Wow, where to begin with this awesome trip. Well, eight of us met at 8:00am at the Planet coffee house. Three cars loads of eager Ramblers left for the Inter-lakes parking lot where our three day backpack will begin.



The crew at the start

We all did the obligatory pack weight test. It was determined that some participants were going to have long trip. We started by travelling along the Upper Kananaskis Lake stopping only to admire the views of the lake and the numerous creek crossings.



Upper Kananaskis Lake

Stopping also revealed how bad the mosquitoes were going to be. Yikes, best not to stop. Reaching the Forks campsite we decided to stop for a snack break. We plunked our butts on conveniently located picnic tables. Sure felt good removing those packs. We all knew what was next; the Three Isle Lake headwall. Ramblers, in their true fashion, simply attacked the trail, arriving in no time at the headwall. We all stopped, looked way up, and then looked even further. I finally found the top with my eyes. Whew, ok folks let go. Just like a bullet Susan was off, man, she reached the rest stop before we even had a chance to realize there was a rest stop. What the heck did she have for breakfast, I gotta get some. Anyway, we finally met her at that spot, and before we could turn around, Susan had spotted the monster Grizzly bear. You know, we passed that bear and we did not even notice him. He knew of us though. We admired the animal for some time before he vanished into the woods. We were worried for the hikers behind us. However we talked to them later and they did not see him.



Grizzly on Three Isle Lake trail

After that episode, Susan was again off and to the top before we all really knew where the top was. Sheesh, I’ve got to lose some weight. Finally we all made it up to the top and bam, just like that there is the lake. Wow, was it beautiful and peaceful. Arriving at Three Isle there seemed to be the possibility of thunder showers so we quickly setup our tents. Well the thunder showers never materialized so a few of us went for a quick dip in the water, yes, a very quick dip. Now, food, must have food. Our cook area also seemed so backcountryish … go figure



Three Isle cook out

Up at 6:30 the second day started with an early morning breakfast, tales of the evening and anxious discussion of the days adventure. The weather was fantastic and had the makings for a very hot day. We were on the trail by 8:30am. Walking along the right side of Three Isle Lake we soon disappeared into the forest and left the lake. Not long, we arrived at the South Kananaskis Pass with not much discussion, because the views kept us all speechless. There exists a rather large cairn at the pass and could not help myself, but I had to add to it.



South Kananaskis Pass

The South Kananaskis Pass is so beautiful and so peaceful. I could have stayed there all day. We kept moving however, down the pass, onward toward Beatty Lake. Wow, Beatty Lake is nestled in the forest and is such a little gem; clear, quiet, and protected. We all agreed that next time we camp here. Another couple of campers/explorers did just that. We decided to have a snack break at this point, everyone sharing food, and taking in the sights. Outstanding this lake is!



Beatty Lake

Time to move on. The trail to the moose ponds was indeed quite challenging as well as scenic. High rock walls all around. The trail basically kept us high on a ridge until finally descending to the last of the moose ponds as I called them. From Beatty Lake to the North Kananaskis Pass was hard going and extremely hard route finding. Between myself, Ivan and Carl we managed to find the trail. That Ivan and Carl, man those guys are like blood hounds when it comes to trail finding. Excellent job gents! We pumped water at pretty much every water source we found and we found a lot of water sources. I could not believe how much water I polished off so far today. We stopped for lunch on a small point over looking the Palliser Pass. Excellent spot for lunch, fantastic views and just the right incline for a back rest! Back on the trail we hit a willow grove. We all knew it was coming, we just did not no how long a push through it was going to be. The willows were 3 to 5 meters tall in some spots, and thick. So thick, one could not see where to place the next foot step. How we found a trail is still remarkable. Was it ever humid in those trees, the temperature I am sure was between 25 or 30 degrees. Finally we are out of the bushwhacking only to be greeted with a field of stinging nettle that we had to cross. Yikes, no ouch! Lucky for us there was a snow band just on the other side of the nettle field. We all made use of the snow to rub our exposed legs with snow to clean up any nettle stings. That really works! What an effort. That was hard work going through the willows. Our bare legs had all sorts of cuts and scrapes due to the bushwhack. Note to self. When bushwhacking wear pants! As we are all so glad to be out of the trees we look up, way up. We need to go there; yes the North Kananaskis Pass is up there, so off we went. It seemed like an eternity. We all had to stop 100 meters from the top. Exhausted from the bushwhack and now the steep climb, lets just take a break here for a while. Off came the packs and down went the butts. With the energy restored, we summated the pass and was greeted by Maude Lake



Maude Lake

We had to do the obligatory group shot here.



Maude Lake group

Traveling along the right side of Maude Lake the trail leads us to the Turbine Canyon backcountry campsite. We were all quite tired after the day’s activities. We have been on the trail for 10 hours and really worked hard to arrive at Turbine Canyon for 8:00pm. Excellent effort folks!



Turbine Canyon Campsite

After setting up camp, we decided that dinner was in order. We also discovered that there are porcupines in the area. Why? … because we saw and heard them. They were everywhere. The park ranger showed up. He wanted to make sure all the proper documentation was in order. Permits, tents and the like were all on his hit list. Of course we had all the proper paper work for him. Unfortunately for some other campers that was not the case. Soon after dinner, I along with some other group members, decided to call it a night, some stayed up and star gazed and simply enjoyed an long evening at Turbine Canyon. What paradise! The next morning, was much more relaxed. Knowing we only had 15 kilometres out we decided to have a long breakfast, a leisurely paced camp break and a tour of Turbine Canyon. Unfortunately the Haig Glacier will have to be bagged the next time I come back, like next year! Packed up and ready to hit the trail we left Turbine Canyon. Soon we arrived at Lawson Lake which was so spectacular. Some people went swimming here. The lakes were indeed cold but not that bad to keep the Ramblers out!



Lawson Lake - Ivan

Turbine to Forks Trail

What an awesome trail from Turbine Canyon to Forks. There is some serious elevation loss on this trail. Soon arriving at the Forks campsite we stopped for lunch. This time however we all decided to pull up a rivers edge and soak our feet. Ahhhh, does that feel good! Pretty much now, we are eating every left over food item in our pack. People trying to give away stuff, I was just glad Carl was not trying share his three day old sandwiches …The hike along upper Kananaskis Lake was pretty much routine and uneventful. All I could think about was the steak I was going to eat at the Kananaskis Lodge restaurant. We arrived at the trail end at 4:00pm. We packed up and headed to the Bolton store for ice cream and pop. Superb! It was a real treat on this scorcher of a day. Six Ramblers ended the day with a dinner at the Kananaskis Lodge. All ordered a beverage of choice and most ordered, or at least craved the greasiest burger one could find. Oh ya, pack on the fries please! Do ya think our bodies were craving something!
What a trip! I feel really lucky to have experienced this backcountry adventure with such a great group of people. Everyone contributed to make this trip such success. Thanks for all of your stories, laughter and company. This one is in my memory books now!
Trip Statistics:
Kilometres travelled for loop (Excluding bonus trips) : 43.2
Max Temperature: Hot – maybe 30 degrees
Max Elevation: 2351 meters
Total Elevation Gain: about 1400 meters
Participants: Ivan, Kim, Carl, Susan, Lorri, Ken, Dee, Mark (coordinator and scribe)