I’m referring to the section of park bounded by the Trans-Canada Highway, Rafter Six Ranch Resort, Camp Chief Hector  and Stoney trail, north of Barrier Lake. Unlike the popular northern section, it has no public facilities, but it does have a large network of  trails. Rafter Six Ranch Resort uses them for trail rides, Camp Chief Hector for hiking and orienteering.

The official parking lot for non-locals is nearly always empty, possibly because it is not promoted by Kananaskis Country or marked on any map. To get there start from  intersection #114 on the Trans-Canada and  follow signs for  Rafter Six Ranch Resort and YMCA Chief Camp Hector. At the T-junction go straight into an unidentified  parking lot  lined with boulders. The main trail into the area starts here and is the northerly start to Stoney trail, aka the original Hwy. 40. At one time you could drive to Soapy Smith trailhead 1.7 km from the start of the trail network, but must now walk or bike the initial flat on a track growing grass. A much closer access to the trail network is Rafter Six which welcomes day guests with arms wide open. Why not combine a hike with Sunday brunch, lunch, dinner and a beer in the bar?  Brunch and dinners must be booked in advance. Access is unrestricted  between Rafter Six land and the park; just close the gates.  Not so with the YMCA which posts “no entry permitted” signs at every gap in the fence.

We have been coming here for a long time,  in snowy winters of yore actually skiing the trails. Hard to believe that ski trail maps were once produced by both Rafter Six and Camp Chief Hector! Nowadays, nobody skis the trails, but  the more sheltered trails could very well be used for snowshoeing as we found out the hard way in March. (Perhaps this is something that Rafter Six could promote?) We now come mostly in Spring when the vegetation is greeening up, yet snow still plasters the Front Ranges.  The trails are great for conditioning hikes ranging from an hour to all day.

Besides the main thoroughfare of Stoney trail, which I try to avoid as much as possible, there is a network of single-track trails that wind through open forest, along eskers and through hilly knob and kettle country. There are no lakes other than Whale Lake with its Marilyn Monroe connection (see the forthcoming volume 3 of the trail guide). My favourite trails are the ones that edge along the bank top of the Kananaskis River. From high vantage points you look way down to  the kayak course in Shaugnessy Canyon. There’s also a trail down to the river at this point. But enough. In the book ’ll suggest a few loops, but in the meantime have fun concocting your own. Recently Barry Taylor (Hiking with Barry) described a walk around Whale Lake.

The trails, while not official Kananaskis Country trails, have been marked at junctions with small numbered wood signs nailed to trees. So enviromentally friendly are the signs, you can spend ten minutes looking for one. To save you the trouble we have put some of the numbers on the accompanying sketch map. If you can fathom out the numbering system let me know.

Click on map for larger, printable version.

Here is a brief summary of discussions at the first two Ghost Watershed Forums. The organization of topics and interpretation of the main points discussed is mine. I am sure the facilitator will provide a full summery when the forums have concluded.

Protection of watershed
A recent study commissioned by the Ghost Watershed Alliance — “An Assessment of the Cumulative of Land Use within the Ghost River Watershed” indicates that the current wide variety of competing land usage has negatively impacted the watershed and that it will only get worse in the future. There is a delicate balance to be struck so that wildlife habitat can be maintained and the watershed is able to recharge and at the same time our human use is allowed. A key question is: How do we ensure the ecological good and services provided by the Ghost are sustained for all users including motorized and non-motorized users? While most people agreed that both motorized and non-motorized recreation be supported, there was some discussion that if the water quality deteriorated further, motorized recreation may be banned as is happening elsewhere in North America..

Designate recreation as primary land use of area.
In both meetings there were suggestions that because the area is so close to Calgary, that it should receive special “recreational” designation through some form of legislation, or by modifying current legislation to allow for exceptions in land with high recreational potential. For instance, current logging practices are seen as being in conflict with recreational use. One suggestion was that Eastern Slopes be declared by the province as a Prime Protection Zone.

The need for change
Along with the damage to the watershed detailed in the consultant’s report (above), there were many stories of bad experiences encountered in the Ghost watershed due to conflicts between various OHV users, and complaints from non-motorized users about noise from quads and motorbikes. Many examples were mentioned of OHV users riding or driving on non-designated trails, and of SRD doing nothing to police the situation.

