We were both very excited and passionate for hiking this past long weekend since we had not been to a good hike for a long time. I had studied the available hikes and chose The Fortress in Spray Valley Provincial Park. My assumption was that even if The Chef did not follow me to the summit, at least there would be a good hike for him up until Chester Lake and a bit after that because the route to the summit of The Fortress is mostly an easy hike until Chester Lake and then at the end, near the summit becomes hard and steep.
So we rented a car and met in Downtown early morning. The Chef is always punctual but this time he was late and that was a surprise to me. Eventually when I called him he said that he was in front of Calgary Tower, some 5 minutes away from our rendezvous point! He added that he was confused and not able to find his way to the were we usually meet! I didn't argue with him but suspected him being under the influence of Alcohol, something he never does when it comes to hiking. When I got there I realized he was sober but the problem was with the road closures all around Downtown area which we later found out it was due to Gay Pride Parade, the event that they now have given it a new name to include other weiredos! it contains a truckload of different alphabets next to each other! This somehow worked in favour of us but I'm not going to start a disappointing story with a disappointing introduction! I leave it for later.
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| We saw this beautiful bird at the side of the road when we were leaving Smith-Dorrien Trail |
We took Highway # 1 and then turned south on Highway # 40 and then to west on 742 and finally Smith-Dorrien Trail but as soon as we hit the trail and headed north, I saw a big electronic board, warning us of something: Bear in the area! I had seen signs similar to that many time but not that big! I always have ignored them. Bears are part of Kananaskis Country. What do you want me to do about them? All I can do is be careful and I am as much as I can. I even bought a Bear Spray, although it must be expired now!
So we drove further up until we reached Chester Lake parking lot. The real surprise was there: The entrance to the area had been taped with yellow ribbons and a sign on the ground warned of Bears!
Our surprises were changed to disappointment and we continued on the trail on north to get ourselves to home. When we get back on Highway # 1, shortly after Canmore, I received a telephone call from the rental company indicating that the Downtown area was closed and we would not be able to return the car at the designated time! That was a good news and we used that and went to Okotoks to do some shopping at Chinook Honey Company which I will probably have a separate post for that later. Then we headed back to Calgary and before that hit Highway 22x West and went to Red Deer Lake Meats as we wanted to get some fresh meat but we got surprised and then disappointed again by seeing that the place was closed!
We didn't have any choice but going back home. So it was another hiking opportunity before the winter comes and we blew it by not checking the trail report before choosing our hike!
(Photo, top: This is Mount. Sparrowhawk if I'm not mistaken. The early snow can be seen on it. I did this amazing hike 4 years ago and enjoyed it very much)
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