Mist Ridge, tucked in the rain shadow of the massive, snow adorned Mist Mountain is another wonderful Kananaskis area ridge walk and a great place to see colorful alpine flowers. The trail follows an old road which climbs through a regenerating forest for an hour before dropping three hundred feet to the valley bottom. Here, a small stream makes for a pleasantly cool rest stop before starting the steady climb upwards to the ridge. Above tree line the alpine meadows are full of flowers with tiny yellow cinqfoil and blue Forget me nots predominating. Mist Ridge contains a series of peaks running south to north and a trail that snakes up and down through flowers and rocky outcrops. Thirty three ramblers showed up for the hike and quickly divided into several groups with different levels of activity and interests. Five people decided to hike the whole ridge to Richert’s Pass and return via mist creek valley. The second group also planned to go as far as the Pass but return along the ridge. The third group decided to aim for the South Summit, leaving plenty of time to admire the wonderful views and check out the local flora.

Group three reached their goal by lunch time and settled in amidst the rocks to enjoy the views and watch a lone goat quietly grazing on a green meadow below. Maps were produced to help identify the various peaks. Some are unnamed but Gibraltar to the north and Mist Mountain to the west were easy to locate. The group then decided to continue along the ridge as far as the low point dividing the south end from the north end, then return via a trail that skirts the side of the ridge. At this point the second group joined us for the trip back. They had not reached Richert’s Pass because one of the party had fallen and sustained an arm injury. A sling and ice pack (made from a nearby snow pack) provided effective first aid.

Group one achieved their goal and were back at the parking lot not long after everyone else. As the minimum distance was 18 k with an elevation of 2,500 ftthey had done much more. Well done! What makes an enjoyable hike – people, weather, scenery, we had it all.