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With the mercury rising to -4 in the afternoon today there was only one place I was going to be, Kananaskis. I made the long journey along highway 40 and around the southern tip of the Kananaskis Range to reach the Smith - Dorrien Trail before heading back up the other side of that wonderful mountain range on the wide frozen road.
It's an awkward journey to reach the Smith -Dorrien Trail from Calgary, with the long chain of mountains in the Kananaskis Range you first need to journey 50km south on highway 40 only to round the tip of the mountain chain and return 25km up the other side...but all the way the scenery keeps you transfixed.
The highlight of the trip this time was a moose crossing the road who decided to jog at an angle on a snow bank to get out of the way, as he did his legs skittled sidewards and he went down like a lead balloon, as I stopped to grab a photo he got in a right old panic and bounced around in the snow for a few seconds before regaining his feet and charging off through the forest long before I could get a shot.
I've made this journey many times now but each time I am in awe of this wonderful part of the world. The frozen empty road allows for reasonable speed and I'm soon arriving at the car park signed 'Chester Lake'.
There are quite a few cars in the car park but no sign of the associated people, I was packed and ready for off around 12:30, perfect timing for the warm up, the temperature reading hadn't shifted much from -16 until after 11:30 but in the next hour it climbed quickly as predicted.
I'd made it all of 100 metres when it became clear that the winter coat was going to be too much, and as the trail was so well compacted the snowshoes were overkill too (for this section at least) I stopped within sight of the car park and unbundled. The Jacket went into the rucksack and the snowshoes strapped to it...I was off again.
It's a nice steady climb up and away from the car park, the base snowpack is close to 2 metres and thought the trail is well compacted any side step from it leads to waist deep sinking which is pretty funny.......once!!
Even though the ascent is very gradual a look behind me shows wonderful views opening up toward Mt Burstall. Chester Lake car park is directly opposite the incredibly beautiful Burstall Pass which remains my favourite Canadian hike so far.
Back on with my hike to Chester Lake, I'd selected this hike because it is known as a great snowshoe trail. I'm obviously not expecting to see the lake today but I do want to get a feel for the location and potential future summer hikes from here, and if it's easy enough, maybe a family picnic spot.
The real beauty of hikes in these conditions is the cold crisp air, incredibly deep snow and mile upon mile of untrodden pristine ground that just cries out to be photographed.
This is the first time I've been hiking with my Christmas present from Sarah (a Sony A7R Mirrorless Camera) I was waiting for a specific lens before I finally put down my bulky DSLR and huge glass that sits in front of it and moved to this tiny little thing with a 24 -70mm lens the size of a cup....it feels odd, but it is so light I hardly notice I have it with me. The full frame sensor means I should lose nothing over my DSLR. After post production I think it will make an excellent hiking/everyday camera right now, and perhaps at some point in the future will entirely replace my DSLR and associated kit.....but not quite yet.
after a while I reach a strange junction with a 'one way' sign, what the hell is a one way sign doing on a hiking trail you ask, well my assumption is that it is a shared use trail and skiers will be charging down it, so a one way system helps to prevent collisions between skiers and hikers.
The forest is beautiful with swags of snow hanging from boughs and the familiar squeak of the cold dry snow the only sound to accompany my breathing. I come across another sign which says Chester Lake Trail with an arrow pointing up the hill and one pointing down, I pay little attention and head up because down looks to be going back towards the car park.
Though it's only early afternoon the long shadows persist because of the angle of winter sun here, the jacket is still in my backpack and the snowshoes still strapped on it. The day is really warming and walking is easy on the packed snow.
The natural elements repeatedly align themselves like a picture postcard providing beautiful windows that open out to show the incredible vistas, here Mt Chester and its outliers as well as that wonderful winter sky, devoid of cloud of any sort and so bright that sunglasses are a must for the entire day.
I can't help but wonder what fills these open spaces when the snow has gone, are they wet boggy areas or beautiful mountain meadows filled with wildflowers, what an image they would make if they were the latter.
To my left (North) is the back of Mt Galatea and its associated outliers, I say the 'back' only because I have hiked to it from the other side on my wonderful summer wander to Galatea Lakes in September 2012 and as there is a trail to it I assume that's the 'front'
After a nice long level section I'm staring along the valley into the corrie that holds Chester Lake, the jagged peaks along the south side and the point of windy peak in the east make a perfect bowl in which the lake sits.
