– Thanks to regular commenter Henry who sent this photo from a hiking trip in 2012 –
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One more option for larch viewing:
“If people want to wander in larches without hiking to the alpine, Nipika is the place! The forest on our trail system is filled with beautiful larch stands.” http://skierbob.ca/2012/09/larches-at-nipika/
Doesn’t hurt to bring this forward eh Bob?
“Other wonderful larch destinations in Kananaskis Country include: Mt. Allan-Marmot Creek Basin, Fortress ski area and Fortress Lake, Tent Ridge, Tryst Lake, Commonwealth Creek/Smuts Pass, Burstall Pass, Piggy Plus valley, Rummel Lake, Chester Lake, Mt. Indefatigable, Lake Rae, Tombstone Pass and Tombstone Lakes, Pocaterra Basin & Pocaterra Ridge, Running Rain Lake, Odlum Ridge, Mist Ridge, Picklejar Pass, Loomis Lake, Bishop Pass and Pasque Ridge.
Banff
In Banff Park, there are excellent larch forests at Wenkchemna Pass, Consolation Valley, Panorama Ridge, Taylor Lake, Rockbound Lake, Gibbons Pass, Healy Pass, Egypt Lake, Boulder Pass, the Skoki area and Yoho”
There are lots of great larch destinations, other than the overcrowded Larch Valley at Moraine Lake. One such place is Running Rain Lake and the ridges and bowls north or south of the lake. The hike is only 3km to the lake, with 150m elevation gain, but you have to hike a bit farther and higher to get to the larch patches.
https://picasaweb.google.com/112757355578245802406/RunningRainBoulderBasinSept212014?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ2XkuW97ZW-CA#
Alf, I love the wonderful sense of exploration of this trip, as with all your trips!
Awesome photos,weather, and larch too!
Excellent photo of Mist Mountain with foreground larch in muted tones.
Would these basins be ski destinations?
Sorry, move along now, nothing to ski here 😉
Ah yes, my untrained eye missed all of those innumerable deep gullies, steep cliffs, alder bushes, boulder fields, avalanche prone slopes, and downed trees at first glance. And that second basin looks like ideal sasquatch winter feeding territory.
Was the mud slide from 2013? It’s not visible on Google Earth.
Yes, the mud slide happened in 2013, but Highway 40 was closed during that summer, so nobody saw the mud slide until this summer. It actually simplifies access to the ridge south of Running Rain Lake.
And so hence we didn’t descend it in 2012!
Doh !
I love this time of year- crisp air, clean skies, great conditions for the final month and a half of foothills mountain biking, and the anticipation of the ski season to come. And then, there’s the fleeting fall colors. Out in the foothills there is still more green than yellow in the palette, but as the title goes- it’s larch season in the mountains.
Instigated by Alf, on Saturday a group of us hiked the meadows and larch glades between Chester Lake and the Rummel trail-
https://picasaweb.google.com/steveandjoriggs/ChesterRummelLarches
Great photography! I love the closeup of the reflection in the water.
Thanks for letting us know what the colours are like as of this moment.
Volunteers are getting the West Bragg Creek trails ready for the ski season! On the last full day of summer, a group of volunteers brush mowed and mulched several trails including West Crystal Line, brand new connectors between upper, middle and lower West Crystal Line and Loggers Loop.
The next few weeks will see more new trail construction, 4 new bridges, and widening of several trails to accommodate both double lane classic tracks and a skate ski lane.
https://picasaweb.google.com/112757355578245802406/WBCXCTrailMowingSept22?authkey=Gv1sRgCPaqrNq3lbmx3AE
…and the XCBC club was out for an evening of mountain biking.
Please remember that all of these new and improved trails cost lots of money and a great deal of volunteer time to build. The Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association is funded by donations. If you support what the GBCTA is doing at these trails, please consider making a donation!