Lion Mountain Trail

 Located close to the town of Whitefish, this hike was very busy on the Sunday that we walked it with the dogs. We passed a few families on the trail and were passed by a number of mountain bikers. It's an easy loop that leads to a lookout. Easily, one of the best groomed trails we've been on. No roots to trip over or rocks to avoid. The forest is much like that around Fairmont Hot Springs but with more ponderosa pines. Much of the undergrowth had been removed as they were in the process of fire smarting the area. 

Me with the dogs at one of the lookouts


View from the top of the trail. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jumbo Pass Hike

Image
 Jumbo Mountain is the most iconic in the Columbia River and was once considered a great location for a future ski resort. The locals became outraged by this idea, got the support of indigenous groups and basically killed the project.  The trailhead is about an hour's drive over gravel, both rough and smooth, from Panorama resort, which is 20 kilometres from Invermere. It's supposed to be navigable in 2 wheel vehicles however it requires going through a stream and few deep dips in the road.  A number of trucks were in the parking lot however we didn't meet anyone on the trail on the long, long, way up, 810 metres according to the AllTrails app. With the 7.6 kilometres, it took us about 3 hours to reach the overnight hut. It's there we were greeted by a bunch of trail makers, two young women and three older guys and, when I say older, I mean in their 70s. Kind of incredible really because the hike is really quite gruelling.  The hike is beautiful, perhaps the most bea...
Read more

Lake O'Hara - Oct. 9/2022

Image
 Like the Twin Falls hike previously noted in my blog, the Lake O'Hara walk reminded me of the same hike I took with my family when I was fourteen (I'm guessing), my brother eleven and my sister seven.  Stats: Length - 25 km., Elevation gain - approximately 475 metres, Trail time - 5.5 hours Trail - A shuttle bus takes hotel guests and hikers chosen from a lottery from June 24 to October 2nd this year. Our hike took place on the 9th, not that it mattered because we hadn't entered our names in the lottery.  At the centre of the valley lies Cataract Creek which rumbles below small sections of the road. A couple of signs greeted us at the beginning of the trail. One, that bikes are not allowed on the road. (Go figure.) Two, dogs are permitted but must be kept on leash. Within the first couple of kilmotres, we crossed paths with no people. Neither did we spy signs of bear, ie, scat (poo). So, we figured, what the hell, and let them off their leashes.  We established a ri...
Read more

Pedley Ridge Loop - August 2, 2024

Image
  We started off from the trailhead at 11:30 on a hot, smoky day. The dogs weren’t invited for a couple of reasons. First, they weren’t particularly well after getting booster shots two days previous. Second, they go nuts when the picas make their cheaping sounds among the rocks well above the treeline. The ridge is rocky and narrow with a considerable drop on one or both sides of the trail.  The trail to the ridge is a bit of a grunt with about a 600 metre elevation gain. Once there, it’s a spectacular walk across however watching your step is paramount. You don’t want to go tumbling down the slope. The views are spectacular however shortened a tad by the smoke. Considerable logging has been performed since we last visited about a year ago.  Oh yes, I forgot the horse flies. A considerable nuisance nevertheless, we did stop for lunch at the top.  Overall, an enjoyable hike that was a bit hot. 
Read more