It was felt that motorized users need a place to enjoy their sport on well designed trails so that they don’t have to worry about encountering non-motorized users and therefore minimize conflict potential. At the same time, non-motorized users feel they are unable to use the Ghost area, especially on weekends, as they are driven away by the noise and disturbance of vehicles. This is not in keeping with the concept of multiple use where everyone has a right to enjoy the area.

Reducing conflict between user groups
Construct a well-designed motorized and non-motorized trail systems, that are well signed and marked, and provide different levels of challenge for each user group. It was suggested that there should be a total redesign of the trail system for motorized use as current trails do not meet the needs of users as they are just a collection of existing linear features that are not optimal for motorized use. As well, equestrian, hiking and mountain biking trails should be designated and reconstructed where necessary.

Improve access
Trans Alta road needs maintenance as some recreationists find access into the area difficult due to the poor condition of the road.

Enforcement of regulations
The most widely-discussed topic was the management of the area by the Alberta government. It was suggested that enforcement of the rules would solve problems of inappropriate trail use and noise bylaws etc. Current enforcement by SRD is weak. Despite having a network of official trails, OHV users appear to go where they want unimpeded. How can we make sure that the government, as our land manager, does a better job of managing the Ghost watershed? One suggestion was integrating TPR with SRD Forestry, Fish & Wildlife. There was a lot of discussion at one meeting about the traditional role of the Ranger and the “need to bring back Rangers to the landscape; manned Ranger stations.”

Controls on backcountry usage
Some felt there should be controls on backcountry usage: limit placed on numbers of users and ATVs; identify usage areas and enforce them; close areas that have been compromised; users pay a fee for usage and seize OHV that haven’t paid; no alcohol; and the extreme view—declare the Ghost Watershed Area off limits to OHVs.

Education
Education is needed to help build respect for the landscape and for the activities of other users. It was suggested that we need volunteers stewards/guardians. Try to find volunteer groups who already are “ambassadors” and align with them, inviting them into the Ghost area

It was acknowledged that the Ghost Watershed Alliance already has an active program of outreach to the schools, and a program for introducing hikers to the area.

Achieving Change – Advocacy and Planning
Inclusiveness. How do we get all of the user groups to engage in advocacy, planning and the implementation of plans? The Ghost Stewardship Monitoring Group (GSMG) was mentioned, but little is known of its current activities, membership or effectiveness.

Planning. After the adoption of the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan, there will probably another round of regional management planning. This would be a good opportunity for some meaningful input into the future of the watershed.

Advocacy.  Now is the time to advocate for this area since change is now occurring more rapidly. The GWAS could consider getting the newly elected local MLA, Ron Casey, involved and maybe also the local candidate of the Wildrose opposition party,Tom Copithorne.

Who will do the work. It was acknowledged that the Ghost River Watershed Alliance is already a well established watershed planning and advocacy group, involved in awareness, outreach, advocacy, education, environmental promotion, etc. Another suggestion was to create a local volunteer organizations like “Friends of the Eastern Slopes” for the Ghost/Waiparus area. It was also established that leadership is needed to for trail planning and building, probably a different groups for each type of recreation. Note: Rocky Mountain Dirt Riders and the Alberta Equestrian Federation already provide such leadership.

If you want to provide pour two bits, there is one more forum on Friday, May 11,  2 to 6 pm at the Calgary Water Centre, 25th Avenue S.E. and Spiller Road, Bow River Room.

Andrew Nugara is presently writing snowshoe guide book no 2 which will cover all the easy stuff  (which some of us never graduate from) entitled “A Beginner’s Guide to Snowshoeing in the Canadian Rockies.” He is looking for a pic taken from or near Mt. Murray Viewpoint in the Smith-Dorrien. Like us, he had no luck with the weather and needs a pic showing the mountains. If you can help (and get a freebie) see Andrew’s website, then go to the bottom of the page “email me at …..” to contact him.

Thanks!

Now that the snow at lower elevations is finally melting and the trails drying up, I thought it might be useful to list a few of our favorite spring hikes along with links to those described on this site. A couple of the trails are described as winter hikes so you will have to imagine them with no snow.

