TRAILS – Page 6 – Skelton Sketches

UPs and DOWNs…

Posted on May 6, 2016April 29, 2017 by lindaskelton

{Subtitle: New Boots do not a Mountain Climber Make}

We took two hikes this week: one tough, one easy.

First, Ha Ling Peak…It’s the big bump to the right. (In the foreground, our drinking water!)
The specs are:
Scramble: Class 1 – Steep Hiking
Altitude: 2,408m (7,898 ft)
Elevation Gain: 700m (2,296 ft)
Ascent Time: 2 Hours
http://www.trailpeak.com/trail-Ha-Ling-Peak-near-Canmore-AB-3400

Lots of people do it; couldn’t be too tough, right?…But I was hiking with my husband and fitness coach who sets a brisk pace and… unbeknownst to either of us I was incubating a case of the shingles…(At least that is now my excuse for getting left far behind in no time!)

Fortunately he conceded to let me find my own pace as his pace got him to the top in under an hour!!

Mine was more about catching my breath and looking around with short bursts of breathlessness in between!

The trail zigged and zagged rising steeply up through the forest floor…

The advantage of a slower pace is that you get to see the wildlife exhibits along the way!

But eventually the scramble begins and my eyes are on my feet. I don’t like this part. My boots are brand new, untried. And my respect of heights is not new! I’m on my own to make my way along, wishing I’d planned ahead and brought poles…

I make the mistake once I reach the ridge of popping my head over the top, hoping there’ll be some sort of level place to walk along toward the peak. No such! Instead, just a rocky razor edge and a dizzying descent to the valley below.

I am stuck to my seat for a while figuring out how I got into this predicament and how I shall ever have courage to make my way back down.

Meanwhile Jim is at the top of the actual peak, taking pictures….

I text him: “I’ve gone far enough.”

“(I’m) On the ridge.”

“Sickening.”

He responds: “OK, coming down.”

“Sickening x2 up here.”

And we make our way down as fast as we dare, quads trembling and threatening never to let us forget this climb. Mine still haven’t; they are sore!

We did not grow up in the Rockies. This hike is considered child’s play for some locals…So we go home, have a quick nap in the sunshine and get on our preferred mode of transportation to work out all that tension—and pedal to Banff and back just for fun. Ahhhh, now that’s more like it!

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The following day’s hike is made for non-mountain climbers. Johnston Canyon. Paved trail all the way. Scenic. Safe. Short. We will come back with the grandkids sometime ( : No hiking poles needed. (Though I’ve brought one along this time, just in case…)

And that has been my week in hikes. For now I’m recuperating…Till next time.

–LS

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. Ps.46:1-5 NKJV

The Ole Buck and the Troll…

Posted on April 29, 2016April 29, 2017 by lindaskelton

I’ve just begun to discover Kananaskis Country in spring…thanks to some long-time local hikers who are introducing me week by week to new places…

Here we are in the Sibbald Lake region venturing out to the Ole Buck Loop.

Spring is just barely springing. Its new green is such a refreshing sight!

We gained 500ft. before stopping for lunch at what used to be a viewpoint, before the pines grew tall…

It was lovely nonetheless and even boasted a geo-cache which we duly signed.

My PB&J sandwich was all the better for the lovely setting ( :

This Crocus chorus greeted us along the way back.

But that was last week’s hike. The following day a grizzly was reported in the area making advances toward a hiker and the trails were closed till further notice.

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Today our hike took us to a lovely falls, also in Kananaskis Country.

These trails double as cross-country trails when the snow falls.

The leader of our expedition has a very long history here; she’s written books about the area and one of the trails is named after her—a downhill stretch that’s sure to be a ‘screamer’ on skis!

This is Ruthie. She is fast approaching 80 but still on the move and still very much in love with Kananaskis Country.

She names for me the flowers along the way…

(names I am disappointed to have now forgotten…)

And points out the spot where she would like a bench placed in her memory…

As we near our destination, the effects of the 2013 flood are clearly in evidence despite extensive clean-up. This area was hard hit.

Troll Falls is our destination–

Named for the troll who keeps watch as it tumbles…

The nearby Nakiska ski slopes were built for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics…the meadows we traverse used to be full of wildflowers but they have yet to recover from being used as parking lots for this event.

But the valley is lovely still, from beside…

and above…

…and has become a popular setting for wedding parties.

We, though decidedly less glamorous, pose for a picture anyway.

In 2002, top world leaders met in this out of the way place for the G8 Summit of 2002.

It became the largest peacetime security operation in Canadian history.

For today though, we have the place almost to ourselves! Though over the weekend the Prime Minister and his cabinet were here for a cabinet retreat!

These and other bits of trivia I hear as I walk for the first time in Kananaskis Country…, but it’s the flower names I wish most to remember!

And I have it now…Calypso Orchid is that flower’s name!

–LS

The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. Ps.93:3-4

Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity. Ps.98:8,9

Grotto Canyon…

Posted on April 22, 2016April 28, 2017 by lindaskelton

We had just enough time if we hurried.

Day was at its fading end as we reached the canyon…

Ice still lingers here—cause for careful steps!

And then, as the canyon opened up we found the grotto…

Scaling the slope was much harder than met the eye.

I just watched; I have new hiking boots on order…

Then we hastily retraced our steps

Emerging from the canyon in time to catch the pinking of the sky…

What a lovely way to finish out a day ( :

–LS

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.
Ps. 19:1-2, a psalm of David