Everyone sheltered in their vehicles as long as possible at the Heritage Big H, not being acclimatized to the wintery -13 temperature with a cool wind. Fortunately, as we enjoyed the beautiful drive west of Turner Valley the temperature rose a couple of degrees with bright sun and no wind.

Trail conditions were perfect – only small skiffs of snow, no ice, no mud and no-one else on our trails. Views were spectacular with the clear blue sky and snowy mountains to the west and of the Sheep valley. We stopped for a photo at the top of the first hill.

Heading out on bare trails in December

Group at first hill

We descended the hill and entered the woods, then up through the sunny open hillsides to the top of another hill. By this time the temperature had risen quite a bit. We chose to bask in the sun for a leisurely snack break, enjoying the views.

Warming temperatures on open hillside

We had a leisurely lunch on another sunny hillside overlooking the river, with good conversation and chocolates courtesy of Susan and Bill.

Lunch group

Lunch view

I had intended to return on the lower trail and skirt the first hill and go back to the cars that way, possibly with a side trip to Long Prairie meadow, but followed the trail too far, missing a turn off, so we ended up going a new way (for me) back to the cars on a lesser trail parallel to the highway through what would be a marshy area if the ground hadn’t been frozen.

We were back at the cars around 1:30 after a lovely hike, and decided not to go back around the hill for a bit longer walk. This worked out well, as we were treated to the sight of hundreds of elk in fields along the highway as we drove towards Turner Valley – we estimated close to 300 animals. We also sighted several deer at various spots further along this road, making up for the lack of wildlife sightings from the trail.

Hundreds of elk heading west

East end of the elk herd

Thanks to a great group for joining me on this lovely, short holiday hike. Special thanks to Teresa for some of the photos. Barb

Participants: Ron,Susan,Damian,Douglas,Bill,Bob,Janice,Nardi,Barb,Sonja,Teresa