Waterton hikes and Ruby Ridge

Waterton hikes and Ruby Ridge – October 1-2, 2005

Hiking with Mark, Mum, Larry, Auntie Margaret and Uncle Bill.

One of my favourite times of the year is the annual visit from Auntie Margaret and Uncle Bill of England. It has become a yearly ritual for us to drag them out to the mountains for some hiking, snowshoeing, or even cross-country skiing. They are always game for anything and very much appreciate the grandeur and beauty of the Canadian Rockies.

October 1

We were expecting the weather to be a little “iffy” on Saturday, but didn’t expect non-stop rain and low visibility. Accordingly, we picked a couple of easy hikes, where the interest lie near the ground, not way above it. Red Rock Canyon and Blakiston Falls fit the bill perfectly. Everyone enjoyed the short hikes, featuring my favourite aspect of the Waterton area – red argillite. It rained lightly throughout, but didn’t detract too much from the scenery.

Red Rock Canyon

The Troops at Blakiston Falls

Mark and Mum enjoy some of the beautiful scenery of Blakiston Creek

More of Blakiston Creek

Larry simultaneously models the latest in Nepalese headwear and does his best impersonation of an Ewok

October 2

Sunday brought better weather a chance to really see some of the spectacular scenery of the Waterton area. We started with the short, but scenic hike to the top of Bear’s Hump. Although low-lying clouds obscured the classic view to the south, of the Upper Waterton Lake surrounded by a multitude of stunning peaks, south of the border, within 10 ten minutes of our arrival, the clouds cleared a little granting a terrific view.

We then drove along the Akamina Parkway for a quick look at Cameron Lake and Mount Custer. Our last order of business for the trip was the longer hike to Lineham Falls. About halfway along, I decided to ascend easy slopes to the right, in order to try and get a better view of Mount Lineham and the distant Falls. I could then traverse along the side of the slope and meet up with everyone near the start of the Mount Blakiston ascent. The slope, however, was deceivingly long and every time I thought I was about to reach a highpoint, another slope would magically appear. I kept going, as the winter-like scenery continued to dramatically improve, eventually arriving at the highpoint of Ruby Ridge. By this time, the remainder of the party had long since turned around and were well on their way back to the parking lot. The panorama from the summit of Ruby Ridge was fantastic, enhanced tremendously by a good dumping of fresh snow. Buchanan Ridge, Carthew, Alderson, and Blakiston, with Ruby Lake far below, were particularly breath-taking.

I spent no more than 2 minutes at the summit, as I hadn’t come fully-prepared for the bone-chilling temperatures - caused, of course, by infamous Waterton winds. My hands were icy blocks within minutes and although it was extremely attempting to continue east, down to the “Ruby” part of Ruby Ridge (a lower hump of beautiful red argillite), I was severely cold, and everyone else was waiting for me at the car (walkie-talkies are great!). Instead of retracing my ascent route, I headed directly down easy slopes, to join up with the Lineham Creek Trail about 1.5 km from the parking lot. Looking at the map later, the best route to the summit of Ruby Ridge would probably start at McNealy’s parking lot, gaining the ridge and two summits, before descending down southwest slopes to the start of the Blakiston ascent. From there, Lineham Creek Trail would provide an easy escape back to the road.