Reports from the Forestry Department that the bridge across the Oldman River was serviceable turned out to be erroneous. The bridge was pulled up high and dry on the bank. Since participants were not equipped for fording the river, we decided to try Cabin Ridge instead. A trip there three weeks ago got turned around by a winter gate on the Forestry Trunk Road.

Cabin Ridge is a beautiful south-facing ridge with mostly open grassy slopes. Some of the slopes were a bit of a slog (one slope resembles a vertical, though grassy, cliff face from a distance), but turned out to quite manageable.

We stopped for (first) lunch on a rocky outcrop with glorious views east over the Livingstone Range, Whaleback Ridge, and Porcpine Hills, south to Chief Mountain, Crowsnest Mountain, and the peaks of Waterton and Glacier Parks, and west to Tornado Mountain. The skies were mostly clear, with only some fair-weather cumulus clouds, and the wind was moderate to light.

After lunch, we continued north along the ridge, which is partly rocky and partly treed. At a steep cliffband, we detoured east around the base of the cliff until we found a gully leading to the top. Although the scrambling (SC5) challenged the less experienced members, everyone made it on top. We continued along the ridge to the high point at about 7650 feet, where we found sheleted spots out of the wind to enjoy a second lunch with more magnificent views.

We descended by a different route that avoided the scrambling, and came out on the remains of an old exploration road below the west side of the cliffband. From there, we descended by the same route. We got back to the cars about 6:40 pm.

Along the way, we saw mule deer, horses (with riders and a border collie), chipmunks, grouse, and a Clark's nutcracker.

A beautiful hike in surprisingly good weather conditions.