Canada Day long weekend

With the Canada Day long weekend approaching, I made the spontaneous decision to take two days off work on top of the long weekend (5 days total) and booked a flight to Calgary. I decided to go back to Alberta because it was a quick (short flight), cost effective, and convenient option especially for a spontaneous trip during the middle of a co-op term! Shout out to my boss for letting this happen šŸ˜„.

Spontaneity

I didn’t have much planned for the trip because it was so last minute. I knew I was going to meet up with a friend on Friday night to go hiking with them the next few days, but other than that it was a “figure it out as you go” kind of trip.

Hikes

During the five days I was in Alberta, I completed three hikes. The weather in the Rockies was amazing during my time there, and the three hikes I did by chance turned out to be really good.

Hike 1 - Grotto Mountain with strangers I met at a hostel

  • The most difficult & rewarding out of the three hikes
  • It was a loop featuring great views, lots of scramble, and a ridge walk
  • I recommend completing the loop counter-clockwise as it is more difficult/rewarding
  • The hike is fairly steep the whole way through
  • The tree line ends halfway to the peak, and the remaining path contains loose rock and scramble On the way up to Mt Grotto Top of Mt Grotto

Hike 2 - Tent Ridge Horseshoe with my friend

  • The best views out of the three hikes
  • The ridge is shaped like a horeshoe and each point on the ridge gives a unique view so there is lots of variety!
  • I recommend completing the loop clock-wise
  • Hike starts off very easy in a forrested area. The ascent after the tree line contained some light scramble but nothing too difficult Tent Ridge Horseshoe

Hike 3 - Mount Yamnuska solo

  • The most exciting of the three hikes
  • The chain section, traverse, and scree slope descent were extremely fun
  • The trail is very well marked and difficult to get lost on
  • There was a lot of scramble. Some of the rocks were slippery due to high foot traffic over the past few decades Mount Yamnuska

What I learned…

  1. Nutrition. I learned a lot about my body, it’s limits, and the amount and type of nutrition it needs on hikes. I definitely could have done a better job with managing my nutrition.
    • I did not bring enough food or water (+electrolytes) to Grotto Mountain, which made the hike more difficult than it should have been
    • I did not stock up on enough food at the grocery store prior to visiting Canmore

Final notes

Overall, a very successful trip. Hiking the mountains was perfect way to spend the Canada Day long weekend!