Spectacular scenery, perfect weather, outstanding wildlife sightings, great group. This is truly one of the classic traverses in Kananaskis Country.

Lower Birdwood Lake

The traverse goes through three of our mountain parks, starting in Spray Valley Provincial Park then through Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and Banff National Park. On the drive out we saw a moose and a deer, and on our hike up Commonwealth Creek, a bull moose walked right across the trail in front of us and quietly stood in the bushes. Then up the TL4 grunt up to Smuts Pass. Here the Birdwood Lakes lie in a depression, with the upper lake feeding the lower one.

Ice Lake

Gillean Daffern calls the upper lake Ice Lake, and reports it is usually frozen even in August, but this year in mid-July the lake is 98% ice free.

Lunch on Smuts Pass

Lunch was at the pass, views to Birdwood Pass, Snow Peak and Mount Sir Douglas, with some trees breaking the wind. The passes were windy and cool but it was otherwise a warm day. Bug action was light until 4 p.m. when it picked up to moderate.

Birdwood Pass

From Smuts Pass the OT4 route begins. You must find your way down around rock bands into the Birdwood Creek drainage, then follow any of several coulees up to Birdwood Pass. Mount Sir Douglas with its twin glaciers is an imposing backdrop.

Indian paintbrush

The flowers were fabulous, especially the Indian Paintbrush.

Scrambling to south ridge of Snow Peak

In the pass we saw a couple of ptarmigan—one calling her chicks from beneath our feet. From the moonscape of Birdwood Pass we decided to do the scramble to Bustall Pass instead of the direct descent through cliffs to the Burstall trail below. This was a very good choice, as when we looked up from the trail we were entertained by a large grizzly bear digging on the slope directly below our scramble route. There was a large party of 22 hikers coming down the slope so we didn’t wait around too long in case they drove the bear to us. Here Jeannette and Paul negotiate the narrow crack between a large semi-permanent snow patch and the cliff to gain the south ridge of Snow Peak. Some of us needed some pushing and pulling to get over a bulging rock in this passage. Three of the group had never scrambled before and were quite happy with their adventure. The scramble is more challenging but it is probably a good thing for people to avoid that slope, as it is prime bear habitat and clearly occupied. Half of the group sustained some minor cuts and abrasions from falls on loose, cheese-grater limestone, and scraping the wall.

Final ledge above the snow bank

Carl negotiates the final ledge after the snow bank, with Mount Birdwood towering above.

Burstall Pass

The group rests at Burstall Pass before taking the official trail down to Mud Lake. Our entertainment on this segment was the grizzly, a mountain goat, and crossing numerous channels of the braided outflow stream from Robertson Glacier. We were back to the parking lot by 6:30 and finished the car shuttle by 7. A third of us headed for the Kananaskis golf course for supper. Wildlife on the drive home: another moose and four deer. Participants: Ron, new member on his first trip, France, Paul, Jeanne, Gerry, David, David, Jim, Jeannette, Kristen, Michel and Carl, coordinator and scribe.