On Sunday, we were all tired from the previous day’s mountain bike excursion, so we slept in a bit. We made bagels & eggs and had a leisurely morning.
Peter & Lynn recommended we do a really nice, but challenging day hike in the Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. The hike is a loop which goes up to Chester Lake, over a pass, then down to the Headwall Lake, and finally back to the parking lot.
Elevation Gain: about 3,000 feet
Distance: about 10 miles
Total Time: 10am to 6 pm (8 hours)
Hiking Posse: Lynn, Peter, Coryn, Clare, Dennis, & Rachel
Starting the Hike (Peter, Coryn, and Lynn):
Nice Map:
Dennis, Clare, & Rachel on Chester Lake Trail
The Meadow Before Chester Lake:
I Love the Canadian Rockies!
The Back Side of Chester Lake:
The trail wraps around lake, up scree, then left up the gorge to the pass:
Rachel Emmulating the Cairn on the far side of Chester Lake
Dennis & Clare Scree Happy, Above Chester Lake
Lunch Rock, Nice View!
Above Chester Lake, On the Way to the Pass:
Lynn Leads the Way up the Scree, Towards the Pass:
Dennis Makes His Way up to the Pass:
The Trail to the Pass is S-T-E-E-P, Here Lynn Uses Her Hand For Balance:
Here’s Peter at the Top of the Pass:
About this same time as Peter, Lynn, Dennis, and Rachel hit the Pass, Cor and I were to the right of the cliff on the right side of this picture.
Cor & I had taken an extreme line straight up to the ridge above the pass, instead of staying on the trail. It was quite dangerous in sections; once Cor slipped and both feet cut loose as he clung to a large boulder! It was a very stressful hour of climbing.
It seems he remembered climbing up this way before, but it was not directly up to the ridge…we figured out later that he & his buddies cut diagonally back to the trail. In any event, he was not prepared for the 4th class scramble and it was obvious that he could use some pointers. As we climbed, I doled out the following helpful hints:
1. Test out hand holds before trusting them. The rock may not be as solid as it looks.
2. Do stay right behind me or in front of me. This prevents both of us from falling if one of us falls.
3. Shout “Rock” if & when rock is knocked loose.
4. Keep the toes pointed into the slope, for greater traction and better control.
5. Remember to breath normally and stay calm.
Coryn was a trooper, and demonstrated great agility over the course of our climb. We were able to work together to make plans about each section of the steep scree & loose blocky boulders.
Amazingly, when we reached the top of the ridgeline, we spotted footprints in the mud. Some Crazy Canook had been there before! This gave me immense hope, as I now knew we’d be able to descend.
I could not contain my happiness, I gave Coryn a high five and then we shouted for the other group. I strained my eyes to see them. After a few minutes of shouting, Peter responded. I think they could see us on the ridge, and we shouted plans for our descent.
The far side of the ridge was just as steep as the Chester Lake side we had come up, but thankfully, there was a rocky band which we could use for hand & footholds. However, about 30 meters below us, there was an obvious cliff band, so we weren’t out of harms way just yet.
In this picture, you can see the large cliffband, as it drops diagonally from the ridgeline. We downclimbed a section just above this cliffband, very carefully, until we reached a gently sloping scree field. At this point, we joyfully boot skiied our way back to the trail.
When we met up with the group, I gave Dennis a huge hug, I was so happy we made it. I almost cried, but I didn’t. The ordeal was over and we made it back safely. Nobody had to spend the night in the Canadian Wilderness! Woo-hoo!
Cor & Climbergirl Pose with Pride (We conquered the scary 4th Class Direct Ascent/Descent!)
Lower Headwall Lake
Tags: Canada, Chester Lake, Headwall Lake, Hiking, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park