ELEVATION GAIN: 1030 meters DISTANCE: 7 km round trip Another weekend, another trip to the mountains. Today, Wes and I hit the trail with intentions to Summit Mount Baldy. This is one of the first mountains you come upon on Hwy. 40 directly east of Barrier Lake. There are numerous starting points and routes up the mountain. For this reason, its hard for me to determine if the route we took up was the easiest. We parked at a small roadside turnout at the South end of Barrier Lake. We then walked along Hwy. 40 (heading north) for a few minutes until we reached the trail head (see map below; the red arrow indicates the trail head). This specific route takes a very direct route up the mountain. The trail is quite steep and we would have been lost without our hiking poles. We managed to hike up until we got to a point where we, unfortunately, had to turn around. The trail got a bit too hard for Bohdi to manage and we didn't want to risk having his paws sliced up by the ice and rock. That being said, we still got to take in some amazing views! From what I understand, the trail continues on to the first summit. Then, you can continue on the trail as it heads along the south ridge to a second summit. Though we didn't get there today, we will have to try again later this summer (perhaps leaving Bohdi at home next time). It took us 1.5 hours to climb approx. 700 meters. After that it took us an hour to get back to the car. Overall, I don't feel like I can really give this hike a fair review since we didn't get to finish it. Also, I feel like the distance and elevation gain on this one are approximate since there are so many routes. However, if you are up for a steep climb, the views are totally worth it. Plus, its only a 50 minute drive from Calgary so if your looking for something close its a good one to try.
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Of all the paths you take in life make sure a few of them are dirt. John Muir Archives
September 2017
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