How do I take 4 naive city slickers into K country?

[starseed]

Hey guys. I have a few friends from Chicago, and one from Toronto coming to Alberta in August. They will have a couple weeks, and they want to go hiking. Two of them want to go on a few fairly strenuous hikes.

I was thinking of camping at Lower Kananaskis Lake and hiking Mt. Indefatigable (thanks Phanuthier), Elk Lake, and Centennial Pass. I also heard from a coworker that there is a waterfall near the south end of Upper K lake.

On the last few days, I was thinking about staying at a hotel in Banff for two nights. The first day would be a rest/tourist day. Not sure what to do then. On the next day we would hike Johnston Canyon, then go to Lake Louise, then back to Banff. The next day I want to take them to Drumheller to see Tyrell, then to the airport.

What do you guys think? Are there any good hikes you might suggest? Any tips/warnings/suggestions? What should we do in Banff on the rest day?

[Yeah_Baby]

Warnings? Wrap it when you're in Banff. I mean..uh...so I've heard.

[simmonjam1]

I'd look into the Barrier Lake Lookout hike. Not too difficult but the views are pretty amazing; mountains on one side and vast prairie on the other side.

[Ford Prefect]

If you have time when you are in Drum, drive out to Wayne and have a couple fruit jars of draft at the Last Chance Saloon. It's a semi-famous hole in the wall with lots of colourful history.

[Kybosh]

If you choose to do Mt. Indefatigable, I would exercise extreme caution on the ridge. People have died on that ridge and I wouldn't take novices along it. The hike is pretty good leading up to the ridge though, just stop and turn around once at the top.

Also, get yourself some bear spray. I've seen plenty of bears and bear evidence in and around that area. Actually, the last time I went up that direction, the trail was closed due to grizzly sightings.

[Pinner]

Tell them to pack lots of beef jerky to feed the bears.

[FurnaceFace]

Ignore Johnston Canyon it's not very interesting to walk and is packed with all sorts of humanity. You're better to hike around Lake Louise which while equally busy is the postcard picture they should all take. Hike up to The Beehive and teahouse. You should go to Maligne Lake and if the bears aren't active hike up to Constellation Lake. It's reasonable easy. Grassi lakes outside Canmore is also a simple hike. Another option is to go up to the base at Sunshine and do some hikes from there.

Troll Falls in K Country is also pretty relaxing for a warm up or cool down day.

Only warning I'd have is check in with the rangers to see the bear activity or check online.

[starseed]

I have done both the Johnston and Lake Louise hikes. Both had some amazing views... I will have to think about that.

Originally Posted by Pinner

Tell them to pack lots of beef jerky to feed the bears.

That will not be necessary. That is why I invited the Torontonian.

[MRCboicgy]

Sounds fabulous

I also like taking newbies to the short jaunt up to elbow lake, walk about a mile past and come back. Super easy and you get some great pics. A quick scramble up the side of the mtns there (Mt. Rae? - they are all the same to me) work too.

[Coys1882]

Sentinel Pass is a nice hike - fairly challenging and the viewpoint at the end is well worth it.

The path starts at Moraine Lake.

http://www.trailpeak.com/trail-Larch...-Banff-AB-1384

[DownhillGoat]

Lillian Lake is a really nice hike, and easy enough for every one. There's a small tenting site at the end of the hike.

Mt. Baldy is a good hike, hard enough to keep veteran hikers enthused, but not impossible for beginners. If you're really adventurous you can scramble over to the next peak and there's a scree that's a great way to get back down.

[V]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

If you choose to do Mt. Indefatigable, I would exercise extreme caution on the ridge. People have died on that ridge and I wouldn't take novices along it. The hike is pretty good leading up to the ridge though, just stop and turn around once at the top.

Also, get yourself some bear spray. I've seen plenty of bears and bear evidence in and around that area. Actually, the last time I went up that direction, the trail was closed due to grizzly sightings.

Really? What's so scary about that ridge? I've seen people take their 12 year olds to that summit. And if you don't take the ridge you miss out on the kickarse scree ski.

In any case, Mt. Indy is also my favourite hike in K-Country, although it is closed a lot due to grizzlies.

An easier summit is Mt. Baldy. I've taken my wife up there, and she doesn't have any experience, so they should be able to handle it.

If they're complete pansies you can take them on that Mt. Everest trail. I've been up there with my grandparents, and it was a nice hike with a pretty decent view at the top.

If they really want a grueling climb, the worst I've been on are Mt. Rae and Mt. Buller. I was hung over massively when I did Buller, though, so it might not be as hard as I remember.

