I was trotting around Nose Hill when the winds kicked up and the snow began to fall.
Yup winter arrived with a vengeance in Calgary on Friday afternoon.
The snowy conditions were not unexpected as the weather forecasters had been warning us for the last couple of days. I was in no hurry to venture out on the snowy trails or navigate the first snow traffic on Hwy 1 so I stayed put this past weekend. I ran along the Bow River and on Nose Hill.
Staying close to home allowed me to get organized and get caught up on some blogging. In early September, Amanda and I hiked to Two O’Clock Ridge along the David Thompson highway. I haven’t had a chance to blog about it because it was during a time when I was crazy busy.
I drove down to Red Deer, the day before we hiked so we could get an early start. Initially we had planned to do Two O’Clock Ridge then Vision Quest but an impromptu party the night before quashed those big plans.
We parked near the Two O’Clock Creek Recreation Area campground. We thought it would have been great to camp here the night before as opposed to driving the two hours or so from Red Deer.
The hike began next to the washrooms in the campground. We hiked through some trees and before long we were climbing. The day was breezy and the fresh mountain air was welcomed.
My legs were burning once we began a tough climb around the three kilometre mark. I cursed myself for not bringing my poles. I found a handy stick that did the trick until I swapped it later with a better one from the ridge summit.
This was surprisingly one of the most scenic hikes that I had been on this summer. I loved the colours. The steep climb is well worth the effort. The panoramic views were amazing.
There were a few people coming down while we were going up but we didn’t see many people. The rugged mountains trails in David Thompson area always seem to be less busy in my experience.
My gosh it was super windy at the ridge summit. We had to stand strong so we wouldn’t blow off the mountain. We turned around at the ridge as opposed to continuing on to the summit. Had we not ‘partied’ the night before we might have been up for a longer hike.
Do you stay off the roads during the first snow fall of the year? What has been your favourite run this summer? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.