South Mist Hills East Peak loop via Picklejar Cr Off-Trail hike on 6-

A beautiful day in the Highwood with nary a cloud in the sky. We hiked up through the trees and broke out into the meadows where views of the surrounding peaks started opening up:

We continued up to the Picklejar-Mist pass where we had a leisurely break and saw the only other person on the day. Then it was the bushwhack thrash up the steep thick bush to the meadows and ridge of the East Hill:

There was a bit of a breeze on top so some extra layers were donned for our lunch break:

Entertainment was a Canada Jay and Clark's Nutcrackers flying by in a chase, either playing or competing for territory. We did hear other peoples voices but they weren't visible. After a half hour we descended the steep slope to the pass and up the other side to the West Hill:

The entertainment here was a pika busily gathering vegetation for its hidden hay pile. After the extended break in the warm sun we reluctantly started the descent:

There weren't a lot of flowers as most are done for the season, but Philip spotted a couple of crocuses which is very late in the season for them:

The coordinator's memory was better than he thought as we managed to find the disparate route sections along the ridge and then the steep grassy slopes near ridge end:

The sketchy trail down through the cliffy area also materialized and thereafter a second bushwhack brought us back to the Picklejar trail for the return to the cars.

Thanks go to a great group of participants who made for a very enjoyable day: Rosanne, Philip (photo), Barbara, Barb, Teresa (photos), Keith. Ron C/S/P,