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September 24, 2022 In Outdoor Edventures

Grizzly Col Hike

Where:

  • Grizzly Col

 

When:

  • September 24, 2022

 

Who:

  • Ed, Dave, Craig, Erin, Oak, Peter, Lisa, Brandi, Kyle, Colleen, Kent, Roger

 

Trailhead:

  • an hour and a half drive from Calgary (142 km)
  • heading south on Highway 40 for 67 km, the Highwood Pass parking lot is on the right-hand side of the road at the summit

 

 

Degree of difficulty:

  • 680 meters elevation
  • 9 km round trip
  • the hike took us just over three and a half hours
  • the first 2 km are moderate in elevation but have some tricky footing
  • after the forest where the larch trees are, you turn left, and it starts to climb up steeply to the pass (turning right takes you up to Pocaterra Ridge)
  • from the pass, it’s a steep climb on some loose shale to the summit
  • it’s 4 km to Grizzly Col and another .8 km to Grizzly Peak

 

 

Interesting notes:

  • we did it during larch season, and the trail was packed on the return voyage
  • the larch trees were in early bloom but still quite majestic
  • for those wanting to just see the larch trees, it’s not a long walk (4 km round trip) to do so
  • we did an out and back, but you could go along the ridge and descent to the parking lot, although this route appears to involve a challenging ridge walk
  • the trail offers views of Elk Range, the border between Alberta and B.C.
  • the Col is the gap between Mount Tyrwhitt (it has a cool hole in the mountain) and Grizzly Ridge

 

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