Though virtually invisible in the massive landscape, there are three people in snowshoes heading off across the valley toward the sun, this looks like a circular descent route though when I check my map they seem to be on the route I thought I was on??? Not sure what happened there but at least it means I now have some new scenery for the descent.
I head off toward the lake (or where the lake is buried under the snow) deciding to make a full circuit, as I do the sun forces a couple of small avalanches off the face of Mt Chester and though small they make a tremendous noise.
Behind me the sun is working hard to warm the day and as I turn to grab a shot I can actually feel the heat from it, its a great feeling almost like a spring day....but we are some way from that yet.
The creek that runs from Chester Lake is still liquid and has worked a beautiful horseshoe in the snow, the trail goes incredibly close to it considering the amount of collapse that is occurring beside it and I scurry past on the left side of the trail toward the skiers standing a hundred metres ahead.
After chatting to the skiers for a little while (two of which were pulling infants in awesome little ski carts) I find out the reason for the shallow and extended ascent, my map says 3.5 km but GPS says 5.1km because I walked up the cross country ski trail...ooops.
Luckily the snow is well packed and I didn't leave great footprints all over it, they tell me that many people do it here (as evidenced by the footprints) As it turns out the small sign way back that points both up and down the hill is where I should have gone back down toward the car park, it goes down for about 200 metres and then turns back uphill apparently but logically that just doesn't work which is probably why people make the mistake.
After a pleasant chat I head off to the lake for an overview. There are absolutely no places to stop and sit a while without actually sitting in the middle of the trail so I decide to carry on an make the circuit back to the car park...I confess I'm glad I took the wrong turn as it allows me a different route out but I swear it was accidental.
I'm soon on my way out and taking a last look back over the pristine landscape. The 'official' snowshoe trail is equally compact and my snowshoes still remain on my pack doing nothing but adding weight.
Heading back across the untrodden open space I realise I have to (at least) make a reason for carrying my snowshoes around all day, so I put them on, leave my pack on the trail and have a run around laughing to myself about how this is exactly what Sarah would do here....she can't stand to see a bit of untrodden snow
As I approach the forest there are tracks all over the place where others have had their runaround but I now have the familiar signs with the little dude and his tennis racquet feet to keep me in check.
The snow in the forest is incredibly deep but the trail is well packed and I'm quickly putting the snowshoes back on the rucksack and going back to easy wandering.
At every opening where untrodden snow awaits, someone has put on their snowshoes and gone for a rampage around, it makes me laugh that so many of us a kids at heart.
A guy on skis came slithering up and we exchange pleasantries before he asked where the ski trail is?? he'd taken the downhill arrow at that sign in the forest as it looked 'easier' the poor bloke looked exhausted and explained that there was a significant climb just ahead (which would be a descent for me) I told him of my error and that he was in for a nice steady route from now onward, I watched him slither off toward Chester Lake before continuing.
He was right about that descent, it really was bloody steep and I could see the shape of his boot prints where he'd 'kicked in' on the ascent. I met a couple from Quebec on here and Mrs Q was not impressed, she asked me (through puffs and pants) how much further it was, I worked it out on the GPS for her and pointed out that they had a good level run in soon. I told them about the flat trails across the road from here and that Sarah preferred them as they were easy going, I'd prefer them too says Mrs Q staring at Mr Q as she did !! They gave me some great info about visiting Quebec and I hope Sarah and I can put that to good use at some point in the future.
Eventually the trail met up with the shared ski/snowshoe trail and opened out to give a lovely final stretch in an easy stroll back to the car park
There were few vehicles left in the car park even though it was only 3pm, the upside of that is nobody saw me slip on my ass just feet from my filthy truck, no damage done and it felt like karma for laughing so much at that poor moose on the way here.
So, that was Chester Lake. A wonderful, easy winter day in stunning surroundings; a very gentle ascent thanks to a wrong turn and some good pics from the new hiking camera and me and the moose are even. Strangely enough when I got home we saw a moose and her calf outside the house....I swear she nodded at me
