Sat, Aug 8 2026 - Bow Peak-(Rescheduled) (View Original Event Details)
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This trip was originally set-up as a COC only trip but only a few signed up so I decided to include members from another meetup hiking group..The objective was Bow Peak but the smoke forecast wasn't great as it was anticipated as moderate or higher.
But these forecasts are not always accurate depending on wind direction. We knew it was a 50/50 proposition but our group was keen to at least try. The drive out was smoky and didn't improve much until the trailhead. Smoke around the Crowfoot Pass area was less intense so the day looked somewhat promising.
The trail to Crowfoot Pass is not an 'official trail' so does not receive regular maintenance which accounts for all the deadfall on the trail. Just needed to go over, under or around... We checked out a few tarns at the pass and took a break while contemplating whether to head to the summit.
While the Crowfoot Pass area wasn't too bad for smoke, the Hector Lake area to the south and the Bow Lake area to the north were totally obscured by smoke. While everyone in the group seemed quite capable of summiting, we questioned whether it was worth the effort to summit when the views were not great or non-existent.
In the end the group decided to chill at the pass and the trip changed from a possible summit to a pass. Still a great hike a great outing despite the smoke.