The Triple Crown Challenge in Canmore invites runners/hikers to conquer the summit of East End of Rundle (EEOR), Ha Ling and Lady MacDonald (teahouse) over three days. But if you’re a trail runner, you are tempted, to do all three in one day.
I have wanted to do the Triple Crown for a while now. Neither the mileage – around 23 kilometres – nor the elevation gain about 2,450 metres – gave me pause. I just had to make a plan. Since Saturday was the first nice day in awhile, I decided Saturday was going to be the day for the three summits.
My plan attack included hitting up East End of Rundle first followed by Ha Ling and finally Lady MacDonald. Note: The distances and elevation gains are estimates. My Garmin read 23 kilometres and 2,455 elevation at the end of the day. I kept my watch running and only paused it when I was driving to Lady Mac.)
East End of Rundle (6 kilometres/900 metres elevation)
I haven’t done East End of Rundle (EEOR) before so I wanted to get this one out of the way first. I had tried to do this one before but I got caught in a spring snowstorm.
I was excited to start with EEOR because I had heard so many things about it – “it is super hard, you need to scramble, it wasn’t for the faint of heart” etc, etc etc. Because I am not convinced that most people’s views or accounts are entirely accurate, I wanted to see for myself.
Sure there’s lots of climbing to start – about two kilometres before the real climb begins – over some crappy loose rock and scree. You will see a sign warning of loose rock. From here there are various trails leading to the summit. It’s a choose your own adventure kind of affair.
I wasn’t too bothered about the elevation or having to use my hands to scale over rocks. But I can totally see where some people can be out of their comfort zones. It’s all about comfort levels and not taking any unnecessary risks. Aia was with me on the first mountain and we worked together to navigate around the rock to reach the summit.
Imagine my surprise when I reached the summit to see my old pal Arman. I have a really funny story about how we convinced this perfect stranger to share tea with us on Prairie Mountain. (This was Pre-COVID, of course)
I will have to do EEOR again when I can spend more time exploring and taking photos. It was quite lovely but I had other summits on my mind. Poles, as always, helped on the way down on all the loose rock. Earlier I had seen a runner going down without poles and I hope he didn’t wipe out because he looked like he was caught off balance a few times.
I missed the mountain goats/sheep on the way down. They had moved from the spot I thought they would be when I came down. You can see them in the distance in one of photos at the end of this post.
Ha Ling (7 kilometres/700 metres)
I haven’t been up Ha Ling since stairs were installed to protect sensitive areas on the trail. This one is a great leg burner. I always think about the summer solstice Ha Ling challenge from what it seems like a life time ago!
Joanna and baby Hazel from Slave Lake joined me for the first two kilometres. Still feeling great I powered up the climb. I have never seen so many people on Ha Ling.
Once I reached the summit, I took my pictures and chatted with a couple who had driven all night from Winnipeg. They randomly picked Ha Ling as their first mountain ever to climb. I gave a few suggestions for other mountains to try in the area.
There was little wind on Ha Ling so it made for a hot climb. I didn’t spend much time checking out the improvements on the trail. I just wanted to get down and away from all the people. It was pure madness. There were people everyone going in all these different directions. (One reason why my video isn’t that great.)
It was the first nice day in awhile so I was not surprised by the masses. I chatted with two women on EEOR and Ha Ling who were also doing the Triple Crown. They started with Lady Mac and finished with Ha Ling. Later on Lady Mac, I saw another group of four who started with Ha Ling and finished with Lady Mac.
Stupidity I didn’t have my poles with me because it would have helped a little on the descent from the peak. Maybe it would have shut the guy up who offered some unsolicited advice about my footwear. (Side rant – why do people feel the need to offer advice about hiking or running on trails. Do I look that inexperienced?)
Once I reached the treeline I was able to run down and away from all the people. I did get chatty with a couple guys who were also running down. Also bumped into a woman who recognized me from a few years ago on Centennial Ridge.
I am not sure about the stairs. I heard a lot of whining about them. It was good to see people were using them in an orderly fashion so to speak. Social distancing, however, was NOT A THING on this mountain.
After I finished Ha Ling, I ate an entire watermelon and guzzled more water. I was still feeling pretty good but I was getting antsy to reach Lady Mac and bag the final summit. I just wanted to get away from all the people. I think I am still in shell shock from all the people on that mountain.
Lady MacDonald (9.3 kilometres/800 metres elevation)
I need to plan better is one thing I learned from this challenge. Getting from Spray Lakes Road to the Lady Mac trailhead proved to be a pain in the butt. There was so much traffic on the road backing up an already painfully slow road. But who would have thought it would have been so busy?
I learned from a woman who was doing the challenge – that an option is to run to Lady Mac from Spray Lakes. I think that would be a logistic nightmare. Also running on that busy road would not be fun.
I think all the waiting around and waiting in traffic tired me out more than the actual hikes. Thankfully Joanna was there to help me get to the final summit. While I was a few hours behind I was pumped to reach the final summit.
I get asked a lot to compare the difficulty of mountains/trails. It’s really difficult to answer because of so many factors – fitness level, comfort levels, experience etc. I think it’s important to do your own research and decide for yourself.
We only saw a handful of people when we started up the mountain – big difference from Ha Ling and EEOR. About half way up I started to feel a hotspot on my right foot. I kept pushing through because I wasn’t about to give up. I asked Joanna to lead because I knew I wouldn’t push myself. If I had someone to chase, I would keep a steady pace.
Mission accomplished. Reaching the summit felt amazing. It was really fun to do this personal challenge. I want more. I would like to try the quad (adding Grotto into the mix) later this summer.
I also have some other fun mountain adventures in the works. Stay tuned and thank you for reading.
Have you ever tackled the Triple Crown in Canmore? Have you done anything like it? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.