After a brief coordinator ordained stop for life-giving caffeine at the Cinnamon Spoon in Bragg Creek we continued on to the Canyon Creek parking pullover. The Powderface Trail north from Little Elbow Falls is treacherous in places at this time of year with the steep hilly sections covered with packed ice and snow. However due attention to road conditions brought two four-wheel drive vehicles and one front wheel drive vehicle to the trailhead without incident.

After trailhead introductions we were on our way along the rocky Canyon Creek creekbed. Our group was made up of strong fast hikers and we were at the forks of North Canyon in record time.

Under brilliant sunshine Ramblers head north along the North Fork of Upper Canyon Creek.

The hike along the North Fork of Upper Canyon Creek is very picturesque and while the modest amount of snow covering the creekbed rocks required care and caution, we were soon at a key intersection where we stopped for our first break.


Ramblers enjoying a sun bathed snack break on the North Fork of Upper Canyon Creek.

Unfortunately the coordinator missed this key intersection and led the group along a fun-filled, exploratory bushwhack into Mt. Bryant's scenic tarn. If we hadn't missed the intersection, we would have travelled along established trails, marked by numerous cairns and missed this fantastic opportunity to develop our route finding skills. The coordinator doesn't feel this would have been satisfactory for this hard-core group of Rambler adventurers. Nevertheless all trails lead to the Mt. Bryant tarn, or at least all trails in the immediate area, and soon we were at a scenic viewpoint overlooking our destination.


The largest lake in the Fisher Range nestles beneath Mt. Bryant

And a cold wind-swept viewpoint it was, not at all a good choice for a lunch stop. So half the group headed down to the lake for a beach party while the rest of the group looked for sunshine.


Beachfront property on frozen Mt. Bryant tarn.

After an abbreviated lunch break the group began a concerted effort to escape the chilly, shaded environs of our destination and made fast tracks to sunshine and warmer temperatures. On our return, our exploratory spirit of adventure sated by our off-trail ascent, we followed the numerous cairns along the established trail back to the elusive 'key intersection'. A fast hike south along the North Fork soon brought us back to the forks, sunshine and warm temperatures where we stopped for the obligatory group picture.


Back Row (l to r): Ghulam; John; Charlene; Francisco; Petra; & Cornelius. Front Row (l to r): Jan; France; Jerome; & Jim

We arrived back at the trailhead and made it back along the Powderface trail to Little Elbow without any problems. Overall an excellent winter hike with little snow cover in the creek bed and only a foot or two of snow in the trees for the offtrail, exploratory part of the trip. Temperatures were seasonal, the sunshine was welcome and the weather(wo)man delivered as he/she promised.

Participants: Jerome; France; Jan; Charlene; Francisco; Ghulam; John; Petra; & Cornelis. Coordinator, photographer & scribe: Jim.

Trip statistics: Distance 21.4 km; Elevation gain 377 metres; Maximum elevation 2129 metres; Total trip time 6 hours.