Find the Hidden Treasures: A Guide to Mountain Bike Trails in Kananaskis Country by Peter Oprsal is here just in time for spring.  The book is written in the style of Peter’s first book Bow Valley Mountain Bike Trail Guide, but is bigger and better in every way, featuring a well thought out  layout, colour pics, area maps, ‘How to use this book’ info, and info at the end on the various mountain biking organisations in the Bow Valley area.

Trails covered  are all popular officially sanctioned trails in the areas of Mt. Shark, Kananaskis Village,  Quaite Creek, Barrier Lake, Moose Mountain, West Bragg, Sibbald and the Elbow Valley. As a bonus, Peter threw in three popular biking areas in Calgary: Bowmont Park, Fish Creek and Nose Hill. You’ll find many old favorites here including the Jumpingpound Ridge Trail and Elbow Loop. A couple of newer trails, Prospector and Sugar Momma, were omitted because they’re  not classified trails. However, they are there for the riding and can be found in Volume  3  and Volume 2 of the KC Trail Guides with maps.

Trails descriptions are spot on, giving all the necessary introductory info and the salient points for each trail. Often a long-distance loop is described for each area. As only a sometimes biker, but mostly hiker and scrambler I found it fascinating to compare the biker’s and hiker’s write ups for the same trail. i.e. Razor’s Edge.

Lest you think this only a book for hard-core bikers (there is a sprinkling of DHS trails throughout), trails are mostly cross-country and  include  a good selection of family oriented trails like the paved Bill Milne bike path, the paved path in Bow Valley Provincial Park  and beginner trails for each area.

Endorsed by Doug Eastcott, author of Backcountry Biking in the Canadian Rockies, who wrote the foreword. Should sell like hotcakes.

The Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association’s 3rd annual fundraiser, Tunes for Trails, is taking place Saturday, April 27 at the Bragg Creek Community Centre. Doors open 7 pm.  Silent Auction. Midnight Snacks.

Tickets are $25 and available in Bragg Creek from the Best Little Wordhouse in the West at 403 949-4995.

Or, you can purchase on-line through PayPal (with your PayPal account or credit card) via the GBCTA Ski website.

Took a short walk at West Bragg to see how logging has affected Boundary Ridge  bike trail. The answer is not at all, though we didn’t follow the trail all the way down to Iron Springs valley. Actually, we were quite  disappointed. We and others had hoped open slopes would abut against the trail and open up views to the west. There is none of that. You have to walk 100 m to find the top edge of the cutblock. Interestingly, the old trail  down the south side of the ridge that we used pre official bike trail, DOES follow the edge of the cutblock! Might just start walking that trail again!

Looking up the logged area toward the summit of Boundary Ridge. The trail is back about 100 m in the trees.

Has anyone walked  Snagmore Hill or Long Distance lately and can report on it?

Logging is due to resume this fall farther west  around Tom Snow trail. Looking at plans, it doesn’t seen like any of the present  hiking trails and bike trails are affected. However, some people ’aint happy.

The Rocky Mountain Outlook reports that the usual trail up the the west bank under the east ridge of the quarry has been closed for safety reasons at the Knowlerville Bridge. The only route up Exshaw Creek to Mount Fable and beyond is to follow the east bank trail, cutting down to the creek near its north end. See closure detail on map below. For details see our earlier blog “New start up Exshaw Creek, Prospector Trail.”

I want to thank everyone who submitted photos.  There are only two areas where I am short of good quality digital pics: The  upper Ghost River to Aylmer Pass and upper Waiparous Creek.  After the book comes out you’ll see what terrific places they are to visit and hopefully  someone will provide  better pics and I can replace  all the old ones (can be done between printings).

Thanks again, Gillean

Doug Campbell forwarded to me an article that appeared in the Feb 21 issue of the Rocky Mountain Outlook. Doug is the creator of the National Hiking Trail, which is not to be confused with the Trans Canada Trail that came later.  When asked if there is an  overlap in K Country he said “no [the trail enters the Canmore corridor over Skogan Pass] but may be shared within the town of Banff.”

The route between Skogan Pass and Canmore is still up in the air. The TCT uses the Three Sisters Pathway which is mostly paved with a few gravelly bits  and hard on the feet. Biking is the only way to go. The whole idea of the National Hiking Trail is that trails are for hikers only (snowshoers and skiers in the winter) and that they should be pleasant to walk on and away from built-up areas. Therein lies the problem. In trying to establish a route, Doug and his  co-horts have been caught between a rock and a hard place, or to put it another way, between wildlife corridors and Three Sisters Mountain Village.

You can hear the frustration when Doug says: “Continuity of the route through the Bow Valley is threatened during current negotiations between the Town of Canmore and Price Waterhouse Coopers Inc for insolvent Three Sisters Mountain Village, with combined environmental groups likely affecting NHT presence. NHT representation has been made to Council. See Town of Canmore website for details and calendar of proceedings. All three TS land managers always saw us as located along the upper edges of their developments which fitted in with the concept of a buffer strip alongside wildlife corridors. Fine, except they never defined the route until TSMV arrived and then the Council majority sold us down the river to allow wildlife free range. The environmental bloc steamroller had no room for compromise. All opponents in this current game are even more deeply entrenched. ”

And on March 5 in the Canmore Leader  and today, March 7, in the Calgary Herald, we learned of a proposal by a biologist in the pay of PWC to put an electric  fence around the development, which would of course further impact  the trail’s alignment.  As someone said “ We didn’t move [to Canmore] to live in a zoo.”

