On a busy long weekend doing a hike in Elbow Valley appealed to many Ramblers. The weather cooperated by clearing soon after we started hiking and the smoke of the last few weeks had dissipated. To accommodate as many Ramblers as possible, as well as significant differences in hiking speed, the group was split in two with separate coordinators. At times there was also a third 'sandwich' group discussing world affairs at a slower pace than the fast group but faster than the leisurely gals. Having separate groups within one hike worked really well.

The group in front of the ridges we went up and down

Leisurely Ladies sub-group on second ridge peak

At times the groups reunited such as at the peaks of the two ridges. When it came time to cross the gap from one ridge to another, the fast folks were nearing the end of the second ridge while the leisurely ladies were still ascending the gap ridge. We gave them a head start while we lounged longer in the sun. The weather conditions were so pleasant that the desire to get back to the cars and busy Calgary was not very strong so there was time to take photos and admire the views up and down the Elbow river.

Gap ridge with second ridge in background

Romulus and Remus viewed from second ridge

We left the parking lot trailhead at 8:30am. After long breaks by both groups lounging in the warm weather and solving world problems, the fast folks finished at 5:10pm and the leisurely ladies at 6:00pm. Special thanks to John Duerden and Kevin Meaney for overseeing the fast folks. It was a wonderful day on the ridges close to Calgary. Distance around 16km and elevation gain around 1400m.

Participants: Sim,Arnold,Yolande (c/s),John,Jeannette,Janice,Jack,John,Zorica,Kevin,Teresa,Dave,Lenard,Suzy,Katrin,Simon