Tent Ridge Horseshoe (8/6/2010)

Before signing up, please read all the event details carefully and familiarize yourself with the club's difficulty ratings and safety policy. I am not a guide, just a volunteer coordinator. Sign up only if you feel you could do this event as easily if you were to do it yourself. You must be comfortable with challenging hiking-EASY scrambling, as well as minor exposure. Tent Ridge can be done as a hike or as a scramble; this is the EASY scrambling edition.

This is a combined off-trail hike / ridgewalk / EASY scramble, which will require route-finding and potentially some bushwhacking. It traverses the Tent Ridge horseshoe, taking in three summits. Views of Robertson, French, Sir Douglas, Commonweath, Birdwood, Smuts and The Fist are part of the reward, as are Watridge Lake, Marushka (Shark) Lake, Spray Lake and the Bryant Creek Valley. The pace will be slow on all the uphill portions and moderate on gentler terrain. The ridge does narrow with mild exposure, so please make sure you are comfortable with this type of terrain (see photos under References below).

Please note that this is an exploratory trip-pls allow time/patience. We are out to enjoy the day, pls do not be in a rush to get back to Calgary-trip time may vary.

Trail Directions (clockwise loop):
- Walk back on road for 200m to steep, grassy, former logging road on right (west).
- Ascend right (northwest) on bootbeaten path through grass.
- Soon Tent Ridge will be visible west and southwest above forest.
- Reach small fork and turn right (southwest) on path marked by a cairn, teepee of logs, and flagging (do not go straight through grass).
- Ascend generally southwest. Lots of bushes, then forest.
- Trail levels at small clearing at 2,076m, about 30 minutes from trailhead.
- Five minutes past clearing, reach T-junction. Go left (southeast).
- Continue to large meadow of Tent Ridge basin.
- Go left at flagging tape. Get to the ridge by skirting northeast around bottom of rockslide.
- Attain ridge at 2,226m, just above treeline. Turn right and follow crest upward.
- Rest of the horseshoe is self-explanatory - you will see the full route via saddle and all along other side.
- Follow ridge into trees. Descend NNE, then SW, then NE into Gawby Gulch. Trail descends gulch, then veers left into cutblock.
- Stay generally left until trail hits old logging road. Turn right and follow it southeast to intersect the trailhead access road.

PACE: Please note that this is not a speed demon's hike(getting to the top in record time) nor is it for very slowpokes, we will be hiking at a Moderate pace on Gentler grades and at a Slower pace on Steeper terrain. If you're not sure about a hike, feel free to contact the coordinator's and remember to always hike within your ability in order to be able to keep up with the group. If you have not hiked before in the mountains probably a good idea to select another hike with lower elevation and build up from their.

References:
- GemTrek maps: Kananaskis Lakes | Canmore and Kananaskis Village
- Google Earth Coordinates: 50�49'13.53"N, 115�22'27.16"W
- Where Locals Hike in the Canadian Rockies (Kananaskis) by Kathy & Craig Copeland
- COC Tent Ridge photos from July 11, 2009
- COC Tent Ridge photos from September 27, 2008 (note the hands-on scrambling parts)
-Pls note if it rains this event will get cancelled.
- Peter Lougheed Provincial Park Weather
- Canmore Weather