SteveR
Member
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2016
- Messages
- 977
We spent last week on a truck camping loop starting in the Columbia valley in British Columbia, then returning home to Alberta via the Crowsnest Pass with a detour to Waterton NP for a couple of days. Along with biking pathways and rail trails, we did a couple of outstanding ridge hikes- this is the first of them. Based out of Radium for a few days along with a group of friends, our original plans for hikes in the Purcells on the west side of the Columbia valley were stymied by the very late melt of a deeper than normal winter snowpack. Not to worry- a re-do of Pedley Ridge was not a letdown, especially as our first visit, last year at the same time, was marred by wildfire smoke and looming thunderclouds.
A relatively short drive off the highway south of Invermere on mining and logging roads, and then an uneventful forest hike upwards on a very good trail, took us to treeline and the start of the traverse:
Descending the first of several bumps along the undulating ridge:
Ahead- our lunch spot at far left:
Looking back at the first third of the ridge:
Ridgewalking:
Settling in for a long break at the summit cairn:
Mount Assiniboine dominating the skyline to the north:
Not a bad spot at all for lunch:
Continuing on. A good trail leads easily along the crest, with a few minor scrambly bits to spice things up:
Looking back, with a couple of hikers going the other way visible at the summit:
A good look at the rest of our route, along the ridge to the treed saddle, then into the right hand cirque beyond:
Glade of glacier lilies at a short drop to treeline, with Mount Pedley at right. And who was this Pedley- who in addition to the the ridge we are hiking and a mountain, has a pass, tarn and falls bearing his name? I was curious too, and it turns out he was an English settler from the late 1900's whose main claim to fame seems to be evading the law for over a year in the mountains, after charges of illegally supplying liquor to the natives:
A look back at most of the ridge, with the first bump just peeking out at left, behind the long flat topped main summit. Only occasional drifted areas of snow remain here, as we are on the drier Rockies (east) side of the Rocky Mountain trench:
Onwards:
At the final bump. As it is such a fine afternoon, a side trip to Pedley tarn is called for, hidden here by the trees guarding the entrance to the cirque at right:
From Pedley pass, the trail drops easily into the basin:
Snowbanks remain, but the trail is melted out:
Well, mostly melted:
Western anemone, it's still spring up here:
Pedley tarn!
Another long break is called for, with some theraputic foot soaking at lakeshore:
Parting shot before backtracking to the pass, and closing the loop with a quick descent through forest and occasional meadow to the trailhead, with not a lot to see as flower season is late this year. What an awesome day to be in the mountains!
A relatively short drive off the highway south of Invermere on mining and logging roads, and then an uneventful forest hike upwards on a very good trail, took us to treeline and the start of the traverse:
Descending the first of several bumps along the undulating ridge:
Ahead- our lunch spot at far left:
Looking back at the first third of the ridge:
Ridgewalking:
Settling in for a long break at the summit cairn:
Mount Assiniboine dominating the skyline to the north:
Not a bad spot at all for lunch:
Continuing on. A good trail leads easily along the crest, with a few minor scrambly bits to spice things up:
Looking back, with a couple of hikers going the other way visible at the summit:
A good look at the rest of our route, along the ridge to the treed saddle, then into the right hand cirque beyond:
Glade of glacier lilies at a short drop to treeline, with Mount Pedley at right. And who was this Pedley- who in addition to the the ridge we are hiking and a mountain, has a pass, tarn and falls bearing his name? I was curious too, and it turns out he was an English settler from the late 1900's whose main claim to fame seems to be evading the law for over a year in the mountains, after charges of illegally supplying liquor to the natives:
A look back at most of the ridge, with the first bump just peeking out at left, behind the long flat topped main summit. Only occasional drifted areas of snow remain here, as we are on the drier Rockies (east) side of the Rocky Mountain trench:
Onwards:
At the final bump. As it is such a fine afternoon, a side trip to Pedley tarn is called for, hidden here by the trees guarding the entrance to the cirque at right:
From Pedley pass, the trail drops easily into the basin:
Snowbanks remain, but the trail is melted out:
Well, mostly melted:
Western anemone, it's still spring up here:
Pedley tarn!
Another long break is called for, with some theraputic foot soaking at lakeshore:
Parting shot before backtracking to the pass, and closing the loop with a quick descent through forest and occasional meadow to the trailhead, with not a lot to see as flower season is late this year. What an awesome day to be in the mountains!
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