That lookout point at Barrier Lake is a nice easy climb as someone mentioned. I suggest that's one of the first you try. See if the gang is up for something harder.

If you want to get crazy, I once did a loop through a bunch of spots, one of which included Three Aisle Lake. I can't remember how to get there, but it was a great 4 (5?) day backpacking trip.

Do you have any experience at all with scrambles? If not, I'm not sure any of this is a good idea. It's always good to have at least one guy that knows what he's doing.

[T@T]

Since you want to do Drum why not split it up a bit, do some hiking there the last couple of days and find the next T-Rex

[Delthefunky]

Go through bragg creek, then the back way into K-country (nice gravel road). Then do the loop and end up in Canmore, and go for a beer or two .

[Pastiche]

Scramble up the fist.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by starseed

Hey guys. I have a few friends from Chicago, and one from Toronto coming to Alberta in August. They will have a couple weeks, and they want to go hiking. Two of them want to go on a few fairly strenuous hikes.

I was thinking of camping at Lower Kananaskis Lake and hiking Mt. Indefatigable (thanks Phanuthier), Elk Lake, and Centennial Pass. I also heard from a coworker that there is a waterfall near the south end of Upper K lake.



On the last few days, I was thinking about staying at a hotel in Banff for two nights. The first day would be a rest/tourist day. Not sure what to do then. On the next day we would hike Johnston Canyon, then go to Lake Louise, then back to Banff. The next day I want to take them to Drumheller to see Tyrell, then to the airport.

What do you guys think? Are there any good hikes you might suggest? Any tips/warnings/suggestions? What should we do in Banff on the rest day?

Walking around Upper Kananaskis Lake on a sunny summer day can be great. There is indeed a waterfall back there. About, I believe 16 km round trip. Walking in that area in the winter is very nice too. They might like nearby King Canyon.



Walking up to Elbow Lake is indeed a nice, short hike but you can keep going back through Elbow Pass and, if you're ambitious and have two cars, you can make it a point-to-point of, I think, 40 + Km coming out at Blue Rock, west of Turner. Below, on the way back to Elbow Lake via the pass.




Forgetmenot Ridge, west of Bragg Creek, is a challenging uphill but spectacular at the top.

Lineham Creek trail up to Picklejar Lakes - a string of progressively higher lakes - will burn your legs a bit with a very nice reward. Do not take the Picklejar trail to Picklejar Lakes. Descending from Picklejar via Lineham Creek




Make them watch Brokeback Mountain then take them up to Moose Mountain where some of the filming occurred. A Jack + Ennis cairn used to be in one spot (below). Great hike. Watch the weather.



Hailstone Butte Fire Station . . . . . west of Chain Lakes, past Indian Graves. Up the Petro Canada road to the summit. Then get out and start walking up to the north. Pretty spectacular up there and far superior to the Prairie Creek/Barrier Lake lookout for a combination mountain/prairie view. The fire station is at 7,700 feet I believe. On the way up to Hailstone Butte fire station below:



At the Highwood Pass, to the west of Ptarmigan Cirque (across the highway) you can actually find a pretty challenging climb/trek cirque involving, I think, three mountains. Can't remember the name of the trail and my dogs are a little too old to do it so we only engaged part but it looked like this. The highway is in the valley below, looking southeast. This picture would be a little above 8,000 feet I think.



Below, from the "false" summit of Mt. Indefatigable on a rainy, kind of miserable day in late September, looking back at Upper Kananaskis Lake. Your friends are looking for "challenging" but remember the dangers of altitude, particularly if they are coming from sea level. Mt Indefatigible is about 8758 feet and it's about 3,000 feet up from the lake.



Lillian Lake/Galatea is a little boring in comparison to some others.

Cowperson

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Delthefunky

Go through bragg creek, then the back way into K-country (nice gravel road). Then do the loop and end up in Canmore, and go for a beer or two .

If you're on highway 8, I hope you don't have a motorcycle.

[Pastiche]

Cowperson just had an orgasm.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Pastiche

Cowperson just had an orgasm.

Hey I don't live there, so I don't care. Just passing along information. Do with it what you will.




Yeah_Baby

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by V

Really? What's so scary about that ridge? I've seen people take their 12 year olds to that summit. And if you don't take the ridge you miss out on the kickarse scree ski.

The ridge isn't awful but people have died falling off certain parts of it. I'm just saying that if they are true novices, and end up with jello legs at the top, I would be very careful walking the ridge.

I'll throw out a second for Forgetmenot, which is quite steep up to the top but opens up into some amazing views.