Mesa (Square) Butte - Curley Sand loop plus Jill's and Jack's hills

This was the first time any of us had done this loop, and it turned out to be a great early season hike despite the snow/ice/mud on the ground. We started in sunshine and climbed Jack's hill, bushwhacked down and then up Jill's hill, and then followed the "Mesa back door" trail to the top of Mesa/Square Butte. After lunch, the forecast clouds arrived accompanied by light graupel, but it was still warm during our return journey over Curley Sand. As we neared the car, we decided to leave the muddy trail in favour of some grassy cow slopes leading back to the road, which led to the discovery of 2 almost-blooming crocus flowers! Trip stats were more than 12 km/700m.