January 26, 2022, Rummel Ridge
Distance: 7 km
Elevation gain: 700 m
Elevation: 2460 m
Even though Fred and I had been fortunate enough to spend two days in the mountains this past weekend, by mid-week, I was more than ready for another adventure. Summer planning was in high gear. Front and back country camping reservation systems opened this week for Banff, Waterton, Yoho, and Jasper. To say the process is a stressful one would be an understatement. Thankfully, to date, we have been lucky in getting the reservations we wanted, and it appeared our lucky trend was continuing for summer 2022 🤞. Once Banff front country reservations were booked, I loaded up the car and got on my way to Kananaskis.
While the weather forecast promised a fabulous blue sky, sunshine day, avalanche ratings were not good. As such, I ended up opting to climb up Rummel Ridge once again. I much prefer to have new experiences, but I have also learned, there really is no such thing as a bad day in the mountains for me.
For the most part, the drive in was a peaceful one, but my mind was spinning trying to sort through some significant family of origin issues, and why a trek on this day was a good idea. Once I hit the Smith Dorien, I was treated to pothole hell. In fact, I don’t think I have ever seen the road in as bad a shape as it was on this day. Not paying attention, I just about drove right through a large pile of gravel. Yikes! Quickly I realized the graders were out working on the road and why it was in such poor shape.
Once at the trailhead, I loaded up quickly and got on my way. It felt wonderful to be all on my own lost in my thoughts listening to my breathing as I climbed. Even though I have done this hike a few times now, the views are stunning and so I stopped a few times for pictures. All too soon, I was on the summit, by myself, gazing at the gorgeousness all around me. How lucky am I to live so close to such magnificence 😊! After taking a bunch of pictures, and simply enjoying the views, I packed up and began the descent. Quicker than I would have liked, I was back at the car. The drive home went much smoother because the upgrades to the road had been completed and because my mind was more clear and at peace than it had been on the way in.
