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It's hard to know where to begin with this tale of woe......after our family visit I was itching to ascend something having been confined to level ground for two weeks, however, just as I was about to escape to the mountains Sarah got sick with a virus so I decided to stay home and look after her. Suddenly it's friday morning and I've not seen the hills, Sarah is feeling a lot better and (though clearly not firing on all cylinders) I feel well enough to get out to the hills.
As I head out along the TransCanada I get stuck for 20 minutes as a result of a serious accident, as I pass I see tourists with all their luggage piled up on the roadside and a few cars in various states of damage including one on it's roof, a miserable start for those poor souls.
When I turn off the TransCanada onto highway 40 I get stopped again for a short time owing to a light aircraft carrying out an emergency landing on the road, before veering off and into a roadside sign. Luckily both occupants were on the news later laughing about their 'adventure' I grabbed a couple of phone pics while passing.
Before reaching Kananaskis Village I had to stop to make use of the pit loo's at Barrier Lake car park, then again at the garage along highway 40...oh dear. I finally reached the car park for my intended hike (Commonwealth Lake & The Pigs' Back) at 11:00am only to find the area closed due to grizzly activity......this was not my day.
I got back in the truck and continued along highway 742 toward Canmore when a logging truck came the opposite way throwing a stone onto my windscreen leaving a nice big chip with spiders legs cracks around it......oh joy. Now feeling like I should never have set off today I stopped in Sparrowhawk day use car park to use the loos again!! On exiting the facilities (firmly believing the world has fallen out of my bottom this morning) I see a trail across the way heading out into the forest, after checking my maps it appears to be an access for a ridge and possibly Sparrowhawk Mountain beyond. I get myself ready and head off across the dusty highway and into the forest.
the trail runs beside a creek for a short time before ascending a ridge where the view begins to open up, teasing me with a glimpse of what I know to be an incredible view of Spray Lakes Reservoir
The trail remains in good condition throughout but has a number of areas of loose stone on top of slab rock so care is always needed, as I ascend a good grade I see another ridge across the way which looks like one I might like to explore at a later date.
The ascent of the talus covered slope gets me above the tree line and gives a beautiful view out across the southern end of Spray Lakes Reservoir
after a good long slog where I begin to feel very cold even though it's 24 degrees, I am rewarded with a view of the north end of the reservoir. I am now really cream crackered but decide to continue a little further in the hope of making it to the ridge top at least.
this 12 shot pano shows why I kept going, it is a stunning view, I mean absolutely stunning, I sat down on the log in this shot for a good 10 minutes, I took on some high energy fluids and an orange before continuing on.
The trail weaves its way up the ridge moving from left to right and back again as if its maker couldn't decide on where the better views lie, after looking both side for some time I can't make up my mind either!!
after a long uphill slog I finally get a view of what lies ahead, it's an interesting steep bare rock with an angled 'slabby' slope covered in scree, definitely an area where sudden and unwanted descent might occur.
Almost there now and suddenly desperately seeking cover for another toilet break....that orange was a bad idea. The grassy ridge top provides a stunning view but little in the way of toilet facilities, I tell myself it's all in the mind and press on.
I can see the tip of a cairn now as the ridge levels off at last, consulting the map shows that the lump in front of me needs to be traversed to reach the mountain some 1.7 km beyond.
As I reach the ridge summit at last I flop down onto the grass and lay there for a good while with my rucksack still attached, when I finally get myself up I am greeted by this wonderful reward for my efforts. I knew I wasn't going any further today so took a while just resting, drinking (but not eating). I felt cold and weak as I dragged myself up to begin the descent, but as it was only a short distance I was soon back at the car park and back in the hideously stinky pit toilet there.
If I were being honest I would have to say that this was a bloody awful day from start to finish, but the view was worth pushing on for and I've learned a little about a mountain I may never have noticed, at a little over 10,000 feet it is a very appealing target for another day.
