On Wednesday, May 6, Fred and I decided it was time to visit Kananaskis. Provincial parks and recreational areas opened on Friday, May 1 but we decided it best not to contribute to the likely high numbers of people heading into this park. As we had climbed Lady MacDonald yesterday, for today we simply wanted to drive and stop for pictures and short walks. Because it had been a about six weeks since we had been in Kananaskis, we wanted to scope out how much snowpack remained in different areas.
Heading into Kananaskis from highway 66 (Sibbald), we were thrilled to see quite a few different shoulder season hiking options clear of snow. Waterfowl were out in abundance and could be seen wading in water, sitting on clear ice or nesting in the marsh grasses. Deer were super plentiful, and all looked so healthy. And we saw a marmot! I never thought I would see a marmot so low down. But he too, looked wonderful.
Once we hit highway 40, there was much more snow, even in the forest. Barrier Lake looked stunning as some of the ice had melted and there was a gorgeous green colour to the remaining ice and to the water. Geese were enjoying Lorette Ponds. Mount Allan was covered in snow, including the Nakiska ski runs. On the other side of the highway, Baldy still had patches up high and it appeared the Wedge recently had experienced a significant slide.
From Galatea onward, there was a ton of snow. Other than Opal Ridge, there was no “summer” hiking in Kananaskis. Upper Kananaskis Lake was completely frozen. Lower Kananaskis Lake had its usual flowing water by the dam, but the size was substantially larger than what we would see in winter. There was a ton of waterfowl in this section of the lake. Anything off the Smith Dorien was going to be winter slogging – snowshoes or skis would for sure be needed. In fact, there were a few cars parked in key backcountry skiing locations. And most of Spray Lakes was frozen except Goat Pond, Whiteman Pond and the Canmore reservoir.
And as is typically the case for me 😊, I had a wonderful day in the mountains.
