Sunday,
3/17/2019, Horseshoe Ridge/Peak Attempt – Saddle Mountain Rd, Chimney Rock Rd,
Hwy 22S, Livingstone Range, Bob Creek W.P.P., AB
· Round Trip 11.7km;
Elevation: 1925m; Elevation Gain: 504m; Time: RT - 8:05 hrs (10:55-19:00),
ascent - 4:50hrs, descent - 3:00hrs; It was basically a long trudge in the woods through unsupported
snow with lots of ups and downs
· Books:
Drive
From Calgary, drive south on Hwy 2 / Deerfoot Trail
past High River. Turn right onto Hwy 540 for about 32.3 km, and then turn left
(south) onto Hwy 22 for about 32.7 km. Turn
right driving west on gravelly Chimney Rock Rd for 3.7km, then turn right onto
Saddle Mtn Rd for about 5.5km and park on the side of the road. Driving time
would be around 1:45 hours.
Hike
We chose Horseshoe Ridge/Peak down south to
avoid the high avalanche risk and deep snow, thinking it would be just a normal
hike and have no trouble for us to summit it. However, we were totally wrong.
As a matter of fact, we didn’t even make it close to the summit ridge and
turned around about 2.5 km away from the summit. Therefore, we didn’t get much
views and chances to take good pictures, which was a big waste for such a blue
bird day.
After spending
some time watching two moose in the distance, we donned our snowshoes and
started our hike by following the faint ATV track described by Bob Spirko in
his TR
southwestward. The initial hike was rather easy through an open field in boot
deep snow, but shortly after I dropped my snowshoes, the snow became calf deep
or even deeper. Postholing with a pair of short legs made my progress slow even
though Gua did all the work of trail breaking for me. And the numerous ups and
downs through slippery deep snow in the forest were unexpectedly time-consuming
and unpleasant which must have something to do with our final decision to forgo
the summit and vow never to redo this hike again. By the time we arrived at the
point we turned back, we were already worn out and it was nearly 5 hours past.
However, we still had to bear all the suffering one more time all the way back
to our car.
The reasons this
hike became miserable and unsuccessful could be our mentally underprepared for
difficulties, or my removing snowshoes too early, or just not being ourselves.
Actually, I think the above were all paying a role in today’s unsuccess.
Watching two moose in the distance before starting our hike
Some horses too
Zooming in on Horseshoe Ridge/Peak from the trailhead. We didn’t make it to the summit, but turned around about 2.5 km away from the summit, which was a big waste for such a blue bird day.
Following an old track southwestward through an open field in boot deep snow towards the trees
The initial hike was rather easy, but shortly after I dropped my snowshoes, the snow became calf deep or even deeper
Going to stride over the wire and drop down to the creek on left
Going down to the creek
Ascending a forested slope after crossing the creek
Peeking the semi-open ridge aimed by us through a gap between trees
Finally had some views
Still a long way to go
View in the back
A little closer now
The semi-open ridge is steep and had knee-deep snow in places
We stopped at the high point ahead
Going back down now
On the way down
A cool dead tree on our descent
The weather was so gorgeous. Love these trees too
A moon hanging in the blue sky near the trailhead
The horses were still there
The end.
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