Sat, Sep 12 2015 - Crowsnest Explorer: Window Mountain Lake, Mount Ward, Potluck + Blairmore (View Original Event Details)
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You know you’ve had an epic day in the mountains when you almost don’t even get home the same day that you left. This time we pulled into the carpool location at 11:55pm, so my second latest return for a day hike.
It seems that every spring and fall it’s time to really get into a different area and explore. The peaks around Crowsnest have been on my radar for a few years, so with a perfect weather forecast it was time to start exploring. Getting to the trailhead was half the fun. The Allison Creek Road branched north just 4km of the BC/Alberta border, and then soon turned to gravel. We drove along that road for 16.8km, and the guide book said that you can cut down another 2km of walking and elevation gain if you have vehicles that can make it up a “primitive” road. And primitive it was, beginning with a dip to get onto this so-called road, then some big puddles to skirt, before eventually it got too bouldery. But, even with my car I managed to make it up 1km. At the end of the day we appreciated any walking that we didn’t have to do.
We made it to Window Mountain Lake in good time, and were surprised to find first a backcountry campground (nice spot to camp!), followed by a mountain goat. We had a quick break for snacks as it was already late morning, then pushed on to the col. To all our surprises, I think, we were able to gain most of the elevation while walking up a grassy slope with beautiful fall colours. It was perfect. The last 300m consisted of rock.
At the col the cameras went off as it was an incredible view once you reach the top: the Seven Sisters and Crowsnest Mountain to the southeast, and Window Mountain - perhaps the largest limestone arch in the rockies - literally right in your face. It’s ascent route looked a little daunting from that vantage point, but reports indicate that it is quite scramble-able. It’s going on the “to hike” list!
We found a great spot for a potluck and had quite a feast: lots of selection, some warm food, and definitely a meal for non-vegetarians. Interesting how we all seemed to love the meat up there. Thank you all for being so domestic!
After our afternoon potluck most of us went up to the proper summit of Mount Ward, a spot where 360 degree views are stupendous! This time you’re looking down on the window of Window Mountain, and way down to Window Mountain Lake. Simply incredible. Heading down most chose the route back to the col, while a couple of us cut across and turned this into a moderate scramble. I think by the end of the day we were getting quite tired of ankle-twisting rocks.
Once back at the lake, the hike out was quick. We kept turning around to look up at the summit and our accomplishment. Then, on the drive out of those gravel roads we kept stopping to capture the sunset on Crowsnest. Once back on pavement, we went to Black Rock Pizza in Blairmore, a place we picked due to its great TripAdvisor reviews, for amazing pizza before the drive back. And on the drive back, we all couldn’t help but pull over for a while to look up at the Milky Way in complete darkness.
Thank you all for joining me on this explorer trip. Some hiking days stand out above the
rest and this sure was one of them!