I just passed the Ha Ling trailhead when my eye caught the orange ” closed road” gate. The gate was not down. Whew I thought. What would I do if the road was closed?
Not even five minutes later, my question was answered. Turn around. A man in truck stopped me to say there was truck jacknifed around the bend and there was no way get through. I could wait two to three hours or take the long way around.
I had no idea what the long way meant so I just turned around and hoped for the best. I I didn’t have service so I just relied on my memory. Eventually the Smith-Dorrien Trail would turn on to Hwy 40 and all would be fine.
I drove and drove. I passed Little Lougheed trail head and stopped to let these two guys, who were behind me on the trail, know the road had been temporarily closed. Thankfully I made it home safe and with enough gas.
Little Lougheed
I had wanted to do Little Lougheed in the summer but time got away from me. I had the day off on Monday so I decided to give it ago. It’s a long drive (almost two hours) but judging from the photos I had seen online, I knew it would be worth the extra kilometres in the car.
It was snowing slightly when I left the city around 8ish. The highway was mostly good so I just relaxed and enjoyed the long drive to the trailhead.
I parked behind two guys who were gearing up. I double checked with them that I was at the Little Lougheed trailhead. All good. We were all going to the peak.
I caught up with the guys within a few minutes. They had driven in from Red Deer. It was their second attempt at the peak. Last summer they got lost or something. Anyway they let me pass and I kept going on the trail.
For the most part it was easy going and straight forward steady climb. There was a clear path until I reached about the 2K mark when it got a little steeper. I bypassed the boulder field covered with snow and took the clearly defined trail to the right. Sections of the trail were covered in the fresh snow from the night before so I had to keep a close eye on the trail.
I had my poles, which definitely helped with checking rocks and snow depth.
The fresh snow I felt made the short take forever and I didn’t feel like I was making any headway. It was chilly and I tried to not take out my phone very often. I didn’t want it to get too cold and die on me.
The wind had picked up and the skies were not looking too good when I reached the stone cairn. The views were amazing but unfortunately my iPhone died. I also left my camera in the car by mistake.
I reached the cairn and looked across to the other mountains. The skies were getting a little moody and the wind was beginning to pick up. It was a good enough time to turn around.
Looking down I could see the two guys emerge from trees. I chatted with them for a few minutes before I ran down to my car. The running down was so easy and it took no time. I was sad it was over so soon.
Despite all the extra driving, it was a glorious day to be out in the mountains. The drive along the Smith-Dorrien to Hwy 40 was quiet and majestic with the snow covered trees.
Not a bad way to spend a Monday.