If you have been following my blog for awhile you will know I have a longstanding relationship with Moose Mountain Trail in Kananaskis. I used to run/hike there A LOT – mainly because it was the only trail I knew and it was only two hours from Red Deer.
I used to start at the West Bragg Creek trails and headed up the back way to clock roughly 30 kilometres. Loved that route. But in the last few years there has been trail closures for construction.
That’s been fine with me as I have been forced to explore other parts of Kananaskis Country. It’s been great but there was that familiarity of the trail that I missed.
Anyway it was open for about a week when I drove up that rough road to the Moose Mountain Trail (think massive ruts and potholes) to run the shorter and more popular route. The out-and-back is about 16 kilometres with roughly 700-metre gain.
I set out early on Saturday morning. The sun was still rising when I reached the parking lot. I didn’t break a headlamp so I was happy it was light enough to see when I started out on the trail.
A few cars were parked in the parking lot so I knew I would see some people on the trail. It’s easy running for the first few kilometres with some slight inclines and downhills. It was a little chilly in the morning so I overdressed as usual. But I didn’t mind because I know it’s always windy at the top.
Morning colours are always so amazing. I soaked in the solitude and vistas as much as I could.
The trail leading to the fire lookout always looks more intimidating than it actually is. I love the lines.
There were two others hanging out at the fire lookout tower when I reached it. They didn’t stick around too long so I had the summit all to myself. The new station was pretty snazzy. I loved looking out to the surrounding mountains and listening to the wind howl.
Heading down I could see the masses hiking up the trail. Great time to make my escape. Since it was so early in the day, I headed over to Prairie for a quick up and down.
I was happy to get out to Moose before all the snow comes our way. The next day it snowed so I was lucky.
Have you ever hiked up to a fire lookout? Have you ever been on a summit alone? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.