Searching for gold
The weather in Bow Valley has been incredible this year. The rain for most of June and July allowed us to have for the most part, a fire free summer which I’m truly grateful for. The summer really kicked off with warmth in August and has continued into September. This is the first year I’ve spent less time on my bikes and a bit more time hiking and trying a few hikes that I’ve never done before.
These are super popular hikes and you are able to find amazing information on them, but I’d recommend one of the travel bloggers in the area who I find documents the hikes very well.
I tackled Sarrail Ridge on September 29th and had a bluebird day with minimal wind. What’s really unique about this hike is that you spend around 3.5km/300 meters of climbing to get to Rawson lake which will offer as much beauty as one can imagine. That portion of the hike is quite simple with not much in the way of obstacles. If you’re up for the last km of a very punchy climb to the ridge, go for it! The punch of the climb starts around 4.5km and completes around km 6. There is a rope section to help get above rocks as the pitch of the climb is a bit intense. You will gain around 450meters of climbing in this short punchy climb.
It’s well worth it!
I would recommend:
Gloves for the ropes and also navigating around the rocks and sand on the last part of the climb to the ridge
Hiking books for stability
Poles for the descent would be great.
Garmin Inreach
Binoculars to see the views! You will have a beautiful view of Upper Kananaskis Lake
Snacks and water
A few weeks later I finally tackled the point to point of Pocaterra Ridge! This is an amazing 10km hike where most of the elevation is from the start from Highwood pass up to Pocaterra Summit. You find a nice blog on this here. We left a car at Little Highwood Trail Head and drove around 7km back to Highwood pass parking. The point to point is worth doing if you can!
I would highly recommend going on a weekday and ensure you also have a plan b as the parking is a bit overwhelming during larch season. Personally, I can’t wait to visit here in the summer. The ridge is very walkable and lots of places to sit and have lunch and relax.
As per my above recommendations, I would say that if you go in the fall I would bring:
Mitts and Buff/Toque
Rain jacket
Puffy to keep warm in the wind
There are no rope sections as that isn’t required but it’s handy to have mitts or gloves if you are grabbing onto areas to walk around.
