I should have quantified “a lot of snow.”
I was making my way up the Cox Hill ridge trail when a runner came barrelling down early Saturday morning. The parking lot was empty save for one vehicle, which must have belonged to the runner. I had met him at a part on the trail that was mostly bare with little traces of snow.
After greeting one another, he shouting as he ran by “there’s still a lot of snow up there.” I just mumbled, “thanks” and kept going without giving his words much thought.
A friend drove last time so I was a little anxious about finding the trailhead but I shouldn’t have worried. Directions to the Dawson Campground parking lot and trail head was pretty straightforward. At the time I remember thinking there was no way my Versa would have made it up Powderface Trail. (I am unable to link to the previous post. WordPress has been eating my old posts.)
While the parking lot was empty, oddly enough here was a guy who had a chain attached to his truck to remove fallen trees out of the forest. At first I thought there was something wrong so I was attempted to offer help. Once I realized what he was doing, I let him be. Maybe I should have confronted him? Is it legal to remove logs?
The trailhead is just off the parking lot. It’s clearly marked so you should have no trouble finding it. There are several ways to hike/run this trail. Since I am relatively unfamiliar with the area I chose the Dawson start because it seemed like the most straight forward, and I had been here before.
The trail climbs over Cox Hill and eventually connects with Jumpingpound Ridge. You begin in a forest and cross over a wooden bridge. The first bit was relatively dry for the first 700 metres before the patches of snow began to appear.
Sure enough the trail got worse with the kind of deep show that you lose a leg in. I kept thinking it can’t be like this the whole way, can it? I was wearing my regular trail shoes. My Kahtoolas were home in Calgary. I don’t even know if they would have helped. Nothing helps soaked shoes.
Around the 5K mark, I started thinking that I needed to turn around. It had taken me nearly an hour to cover three kilometres. At this rate, it was going to take me all day. I couldn’t get my grip, which would send me falling down the hill. I just had to shake my head and laugh because it was hilarious. I wasn’t too bothered because it was a beautiful day.
When I stopped debating with myself and made a decision to turn around, I started to see other people coming up the mountain. Isn’t that always how it works?
We chatted for a few minutes about the snow. They were fully decked out with hiking boots, Kahtoolas and hiking poles. Others quickly followed. I felt like a complete failure.
Maybe I should have kept going? Nah I was pretty happy with my decision. The trail isn’t going anywhere. I can go back once the snow melts. In certain spots, heading down the mountain was worse than going up so I just slid down on my butt. Thankfully there were bits where I could actually run down.
I wasn’t surprised to see the parking lot was starting to get full when I reached it. After all it’s the Victoria Day long weekend. I sat in my car and ate some potatoes before plotting my next move.
Since it was still early in the day, I drove around, and stopped at all the viewpoints along the way. What a lovely day.
How was your long weekend? Did you head to the mountains? Have you ever turned around on a trail because of the conditions? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.
lol No I did not head to the mountains, but I’m guessing you knew that! I guess there have been a couple of times when if I had known what it was going to be like I wouldn’t have set out in the first place but, the way I usually have it set up, I am either doing a loop or my car is waiting for me at the end of the trail so I just keep on going! As per usual, amazing pics, Crystal!