Back to the mountains, gliders on Prairie

Alberta’s environment minister made a surprise announcement on Thursday – easing restrictions on vehicle access to provincial parks and staging areas as part of the province’s relaunch strategy.

Wait. What?

I don’t think anybody saw this coming. It was so abrupt, sudden just like when the province banned access to the areas in late March. Anyway, I will take it.

I didn’t hop in my Qashqai and drive straight away from the city. I waited until Saturday.

I knew I had to get started early – wherever I was headed. There’s still a lot of snow in the mountains so I made a safe bet to try my luck on Prairie Mountain. Honestly I didn’t want to give it anymore thought than I needed to. It’s still very early in the season, and there’s plenty of snow in the mountains.

There were probably about 10 cars parked along the highway when I arrived just after 7 a.m. A few other cars arrived just as I started my climb. Judging from the number of vehicles, I expected to see more people as I made my way up to the summit. I met – maybe four people – on their way down. I heard later that some hikers had started at 3:30 a.m. to catch the sunrise.

The ground was dry with patches of snow and ice for the first kilometre or so. My calves burned a bit because they forgot what elevation felt like. When I reached the middle section (in the trees), I cursed myself for not bringing my Kahtoolas.

Snowy and icy. I was slipping and sliding the whole way up. When I finally emerged from the trees, I met these three guys who applauded efforts for making it up without spikes. I just shook my head, and laughed because I know better than not to bring my spikes on Prairie Mountain.

Anyway I reached the top to find a crowd (five or six people) all staring out into the distance. A couple of paragliders were waiting to jump off the side of the mountain. We were in for a treat because it’s very rare to see any gliders on Prairie.

Pretty exciting to say the least. The most excitement I have ever seen on Prairie, except for that time when I asked strangers for a cup of tea. No wonder the others were standing there staring at these guys as they prepared to jump.

While there was little wind at the top, I didn’t stick around too long. I had considered doing the Prairie Loop but I didn’t have bear spray with me so I decided to stay on the safe side and do an out and back.

I chatted with a few people before heading down. I wasn’t looking forward to navigating through all the snow and ice again. But in the grand scheme of things, I didn’t really care. I was just happy to be out in the mountains again.

More and more cars had arrived since I started my hike/run. People were getting a little aggressive about parking spots. Still I was done pretty early so I took a quick walk along the Elbow River. It was so quiet and peaceful. I just love hearing the sound of the rushing water. Perfect.

How was your weekend? Did you spend some time outside? Have you ever hiked Prairie Mountain? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.