First hike of the season
We finally got out of the city for a hike on Sunday! It was the first hike of the season for me and Geoff. Previously Geoff had floor hockey on Sundays and we usually were busy catching up on errands and chores on Saturdays so we never had any time for hiking. We made a deal that he had to quit floor hockey in the summer so that our weekends would be free to go hiking.
We picked up Justin bright and early in the morning and drove to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. It was a far drive but I figured we should try to stay as far away as possible from the other campers out for the long weekend. It was an interesting drive because we were late leaving the city and the car kept overheating. We had to keep the vents blowing hot air in our faces and the windows open to get the hot air out of the car. Fun, fun.
If you thought the mosquitoes were bad in the city... think again! We stopped for a bathroom break on the side of Hwy. 40 and I got attacked by very hungry mosquitoes. I got about 7 or 8 bites just on my butt! I guess I should have put DEET on my ass to protect myself! That, and we shouldn't pee in the bush... only outhouses and public washrooms.
We met up with Rennie, Katherine, and Jenni at the trailhead for Ptarmigan Cirque. This was an interesting hike through alpine meadows (a fragile ecosystem). You had to stay on the trails to minimize damage to the alpine plants and gorgeous wildflowers. The first part of the hike was steep but it was also short. Overall the whole hike was relatively easy - a good way to start the hiking season.
We had some lovely views of the valley at the highest point of our hike. We hiked to the waterfall and found rocks to sit on for lunch break. We saw a marmot here which was very exciting! But we couldn't get any decent pictures of it. Also had some brave ground squirrels circling around us hoping to get some scraps of food (we didn't give it any to encourage such behaviour).
After lunch, we headed back down to the car. We walked a short interpretive trail to learn a little more about the natural history of the area. We drove to Cochrane for some ice cream as a reward for getting some exercise and braving the mosquitoes. All-in-all it was an excellent day and it was so nice getting out to the mountains again!
We picked up Justin bright and early in the morning and drove to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. It was a far drive but I figured we should try to stay as far away as possible from the other campers out for the long weekend. It was an interesting drive because we were late leaving the city and the car kept overheating. We had to keep the vents blowing hot air in our faces and the windows open to get the hot air out of the car. Fun, fun.
If you thought the mosquitoes were bad in the city... think again! We stopped for a bathroom break on the side of Hwy. 40 and I got attacked by very hungry mosquitoes. I got about 7 or 8 bites just on my butt! I guess I should have put DEET on my ass to protect myself! That, and we shouldn't pee in the bush... only outhouses and public washrooms.
We met up with Rennie, Katherine, and Jenni at the trailhead for Ptarmigan Cirque. This was an interesting hike through alpine meadows (a fragile ecosystem). You had to stay on the trails to minimize damage to the alpine plants and gorgeous wildflowers. The first part of the hike was steep but it was also short. Overall the whole hike was relatively easy - a good way to start the hiking season.
We had some lovely views of the valley at the highest point of our hike. We hiked to the waterfall and found rocks to sit on for lunch break. We saw a marmot here which was very exciting! But we couldn't get any decent pictures of it. Also had some brave ground squirrels circling around us hoping to get some scraps of food (we didn't give it any to encourage such behaviour).
After lunch, we headed back down to the car. We walked a short interpretive trail to learn a little more about the natural history of the area. We drove to Cochrane for some ice cream as a reward for getting some exercise and braving the mosquitoes. All-in-all it was an excellent day and it was so nice getting out to the mountains again!
posted by Avatamsaka Monastery Choir at 10:07 AM
2 Comments:
That's weird, I haven't really noticed any mosquitoes in kananaskis. Maybe you're just special! Glad you weren't a sucky animal-feeder, those people really annoy me. (their 'but they're cute!' validation just doesn't cut it)
I commune with mosquitoes no matter where I go in the world... Kananaskis, Ghana, or Thailand! I'm loved wherever I go! In this case, however, it's not such a good thing!
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