There is lots for you to comment on (I’m playing the Devil’s Advocate here):  The effects of fencing in communities; do we NEED a hikers only trail between the paved Three Sisters Pathway down by the river and the Highline Trail up on the slopes?  Is it time more attention was paid to hikers needs rather than to bikers needs? — meaning, has the pendulum swung too far the other way? What do you think of the proposed  new development by Price Waterhouse Coopers as outlined in the Rocky Mountain Outlook on Feb. 28 with not a mention of the NHT?

I hope to hear from you all, especially the Canmorites.

Twin Lakes

The Yamnuska Natural Area, as it used to be called, is now part of Bow Valley Wildland Park, but to me it remains a special place with its amazing diversity of glacial land forms  and habitats. Most people visit in summer. But it’s also a great place to wander around in winter when the  numerous shallow lakes are frozen hard, swept clear of snow by the strong winds that blow through the gap. (I keep meaning to bring skates!) Thanks to the winds and very little snowfall, the  open forests, the meadows, the south-facing slopes — a tough blend  of Dryas,Kinnikinnick, juniper and grass—are often bare or laced with snow patches that don’t  hinder you much in following the trails. Here’s a few pics from out latest trip. Check out Early Season Hiking below Yamnuska for a trail map.

Here is the status of logging activities in the West Bragg area courtesy of Bruce Barker, Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association

On Monday Feb. 11,  the historic logging road on Crystal Line east, Sundog east and Iron Springs trails will be reactivated for use as a haul road, and these trails will not be recommended for recreational use.  

Logging has progressing southward from the north end of Telephone Loop to the parking lot at West Bragg Creek. The haul road built from the north end has reached the Mountain Road approximately 0.5 km west of the parking lot.  The Mountain Road is being used as an access and haul road and will not be accessible for trail users for the rest of the ski season. This haul road is being used to move the timber out to the north, rather than through Bragg Creek.

Blocks 1 through 14, (with the exception of Block 12),  north of the parking lot have active logging with felling, skidding, processing and decking occurring, and log hauling in many of the blocks. If using trails north and west of the parking lot, please use caution around active logging sites and when crossing haul roads and skid trails.

Ski Trails

• Telephone Loop:  Remains useable with a 100 m section paralleling a haul road on the northwest corner, and one haul road crossing in the northwest as well.
• Snowshoe Hare trail is unaffected.
• Mountain Road:  After Jan 28, 2013, please avoid use of the Mountain Road.  Crystal Line west ski trail is recommended for access to Moose Loop and Telephone Loop.
• Moose Connector: Use caution when crossing Mountain Road.
• The historic logging road on Crystal Line east, Sundog east and Iron Springs trails will be reactivated for use as a haul road, and these trails will not be recommended for recreational use.
• * All other ski trails are currently unaffected.

All-Season Trails

• Disconnect trail construction is not complete, and with logging in Block 8 and 6, should be avoided.
• Caution is advised on Long Distance and Reconnect as trail users may encounter active logging.
• Demi-Tel currently has one road crossing.
• Three skid trails cross the southern portion of Long Distance.
• Logging road crosses Bragging Rights, southern Long Distance, Demi-Tel, Disconnect, and north Long Distance.

Here is the status of logging activities in the West Bragg area courtesy of Bruce Barker, Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association

Logging has progressed south to the parking lot. The most significant impact will be the loss of the Mountain Road, likely for the rest of the ski season.

Jan 25, 2013:  Logging has progressing southward from the north end of Telephone Loop to the parking lot at West Bragg Creek. The haul road built from the north end has reached the Mountain Road approximately 0.5 km west of the parking lot.  Starting Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, the Mountain Road will be used as an access and haul road and will not be accessible for trail users for the rest of the ski season.  This haul road is being used to move the timber out to the north, rather than through Bragg Creek.

Blocks 1 through 13, (with the exception of Block 12),  north of the parking lot have active logging with felling, skidding, processing and decking occurring, and log hauling in many of the blocks. Block 14 will have active road building and logging starting Jan 28, 2013. If using trails north and west of the parking lot, please use caution around active logging sites and when crossing haul roads and skid trails.

Ski Trails:

• Telephone Loop:  Remains useable with a 100 m section paralleling a haul road on the northwest corner, and one haul road crossing in the northwest as well.
• Snowshoe Hare trail is unaffected.
• Mountain Road:  After Jan 28, 2013, please avoid use of the Mountain Road.  Crystal Line west ski trail is recommended for access to Moose Loop and Telephone Loop.
• Moose Connector: Use caution when crossing Mountain Road.
• All other ski trails are currently unaffected.
• In early- to mid-Feb, 2013 the historic logging road on Crystal Line east, Sundog east and Iron Springs trails will be reactivated for use as a haul road, and these trails will not be recommended for recreational use.

All-Season Trails:

• Disconnect trail construction is not complete, and with logging in Block 8 and 6, should be avoided.
• Caution is advised on Long Distance and Reconnect as trail users may encounter active logging.
• Demi-Tel currently has one road crossing.
• Three skid trails cross the southern portion of Long Distance.
•  Logging road crosses Bragging Rights, southern Long Distance, Demi-Tel, Disconnect, and north Long Distance.