Trekking with Nicola (and the dogs)

 7.9 kilometres - 899 metres elevation - 7 hours overall  Ghost Rider Mountain, also called Mount Hosmer is easily visible from the town of Fernie with the Ghost Rider and his daughter visible on a sunny day and at sunset. There's a legend behind that I have provided at the end.  I drove the nine miles up a dirt road with large pot holes and water bars slowly for fear of damaging the driver's side read axle any more than it is. A rattling sound can be heard when hitting any kind of a bump that I'm sure any mechanic could diagnose just by driving it.  The trail begins through thick undergrowth that's much more lush than what we have just the other side of the Rocky Mountain Ridge to the east and south. Through the avalanche chutes we passed thick strands of fireweed that Nicola would like to pick one day to make into jelly. The forest differs from our area as well with the usual fir trees but also cedar and white spruce. There's not a huge difference in annual rainfa...

  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.