Snuck out to the Crownsest for a day. Last day of summer was yesterday, technically speaking, but you wouldn't guess judging by the amount of color on the trees. Fall seems to be ahead of itself this year, despite our hot temperatures during the day.
We were out on a mission for the CT4WD PATHS Team that I am a part of. We scout and map trails for future organization trail runs as well as provide status updates on the condition of known and frequently ran trails. We decided to hit the Castle Special Management area near the small mountain town of Beaver Mines, Alberta.
We were forced to leave Saturday afternoon as I was stuck at work. I did everything I could to make my Saturday work day a short one but still didnt get out of the office until 3:30. Ran home, grabbed the truck, and met at the Safeway on the south end of town to stock up for a couple meals. The pace was smooth and relaxing as we rolled south on the 22 and headed for the Crowsnest Pass. We would arrive late and thus needed to make a route alteration to be able to hit a refueling station before the morning. Our regular Fas Gas was open late and we headed there to top up the tanks. We still had a 45 minute highway drive to the trailhead and also would need to find a location for camp. Seeing as how it was already 9:00pm we opted for a closer spot and known camping location and would make the drive to the trailhead in the morning.
It was a gorgeous and still evening which provided a good opportunity for some night sky photography. I made a couple feeble attempts before my fatigue took the best of me, as I was running on a hangover and 2 hours sleep from the night before, but thats another story.
Marc's 4Runner looking good under the stars:
20130919-IMG_3589.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
20130920-IMG_3594.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
Temps dropped off a lot during the night, but it was to be expected. We woke early to get a head start on the day, and were met with the golden hour, seeing the sun rise and hit the peaks of the Frank Slide Historical site. A forshadow of the weather and scenery of the day:
20130920-IMG_3602.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
Group Photo:
20130920-IMG_3606.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
Near the trailhead, I couldn't not stop for a photo:
20130920-IMG_3614.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
We promptly made it to the start of the trail and starting letting the air out of the tires. A group of ATV'ers passed saying "there are some difficult spots midway through the trail" as if they were in question of our ability to make it to the lookout we were aiming for. I had run the trail previously but not for 2 year, and we all knew how much the terrain could have changed since my last evaluation. Despite the doubt of the ATV'ers, we set off. Shortly after, we encountered a wet section. I suspect due to the large volume of snow we had two weeks ago which was quickly melted by the 28 degree temperatures.
The 5th Gen T4R navigating the soup:
20130920-IMG_3619.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
Marc became high centered at one point in the above obstacle. With efficient teamwork and a simple straight winch pull, we were rolling again within a few minutes. The trail became quite narrow and overgrown but we pushed on. I was in the lead driving down a very simple section of the trail. I needed to cross a wet washout, that really didnt look that bad. Boy was I wrong.... the second the 6000lb girth of the Cruiser hit the washout, I sunk in the mud and became stuck. Forward/Reverse and varying throttle were used to maneuver myself forward to no avail, slowly digging myself deeper into the mud. I eventually become suctioned in and could not move i neither direction. Another quick but hard pull and I was out.
20130920-IMG_3627.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
We pushed on, with the others taking the alternate route that I had passed and avoiding the mud hole altogether. The trail is short and climbs steeply to an amazing overlook. We stopped for photos and some home made bison sausage for lunch.
Panorama of the viewpoint:
20130920-IMG_3631.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
20130920-IMG_3634.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
We wanted to explore a new area, so we made haste after lunch to get back out and back to the trailhead. I did a poor job of photographing the rest of our journey but we made a short pit stop at Beaver Mines Lake to take in the fall scenery and adjust air pressure.
20130920-IMG_3638.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
We traveled a road that headed South West toward the backside of Waterton Lakes National park. It was a road none of us had ever traveled and were hoping to uncover some new potential trails. We have a lot more exploring to do in this area but ran short of time once driving to a washout where the road had disappeared in recent flooding. Along the road, we did run into a pretty cool washout, to test the flex limits of our trucks. In a laughable comment I mentioned to Marc, "Why are flex shots always so cool?" He responded with a laugh, "Because we are all like grown up kids, playing with our toys". I nodded in agreement, I like my Toyotas. (er, Lexus... haha)
20130920-IMG_3646.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
20130920-IMG_3648.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
Last viewpoint of the day before getting turned around:
20130920-IMG_3651.jpg by
RickaShay24, on Flickr
Looking forward to getting out again on October 3rd. I'll be back.
