Kayaking on Barrier Lake

After a trip to Waterton Lakes where the rental rate for a canoe was extortionate, Lou and I decided to buy recreational/touring kayaks so that we could drift around the Rockies lakes. Here are some pictures from our first outing, on Barrier Lake (actually a reservoir), in Kananaskis Country. This is about 75 mins drive from home.

Kayaking on Lower Kananaskis Lake & Climbing on Cowbell Crag.

Tim Capon came out to visit us from London, and we headed off for a long weekend's camping in Kananaskis Country. We had reservations about camping near Calgary - we'd heard too many horror stories about loud, all-night drinking parties at Bow Valley sites (why can't people who want to actively destroy the natural environment for the weekend just stay at home? Different country, same attitude...). In the event, the Canyon campsite in K Country turned out to be quiet, well run and a great place to stay - but get there early.



We took the boats out twice on Lower Kananaskis Lake, which is set in a spectacular location. On Sunday we hiked up the Indefatigueable Trail, which overlooks Lower K Lake. We were then joined by Alex and Kathryn from Calgary, and headed south to climb on Cowbell Crag, an unusual trad venue formed from a tilted plane of conglomerate. A rope of five made for an interesting outing up a long pitch of 5.6, but it turned out to be a good route, under the encroaching dirt and vegetation.

More pics from this trip here.

Crypt Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta

This hike is probably the most famous in the Waterton Lakes park, featuring a lake crossing, several waterfalls, a ford, a tunnel and exposed wire traverse. Swimming in Crypt Lake is optional! It gets busy in a limited way: the first stage of the trip is to pay the ferryman. That limits numbers on the trail to however many hikers fit on the boat from Waterton Townsite.

Once on the shore, people string out along the trail gradually. To avoid this, take the right-hand fork after a few hundred metres and approach Crypt Lake Trail via Hell Roaring Falls instead. I think this is a nicer way of doing things anyway, as Hell Roaring is nowhere near as spectacular as the Crypt Falls, so this way you avoid an anticlimax. Appearing in this album: Jeroen, Joe, Lou, Nikki, Tristan and Vicki.



Incidentally, Crypt Falls goes at about WI4 in winter....if you can get there. For a taste of winter...go for a dip! I have never swum in such cold water.

Summit Lake Hike, Waterton Lakes

Summit Lake, in Waterton Lakes National Park, is a fine little hike that gives great views south into Glacier National Park, USA. There's a great linear walk that continues from here down to Upper Waterton Lake, over 24 km. We just hiked the short trail to Summit Lake though. We saw no bears on this walk, but did spot three in a nearby valley, when we were driving around. they were being shooed up the hill by a guy - we thought perhaps they'd got too close to the campsite.

It was on this trip that we decided to buy kayaks. There was a canoe rental outfit on the shore, charging something like $30 per 30 mins and $10 per swapped paddler. A quick sum showed that we'd get that money back very quickly if we just bought some boats.....it's easy to convince yourself on a hot mountain lakeside day!