Looking northwest from Carry Ridge

Closest to Calgary, in the Elbow and West Bragg, two of the newly-built trails should be dry enough to hike provided you don’t go out after a period of heavy rain:

Snagmore Hill, from Allen Bill Pond parking is a short, scenic loop.

Ranger Hill, from West Bragg parking – a combination of three trails to make a loop. Do it this spring before the area is logged

In the Jumpingpound try Seventy Buck Viewpoint

Farther west, the area below Yamnuska gives good, open hiking. You may also like to explore the extensive network of trails in the southern section of Bow Valley Provincial Park. Start from the T-junction on the road between Rafter Six and the YMCA Camp.

The Benchland trails above Canmore are free of snow. Park at Cougar Creek parking and explore the extensive network of trails east of the creek. Lots of mountain bikers on weekends!

The Sheep River area west of Turner Valley has three good spring hiking areas:

Carry Ridge. Park at the Kananaskis Country boundary and hike to long ridge north of the highway.

High Noon Hills are a small group of hills near the boundary south of the highway. Can be combined with Sandy McNabb Hill

Farher south, Grass Pass in the Highwood and the surrounding hills make for a good day out.

Even farther south is Indian Graves Ridge and the Willow Creek Hills

“The Future of the Ghost Watershed:  Exploring Solutions”

Everyone interested the challenges and opportunities facing the Ghost Watershed is invited to attend one or more of the upcoming workshops presented by The Ghost Watershed Alliance Society. They will utilize an outside facilitator and an “open space” process for large group collaboration.  The open space method will enable them to set an agenda which incorporates the topics most important to each of the participants on this theme.

Dates and Locations: 
Saturday, April 28,  9 a.m. – 1 p.m.     Cochrane Toyota Community Room
Friday, May 4,  5:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.    Beaupre Community Hall
Saturday, May 5,    9 a.m. ­ 1 p.m.        CANCELLED
Friday, May 11,  2     p.m. ­ 6p.m.         Calgary Water Centre, 25th Avenue S.E. and Spiller Road, Bow River Room

The Forums are limited to 40 people per event. You may attend one or more sessions.

Refreshments provided.

A study was done in 2011 of the cumulative impacts of current land uses in the Ghost Watershed.  Projecting current and proposed uses fifty years into the future, this Cumulative Effects study showed that water quality, recreational resources, along with fish and wildlife habitat, would decline if current and proposed land uses continue. This study can be viewed here.

In advance of the forum, please consider questions such as these:

• What makes the Ghost-Waiparous area special to you?  What might ensure these special characteristics remain for our children to enjoy?
• How might we maximize benefits and minimize liabilities of the area’s land uses?
• What might lead to increased opportunities for all users of this multiple use area?
• How might we improve water quality, recreational opportunity and resources, along with fish and wildlife habitat in the Ghost?

We attended a meeting in Bragg Creek last night, organized by Peter Tucker, of SustainK, “to provide the public with information about the proposed logging so they better understand the issues”. Four invited speakers gave short presentations followed by a question and answer session involving 2 additional locals with fire prevention knowledge. Robert Sadée of the Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association (GBCTA) told us that talks between Spray Lakes Sawmills (SLS) and GBCTA had ended with many unresolved issues, and that it was now up to SRD to make the final decisions on the mitigation concerns. Neither SRD nor SLS will entertain any further discussion and did not attend. Ted Morton, local MLA running for re-election, stated that he will use all his political influence to try to defer logging until the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan is approved and subsequent public discussions held. Given the election poll predictions, this may not happen. The current round of logging will likely go ahead as planned.

Dr. Brad Stelfox (U of A), who works for ALCES Landscape and Land-Use Ltd. of Bragg Creek, consultants who provide customized land-use planning services to government and business, put the whole land use situation in the Eastern Slopes in perspective, graphically showing the building pressure of numerous land users over the last 60 or more years.  He pointed to the many conflicting, and somewhat incompatible, land uses in the area: the Alberta Forestry Act’s requirement for logging the eastern slopes; grazing interests; fire protection for Bragg Creek; watershed protection, and an extensive, multi-user recreational trail system close to Calgary.

