September 23/2023 Summer Hike, Alberta Canada
Today we are on the hunt for Golden Larch Trees, and we will be hiking up to the Elephant Rocks via Chester Lake. This trail is in Kananaskis Country, Alberta Canada. The trail is 10.6 Kilometers (6.6 Miles) out and back with an elevation gain of 397 Meters (1300 Feet). The maximum elevation of this hike is 2264 Meters (7430 Feet).
The Trailhead is located on the Smith Dorrien Trail in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. This is a gravel road and sometimes it can be in really bad shape, so be prepared for this. This trailhead has a large parking lot.
The trail starts out very wide and the elevation gain is gradual. You are in the trees so there is not much for views. We did enjoy seeing some of the foliage changing colors. Just over .5k there is a split in the trail, keep going straight. The trail will level out a few times. Every once in a while, if you look back you will get some views of the mountains behind you. As you move further up the trail the elevation gain gets a little steeper. Just over 2k there is another intersection in the trail, once again keep going straight. The trail will now start to have some roots on it. Soon the trail will level out and you will get your first glimpse of Larch Trees. At 2.75k the trail opens up and this area is popping with Larch Trees. Just under 3k you will now start and get views of the mountains. We couldn’t see the tops of them as we had low hanging moody clouds. Then back into the trees you will go. We saw one little grouse on the trail. At 3.8k you will arrive at the meadows. This area was just beautiful with all the changing colors, and a little creek flowing through it, with some beautiful moss. Just over 4.4k you will arrive at Chester Lake. It started to drizzle on us as we arrived at the lake. Continue up the trail on the left side of the lake and soon you will reach a trail branching off to the left. Take this trail to get to the Elephant Rocks. This trail is a lot narrower and has a lot of roots on it. At 4.9k you will arrive at the Elephant Rocks surrounded by beautiful Larch Trees. We climbed up to the top of one of the bigger flatter rocks to get views looking down at the Larches. Climbing these rocks can be a little tricky so be very careful. We worked our way back down off the rocks and headed to the second set of Elephant Rocks just to the Southeast. This was the first time I had seen these ones. We worked out way up to the top of the rocks and had our lunch and a beer. We then proceeded back to the first set of rocks and made our way back down to Chester Lake. Now the trail was getting very busy with people going in both directions. At around 8.5k we took the trail left of the main one to avoid the people. This trail eventually hooked up with the main one and it was a short distance back to the car.
This is an awesome hike to see Larch Trees, so if you hike up to Chester Lake, continue on to the Elephant Rocks. You won’t be disappointed. If you want to avoid a lot of people get there early. We started our hike at 830AM.
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Thank you,
Cary Mason
#hikingalberta #canadianrockies #travelalberta #hiking
Email - liveonalberta@gmail.com
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12 сен 2024
