Summer is waning, and our hiking days in Canada are numbered. We are three weeks from departure, and Dave is dreaming about Arizona. But who wants to start packing when there is still time to explore?
After a small deliberation, we decided upon Jumpingpound Summit trail, located in Kananaskis Country. Hmmm. A moderate hike, with an adventurous Jeep ride thrown in. Why not?
Powderface Cows.
Powderface Trail.
We took the TransCanada Hwy to Sibbald Creek Road and turned onto Powderface Trail. The gravel road was narrow and winding, complete with steep embankments and the occasional passing of a giant logging truck. With the help of Alltrails, we located the rather inconspicuous trailhead, just off the side of the road, about 9 miles in.
On the trail.
Why Jumpingpound? Well, there is a steep bank located near the mouth of Jumpingpound Creek that was used as a buffalo jump by the Blackfoot First Nations.
“Ok, Dave says, but why pound?” We googled it. In this case, a pound was a hunting device constructed by First Nation people for the entrapment of buffalo. So now you know.
Buffalo Pound. Indigenous diorama at the Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The hike is about four miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of around 1,350ft. We ascended through lush forest and crossed several bridges along the way. About halfway up, a small detour provided a bench with a view, as well as a red-headed woodpecker.
Bench view.
Red-headed Woodpecker
Dave and I wove our way up through short switchbacks to a trail junction located just below the summit. Bearing left, we could see glimpses of meadows and rolling hills—just a hint of what was to come.
The glimpse through the trees.
As summits go, this one was somewhat anticlimactic. In this case, the word definition is a bit of a stretch. Think of it as climbing up a large hill.
Trail to the summit.
Those thoughts would quickly evaporate. We were rewarded with an overwhelming Kananaskis panorama. Mountain ranges upon mountain ranges, with summits in every direction.
View from the top.
Calgary is somewhere, if we could just see through Moose mountain.
We could have easily spent more time exploring other ridges—if we had brought some lunch.
Geez, this road is narrow…
Our adventure continued. A challenging, twisty, dusty drive on the way up, became even more so on the way down. Oh, by the way, did I mention logging trucks?