He suggested that the only way to move ahead on these issues is to persuade the government to change the mandate of SRD to include recreation, and allow for more public input into protecting prime recreation areas close to major population centers from unnecessary logging. If fire protection is needed, logging techniques should be adjusted accordingly.  This would initially involve input into the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan (input deadline apparently now extended to end of June.) Then a group of dedicated volunteers would need to lobby for changes to forestry management practices in Alberta. Another option  would be to lobby for the West Bragg trails area to be given some form of legal protection from continued timber harvesting such as making the whole area a Provincial Recreation Area.

Other speakers included:
Dr. Ralph Cartar, an evolutionary ecologist from the U of C. He presented statistics aimed at debunking some of the statements used by SLS & SRD to justify logging. He suggests that logging does not reduce the incidence of wildfires, and that this incidence is highly variable. He challenged the statement that the return period of wildfires in West Bragg area was 30 – 50 years. He also challenged the belief that old forests are more susceptible to fires, pointing out that low-level grass fires in recently cut blocks can also move very quickly. He said that while SLS suggests that a healthy landscape needs to have trees of many different ages, this is already a given in West Bragg area, as an aerial photo showed. He was challenged by another participant during the question period, resulting in a pissing match between scientists with different views. While an interesting presentation demonstrating the need for the Alberta government to review forest management practices, it offered no solutions to the mitigation of logging damage to the trail system.

Robert Sadée, from the GBCTA reviewed the mitigation discussions between GBCTA and SLS. Initially their top priority was to get 50-100 m buffers along 11 of 15 km of trails through the cut blocks. The requested buffers were halved after discussions with FireSmart indicated that, in some cut blocks, leaving buffers would greatly reduce the time a fire took to reach the community boundary. Some of his other remarks have already been reported in the first paragraph.

Mike Murray, Program Manager for the Bow River Basin Council talked about protecting the Elbow River watershed and outlined the aims of the Elbow River Watershed Partnership. Again, while interesting, he didn’t provide any solutions to the current problem, nor did he offer an opinion on the effect of West Bragg logging on the watershed either in the near future or in the long-term—5, 10 or 20 years.

One of the more interesting discussions that followed was on the effectiveness of the FireSmart program. Detractors always seem to mention the Slave Lake fire, and the fact that it was virtually unstoppable. It was pointed out that while a major fire in extreme drought and wind conditions would probably destroy Bragg Creek irrespective of  FireSmart logging, the cut blocks had a very good chance of preventing small fires in moderate environmental conditions from reaching the community before they could be bought under control.

TransAlta has resumed work on the penstock replacement in the Canyon Campground area of Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. The penstock, constructed in 1955, is leaking at numerous locations along its 1.37 km stretch. The new steel penstock will be buried.

As a result of the project construction, the penstock and surrounding area, including Canyon Campground, will be closed to the public for the duration of the 2012 season. See Kananaskis Trail Report for details.

This leaking penstock will be replaced by a buried steel one. Photo: TransAlta.

Just out: Bow Valley Mountain Bike Trail Guide by Peter  Oprsal, who many of you know as the creator of bikepirate web site. Covers  Lake Louise through Banff to the Canmore area, and includes such classics as Reclaimer, Riders of Rohan and the Benchland trails. Right now there is nothing written up  east of Canmore. Quotes Peter, “The reason  that Prospector and Razor Edge are not included, although I would love to have included them, is because they are not sanctioned.” Hopefully, that will happen later on this year. I Know that  Razor Edge will have a new ending, to be built this summer, that will take bikers and hikers to Quaite Creek valley via a traverse above the highway .

Measuring only 5” x 6.5”, this small 60-page book nevertheless manages to cram in all the salient points, such as technical rating, physical rating, trail type (x-country, all-mountain, downhill), distance, height gain/loss, times and trail profiles. Even some color pics. There is good info on trailheads (though I would prefer he use the UTM grid as opposed to lat. and long.) and essential info on the trails themselves based on local knowledge. Maps are small and basic, just general guides really,  so for trails in Canmore for instance, you would need to pick up a more detailed map. See Canmore Trail Maps.

