When I find something magical, I want to shout it out to the world. You won’t find me writing about my “secret” hiking spot.
Recently I trekked up to (and beyond) one of my favourite spots in Kananaskis – the rock garden on the Centennial Ridge trail. This has been on my list every year since I first saw a picture of it on social media.
On this particular brisk Sunday morning, the Ribbon Creek parking lot was surprisingly half-full at 7 a.m. I was half an hour early, and my pal Lisa H. from Calgary was half an hour late.
The morning was unusually cool but that quickly changed as we began to climb. Lisa had never been on the trail before. I had talked it up so much that I was worried that she would be disappointed.
Thankfully the rock garden lived up to all my hype. She was just as impressed with the rock conglomerate as I am. You don’t typically see these formations on the average hike in Kananaskis. It’s like something out of a post-apocalypse movie. I think many people summit Mt. Allan from Dead Man’s Flats, which explains why many are not aware of the garden (at least in my experience).
After spending some time marvelling at the rocks and taking photos, we headed to the summit of Mt. Allan. I don’t always continue on to the summit because I love hanging out in the garden. But as someone reminded me on the trail, it is easy to become complacent about the views when you spend so much time in the mountains.
Breathe in every moment and appreciate the day.
One of the last times I was on the summit, a “flossing” dance party broke out amongst strangers. The memory brought a smile to my face. While we didn’t see many people ahead of us, we knew we wouldn’t be entirely alone on the summit.
These days it’s very rare to be alone on a summit especially in 2020.
The wind was not letting up as we trekked along the Centennial Ridge trail past the rock garden. I borrowed a pair of gloves from Lisa because I left mine in my Qashqai. We heard it was actually warmer from hikers as they passed us on their way down.
We lucked out because the last few weekends had been dreadful. If you have been reading this blog, you will know the unstable weather has stopped me from summiting. But not today!
Half a dozen or so of people were taking photos and having lunch on the summit. We chatted with a few happy hikers for a bit before heading down. A kind man alerted us to a few critters chewing on our hiking poles – preventing a disaster.
Summit views of the surrounding mountains was outstanding on this clear day. I spotted Mount Collembola in the distance. We noticed runners on other ridges in the distance. We heard from a runner that a bunch were headed down to Dead Man’s Flats and back again for a double Mt. Allan summit.
There were marmots everywhere. They don’t call it marmot valley for nothing. One particular aggressive marmot was trying to steal a young guy’s lunch. The father didn’t like it too much so he threw some rocks at the marmot. Not sure that’s what you’re supposed to do to scare away critters. Some people’s children!
Is there a trail/mountain that is on your list every year? What is it about that trail that brings you back every year? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.