Burstall Pass (July 19, 2013)

Where: South of Canmore on the Smith-Dorien-Spray Lakes Road
Distance: 15-16 km
Recommended Time: 5-7 hours
My time: 6 hours
Recommended Rating: Easy - Moderate
My rating: Easy for the first 4.5 km or so,  then a more strenuous uphill section begins

Burstall Pass is beautiful! This was my first time hiking it, and I was so glad I did. Within minutes of starting the hike I was commenting to my mom on how much better it was than the C-Level Cirque.

The first 4 km of the hike are through trees on an old logging road. Burstall Creek was frequently heard alongside the path. The forest was full of wildflowers and many, many mosquitoes. Luckily, I brought my Deep Woods Off this time, and they were less of a pain. In fact, I think I got a grand total of two bites during the entire trip.

Soon, the trail passed by Burstall Lakes.

On the drive to and from the trailhead we saw a lot of destruction from the floods. Only one part of the trail was covered by debris, and it was easy enough to cross.

At the 4 km mark, we reached the dryas flats. The trail was marked by several signs to give a general idea of what direction to go in as we forded the ankle- to calf-deep creeklets. By the time we reached the forest on the other side, my feet were freezing cold from the water.

Once we were back in the trees, the uphill slog began. Again, there was a lovely little creek beside the trail and several waterfalls.

After climbing the trail for a kilometer or so, we reached a hanging alpine valley. It was nice and flat, full of wildflowers, and offered lovely views of the peaks surrounding the pass.

 

 And then the climbing began again. This section was steeper and rootier than the previous uphill section, and required many breaks. Cresting this part of the trail led to a spectacular view of the valley we'd just come through.

 
The trees grew sparser and thinned out as we neared the pass, and snow started to move in.

 

At the three hour mark, we reached the top of Burstall Pass and the boundary of Banff National Park. Snow still covered parts of the trail past this point and, like at C-Level Cirque, it was red-tinged. The only peak I recognised was the pyramid-shaped Mount Assiniboine, 20 km to the northwest.

 

The return trip took about two hours. My mom and I found that 15 km was almost too long, so we'll be aiming for a 10 km or so hike the next go round. Well, after I figure out how to tie my hiking boots better and my blisters heal.

C-Level Cirque (July 14, 2013)

Where: Banff National Park
Distance: 8 km
Recommended Time: 3 hours
My time: 3.5-4 hours (I forgot to look at the clock when we started out)
Recommended Rating: Easy - moderate
My rating: Moderate with a relentless uphill slog and many, many, many breaks

Due to the massive flooding that swept through southern Alberta in June, I haven't had much opportunity to get out and hike. Much of Kananaskis country has had its trails wiped out, or access has been impaired due to debris and washed out bridges. Banff, however, is relatively unscathed, so my mom and I headed there for a hike.

We decided to try the C-level Cirque because it was described as "one of the more attractive hikes" in my trail guide. We must be jaded, because all we saw for most of the hike was trees. So many trees. The highlights were the old mining buildings about a kilometer in, the viewpoint overlooking Lake Minnewanka, and then the cirque at the very top.

The first kilometer of the trail has some steep sections which are difficult because of the gravel on the path. This was my first hike testing out my hiking poles, and they were the bestest thing ever for this part. In general, I really liked them, and could tell the difference between hiking with them early on, and then without for much of the path (I lent them to my mom, whose knee was bothering her. She really liked them, too).

Several abandoned buildings from the old mining operation at Bankhead were the first interesting things to show up on the path. The mining stopped in the 1920s, and the village of Bankhead that was in the valley at the trailhead is no longer there.

Just slightly beyond the mining buildings, there was a viewpoint overlooking Lake Minnewanka. This was the only vista that wasn't blocked in by trees. Later on in the path there was a spot overlooking the Bow Valley, but again, most of it was blocked. By trees. So many trees.

More evidence of the old mining operation was visible as we continued up the trail. Several ventilation shafts are fenced off with many signs warning people not to go in.

When they said "steady uphill" in the trail guide, they weren't lying. Pretty much the entire way to the cirque is uphill. It doesn't help that the trail gets very rooty, and looks as though some of it may have washed out during the flooding.

We also saw what we think is bear scat. There were several warnings about bears around Lake Minnewanka and several trailheads further up the road from Bankhead, but we didn't see anything. I made lots of noise just in case.

At about two hours, we reached the cirque.

The cirque was carved out of Cascade Mountain by a glacier a long time ago, leaving the skree field in its wake. There was still snow up there, despite the fact that it's mid July, and the snow had a pinkish tinge to it. I think that's due to bacteria, but I'm not entirely sure.

We spent about an hour at the top lounging and eating lunch. The path was relatively busy, and several other groups reached the top around the same time we did. A path along the cirque led up to views of the valley below, but we didn't go up. My heels were sore from my boots, and I really liked the rock we had picked out. I wasn't ready to concede it to other people.

Returning the way we came, it took us about an hour to reach the car. Several groups passed us, some of them running down the trail. I preferred not to break my ankles, so we kept up a slow and steady pace. We also saw some spotted coralroot, which was a lovely way to end the hike.