On Sunday, April 1, a group of irresponsible equestrian riders rode out on the new trail, Braggin Rights, riding right past a trail sign requesting that equestrians avoid using the new All-Season trails until at least mid-summer. When asked to avoid the trails due to the damage, the riders displayed no remorse and carried on. These new multi-use summer trails were built in the West Bragg Creek area of Kananaskis Country in 2011. They are susceptible to premature wear and erosion and need time to compact and harden.

Equestrian damage to Braggin Rights trail

We need the cooperation of all trail users to ensure the development of a sustainable trail system.

All Users:  Please do not use new trails when they are soft and wet.

Equestrian Users:  Severe damage from horses has already impacted some of the trails.  New trails are not yet firm enough for equestrian use. Excessive damage can occur even in dry weather. Trails may be open to equestrian use by mid-summer 2012. Please use existing ski trails until further notice.

These trails are being built through private and public donations, and the contributions of thousands of hours of volunteer services.

These horse riders are obviously a small minority of riders who do not care about the effort that volunteers have put into developing these trails. Unfortunately, their actions impact all users. If this type of disrespect for the trails continue, equestrian use may be further restricted on these trails.

Also note that due to environmental sensitivity, Snowshoe Hare loop is closed annually from April 1 to Nov 30.

Please respect the trails and the efforts of others.

Bruce Barker – GBCTA Vice-President

Last night Bruce Barker and Robert Sadée from the Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association (GBCTA) briefed invited trail user groups on their mitigation negotiations with Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS). Bruce and Robert are volunteers working on our behalf under tight timelines and numerous constraints to mitigate the effects of logging on the trail system. We owe them an enormous vote of thanks.

They emphasized that they are not for or against logging. They are not addressing environmental or watershed issues. They are not questioning Fire Smart’s expertise in protecting the community. They are focused strictly on mitigating the effects of the proposed logging on recreational ski, snowshoe and all season trails. The logging plans are part of SRD’s fire containment strategy for the west Bragg Creek area.

Time is a major constraint. SLS has to submit their operational plan to SRD on April 1st. They need a decision by around the end of April so they can begin operations. The political vacuum as a result of provincial elections will virtually eliminate any political input, leaving approval in the hands of the bureaucrats.

GBCTA submitted a long list of mitigation requests to SLS and have had several day-long meetings and field trips to discus the mitigation proposal.

Among the proposals were requests to leave a 100 m buffer alongside trails in many of the cut blocks. When SRD Fire Smart ran their Prometheus wildland fire growth simulation model using the modified cut block data, they found that in many cases the smaller cut block and extra burnable timber greatly reduced the time it would take a fire started in the forest reserve to reach the community of Bragg Creek. There would not be sufficient time to evacuate residents and start fighting the fire before it reached the community.

While there was discussion about the effectiveness of the model and the Fire Smart program, the GBCTA has no alternative but to accept these conclusions, and to work within these constraints to minimize the damage to recreational trails.

The two sides are progressing through the list of requested mitigations, agreeing to some, discarding others. Bruce and Robert are having some success on leaving timber buffers in some areas along trails where parts of the area cannot be logged for various reasons. Of particular concern is damage to trails by downhill skidding of logs and by runoff from logged areas above sections of trail. Sun and wind exposure on ski trails is another grave concern.

GBCTA are not going to succeed in negotiating all the mitigations they asked for. SLS wants to harvest as much timber as they can from the areas they are allowed to cut. They are also firm when it comes to operational efficiency and safety.

Bruce and Robert asked for the meeting’s advice on what kind of stance they should take in signing off on the negotiations. Should they dig in their heels, refuse to sign off and let SRD make the final decision on which mitigations should go ahead, or should they accept the agreed-to mitigations and abandon the others? They explained the risk of each choice.

Some people were in favour of refusing to sign off, making SRD arbitrate (which according to the stakeholder agreement they are required to do). Others suggested signing off, while formally listing areas of concern not agreed to, and making sure these areas are given extra attention during logging.

This is a complicated, frustrating process that as far as we know has never been done before in an area with so many trails. Undoubtably it will serve as a model for future logging/trail user negotiations.

That’s where were at. It’s only a few days to April 1st!