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Day 1: Bike / Hike to Avion Ridge
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Starting at Red Rock Canyon we biked the
8.2 km. along Bauerman Creek to
the
Snowshoe wardens cabin |
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It was a pleasant and gentle climb. |
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Last push to the warden's cabin. |
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We are now in Bear Grass country. At the cabin we locked up the bikes,
donned our hiking boots and headed for Avion Ridge |
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We
walked for ages through the bear grass. |
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Donna emerging from the forest onto open slopes. |
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Bear Grass: Rocky Mtn Goats eat the mature leaves, bears the softer
leaf bases in spring, and bighorn sheep, deer, and elk feed on the flower
clusters and stems. It commonly grows on dry hillsides and subalpine
meadows. Waterton Lakes National Park is the only Canadian national park in
which bear grass grows. |
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MOVIE: Hiking through the Bear
Grass |
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(Oops, sorry for camera angle) |
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Our destination - Avion Ridge |
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Andy hiking through the Larch. |
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The mighty weight lifter? |
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Wild flowers everywhere. |
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The final climb up the ridge. |
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Lunch on Avion Ridge. |
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MOVIE: The gang on the top of Avion
Ridge |
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Alpine Forget-Me-Not. |
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Groundsel. |
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A forest of Bear Grass frames the peaks behind. |
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Put your left foot in and shake it all about. |
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One last break before the final descent. |
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Day 2: Crandell Mtn Circuit / Cameron Creek Trail (approx 21 km)
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The
weather was a little dodgy in the morning, but it soon fined up.
Most of the
group hiked into Wall Lake while 3 of us
did the following bike tour. |
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You're almost guaranteed to see bears along the road to
Red Rock Canyon. We
were watching the bear in the bottom
of the picture but didn't notice his buddy up above.
I think we saw 7 bears on the way in the day before. Most
right along side the road with the hundreds of tourists blocking the road. |
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Andy on the start of the trail. |
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Jim strolling along Crandell Lake with Crandell Mtn. in the background. |
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Andy didn't go for a dip, but we did spend quite
some time sitting and basking on the rocks. |
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The first part of the trail from the
lake was thick and lush.... |
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....before breaking out onto open,
rocky slopes |
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You don't have to look far to find wild flowers. |
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Brown Eyed Susan. |
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Checking the view. |
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Jim and Andy. |
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Breathtaking view of Waterton Lake. From here the trail is quite rocky and
fairly tricky in spots before easing into a fast rolling trail to the townsite. |
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Andy and Jim navigate down a tricky section. It doesn't look difficult in
this picture but it is advisable to make sure you make the left turn.
Otherwise you could find yourself next to the highway in a hot second. |
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Waterton Lake |
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Prince of Wales Hotel. Named after Prince Charles. |
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Cameron Falls and the end of another great ride. |
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Another great weekend. Thanks to Jim for organizing us and to Joanne, Steve,
Donna, Ursula, Mike, Andy, Roy & Carol for great company. |
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