only do one hike in the Kananaskis lakes area, this should be it"
There is a 'disappearing lake' that I wanted to see before it dried out too, so, having finally shaken off the damage from my fall I headed out to the North Interlakes parking area at the western most point of the Kananaskis Lakes Trail. I'd never been here until today but I suspect I'll be back here as it gives a spectacular view across the upper and lower lakes.
I arrived at 09:15 and as always explored the area and messed around getting ready before finally setting off at 09:30 From the car park the trail goes north across the isthmus to the intake dam where Mt Indefatigable stands at 2646m (8680 feet) directly ahead.
Once across the dam and a small spillway bridge the views back across the upper lake are stunning. The plaques on the rock to the left are names of the fallen from WWII who have mountains in the area named in their honour, a fitting tribute to those who gave so much for the sake of others.
As always with any hike in Kananaskis the first few km's are made through dense forest though there is a well worn pathway so route finding is not an issue.
the trail climbs aggressively through the forest and then slowly gives way to the stone ridge that has a coating of pebbles over slabs, something akin to marbles on a tile floor so careful footing is required.
from the first step on the ridge the view back across the tree tops is one to remember, the beautiful glacier in the distance clinging to the north face of the Elk Range framed on all sides by millions of acres of pine forest and the jade coloured water of two huge lakes glistening as the wind dances across the surface
climbing the ridge a little further gives views back through the mountains toward the icefields of My Joffre to the south-west, the ascent has already began to niggle the right hip which took the worst of my fall 3 weeks ago but it's more of a dull ache than pain and it is so great to be out here I carry on regardless.
the ascent along the ridge twists and turns and gives sufficient 'less steep' areas to allow for a breather between more significant climbs, there are two or three unavoidable hands on scrambles but they are minor and easily achieved, breaking out into more open ground I watched a pair of Ospreys circling the summit too far away for a photograph but beautiful to see. The speck in the top left of this picture is one of them.
I did get a shot a little later of one of them as it cruised past though it was still some distance away.
walking along the less steep sections of the ridge was an absolute pleasure, the stunning beauty of the surroundings leave me transfixed at times and frequently stating 'wow' out loud as I stand and stare.
cruising over the treetops beside the lower lake I see the other half of the Osprey pair, now a few hundred feet below me, it is fantastic to have such a vantage point even if is was only for a few minutes.
the higher I ascend the greater the view becomes, I can see why my guide book insisted upon this trail, there is a cool wind up here keeping the temperature down to a very reasonable level (around 10 degrees)
the ridge ascends in steps now followed by long steady climbs on a great trail above the western flank of lower Kananaskis lake. On the opposite side the Opal Range provides drama to the already striking setting
The ridge walk along this section defies description and even with a nagging ache from my hip ranks right up there with the very best of my Canadian hikes so far, perhaps second only to Nihahi Ridge which I hiked back in June this year.
I hiked along the very edge of the ridge for quite some time to ensure I hadn't suffered any long term effects from my fall. As there was no sign of dizziness or any kind of fear I assume all is well....except for that damn niggling hip, I made a quick stop to dig out the paracetamol before heading onward along the scramblers path toward the outlier
moving forward there is a short descent into trees for a little while which provides welcome shade from the sun and I take the wider eastern route to stand at a viewpoint looking along the lake to its northern tip, the outlier can just be seen to the left in this picture
after a spell in the trees and another short but steep ascent I see the green meadows mentioned in my guide book and the scramblers route up the northern end of Indefatigable
I confess to being a little disappointed when I reached the disappearing lake to find it had...well...disappeared, annoyingly by only a few days by the look of it; maybe I'll have to return next year.
There was still a large amount of snow at the north end of the lake and some in the crevices on the eastern flanks of Indefatigable, these were melting and feeding a waterfall cascading down to the lower lake but that feed was out of sight underground somewhere. Looking at the Northern end (right hand side of picture) of the mountain I have to surmise that it must be for hardcore scramblers as there are some huge steps along the ridge there.
I head on up to the top of the outlier for a summit shot (not a rock in sight for a tripod!!) and then take a moment to look around at the stunning landscape before me.
I didn't stop on the peak for long at all as it was damn cold up there and I wanted to get over to the little outcrop that poked further east toward the lake. Note to self, start taking thermal jacket again when going above 8000 feet
dropping down to the point was more awkward than it first appeared with some peaks and troughs to negotiate en route, but the views.......wow. To the north the tip of the lower lake and the Kananaskis range
to the east the expanse of the lower lake and the Opal Range beyond running the entire length of the lake
to the south is the icefield around mount Joffre on the Alberta/British Columbia border and to the west Indefatigable blocks the entire horizon.
zooming in gives a better sighting of the edge of the icefield poking above several summits on the right of the photo and the glacier directly in the centre of the photo still clinging to the mountain side. Two areas worth exploring at some point I think.
I sat on the point for about 30 minutes wearing my fleece and rain gear for warmth whilst enjoying a pasta salad, I was genuinely surprised at how cold it was up there, not cool like a nice autumn breeze but cold like a wicked winter chill. However, it was a beautiful day and a fantastic lunch location. After 'resting my eyes' for a moment or two I set off back up the outlier before curving left toward the homeward trail.
The meadow and the forest beyond was covered in wild flowers and really added to the wonderful experience of this hike, as I walked back toward the trees I could barely feel that hip....maybe that has more to do with the paracetamol top up after lunch though .
as always I saw plenty of chipmunks along the way, most of which I didn't photograph as I've seen thousands now, but this one was a bit special.....
location is everything, that chipmunk is sitting on the rock to the left of this picture, he must be enjoying the views just as I am.
I grab one last shot of the lake before descending the 'marbles on tile' section of the trail back into the forest
I should come clean now and say I walked past this sign on the way in but by the look of the trail so do many other people.
It was great to be back out in the mountains on such a beautiful day, my new boots were perfect with no rubbing at all, the new camera kit performed as expected and the only issue was an aching hip...which I confess got worse again toward the end, but still; it's great to be back in Kananaskis.
