My plan was to hike East End of Rundle on Saturday morning. Plans, as you know, can unexpectedly change – especially when they involve hiking a mountain in Alberta.
Trust me, there was no chance of snow in the forecast. None. Nada. Nil. Otherwise I would not have ventured on that awful winding road past the Canmore Nordic Centre. But when you’re in Alberta and in the mountains, the weather can change at the drop of a hat.
The storm blew in from no where. It was raining when I drove up the road then suddenly it turned to snow. Thankfully the Qashqai got me to the parking lot. It was a little dicy because she doesn’t have winter tires.
Not a good start to the day. There was another car in the parking lot when I arrived. The occupants must have started super early. I thought I could at least attempt the hike because the weather was bound to improve. But as I got to the trailhead, the wind picked up and the snow kept falling.
Not today.
A couple from Lacombe pulled in next to my car as I was running down the road. They were just as surprised and disappointed about the random weather. I repeat there was no snow in the forecast. It’s April. (Also I dropped my keys so I had to run back up the road to look for them.)
After waiting out the ‘white out’, I cautiously drove down the mountain road to the Canmore Nordic Centre for a coffee while I decided my next move. I really, really wanted to do EEOR but I wasn’t counting on the weather to calm down. I can hike this mountain anytime. Why bother without views?
In the end, I ran around Canmore. The sun came out in the late-morning.
