“I thought this was a shortcut,” laughs my friend as she carefully makes her way down a tricky section.
“This is why I asked if you were bringing a helmet at the parking lot,” I shout back.
Nihahi Ridge takes its name from the Stoney word for rocky. This is fitting because that’s basically a big old rock. I just love how the word “nihahi” rolls off the tongue.
KW and I had just summited the south peak of the ridge and were making our way back to the vehicles. I suggested we walk along the saddle and down climb to the trail that runs just below it.
We had taken the lower trail to the “waterfall” section on the way up, then climbed to the saddle from there to the south summit. I really didn’t want to take that same trail back because it was super busy, and I thought the higher trail, closer to the ridge, would be more runnable.
I’d climbed this section before, and I remembered following a clear path up the rock. I don’t recall having any issues. I haven’t done any scrambling this year so it was fun to touch the rock.
Many people simply stop at the saddle and take in all the views of the Elbow River valley and the Little Elbow River valley. We went to the little south summit after a snack. One day I would like to do the entire Nihahi Ridge traverse. Today I was happy to spend time with my friend and stretch out the legs after Saturday’s long run.