Now that Ironman is all said and done the Hubby and I are doing our best to get in a few hikes before the weather changes on us. Lucky for us hiking is also a part of my training plan! That’s right, I’m back on a training plan as I prep for the Walt Disney World Goofy Race and a Half Challenge in January.
We needed a hike that was reasonably close to town as I had plans that night (dinner and the Roxette concert with the girls). I wanted whatever hike we picked to have a half decent amount of elevation gain too. Andra had just hiked Prairie Mountain the week before. It was close to town, about the length we were looking for and the pictures looked amazing. Sold!
Even though Prairie Mountain isn’t an official trail it wasn’t hard to find and follow at all. There were some great viewpoints along the way up!
The hike up the mountain was fairly intense. The grade was around 30% at times and it just went straight up the mountain with no switchbacks.
I said to Hubby that the next time we were missing the Grouse Grind we should come out here to hike! The only thing I would say is that if you want to hike down the way you came up then some hiking poles would definitely be worthwhile.
The majority of the climb is in the trees, but then things open up just before you reach the summit.
The views were so worth the effort to get up there!
We made it to the summit!
It was super windy out in the open so after taking some photos at the top we moved into a more sheltered area to eat lunch.
After refuelling we looked for the other unofficial trail down the mountain that would meet up with the Prairie Creek trail.
The cairns at the top were easy to spot and once we were in the trees the route was really well flagged.
The route was really pretty and the grade a little easier than the one we came up. Once we came out of the trees and hit a big meadow that was it for the unofficial trail. We had reached the Prairie Creek trail!
All in all it was a great hike and it was awesome to explore a different playground near Calgary!
Prairie Creek Mountain and Prairie Creek Loop (unofficial trails) in Kananaskis, AB
xx.xx mi (Loop)
x,xxx feet of elevation gain
Approximately 4 hours (not including our lunch break)
That is quite the workout getting up that mountain isn’t it! Glad you were able to complete the loop, it makes for a more enjoyable trip, I think.
Gorgeous views. I usually feel the same way about hiking, normally, the effort to get up is worth the view!