We're on the Lookout for Fires at Barrier Lake

We were up before 4 a.m. this morning to take our guests back to Calgary for their early morning flight back to Oklahoma. We had hoped for good weather for those four days while Denisa's Mother and sisters were joining us in Canada, and we got it! As we dropped them off at the airport it started to rain, as if crying that they were going home. So with a day of rain, we had an excuse to go home to take a nap. Then we headed to Tim Horton's (bakery and deli) for some free wifi since our cell phone plan has almost no data while we are traveling in Canada. We finished up our rainy day at Walmart in Cochrane. We figure this is our last normal city where real people live and shop. So we stocked up on food for the next three weeks, while we are living in National Parks with limited shopping and food available only at tourist prices.

The next morning we were ready to get back to hiking, so we pointed the car back to Kananaski Country. Now that we have seen a glimpse of how busy Banff National Park is, we appreciate this little secret area of provencial parks next door.

We stopped by the north information station, and the ranger suggested the Prairie View hike to the Barrier Fire Lookout Station. We love a hike with a destination, so we headed across the dam at Barrier Lake on this cool morning. Even though the name of the hike is "Prairie View" we were in the forest and heading straight up-hill almost immediately. It's hard to take a picture of a very steep trail, but we were on one. We will have an elevation gain today of 3,182 feet.

Because we need to stop hiking to breath more often at this higher elevation, Denisa takes pictures of flowers. The wild orange lilies are beautiful right now. They remind us of the domesticated tiger lilies on the wild side.

We also found patches of the yellow columbines that we used to grow in our shade gardens back in the olden days when we had a house.

Occasionally our trail would break out into the open, and we could see a glimpse of the mountain tops ahead.

With the help of a zoom lens we could see people on top of that rocky ledge. We've been hiking a long time, but we obviously have a lot further to go.

It took us about an hour and a half of steady climbing, but we finally made it to that spot on the rocks. It was a great place for some pictures with the blue waters of Barrier Lake now far below us. We couldn't decide which angle was best, so we just have to include both.

We passed, and then got passed by, a group of bikers heading up that steep trail. Denisa thinks they are crazy for pedaling up that steep trail. But the last section was a scramble over big rocks that was hard for us--and they did it carrying their bikes! These people are crazy, and crazy-tough!

We spent some time taking pictures and basking in our accomplishment of making it to the end of the hike.

Now we were on that rocky mountain ledge that we had taken pictures of from far below.

And we could look down at the tiny slip of brown that is the trail we just hiked up.

This is where most people turn around and return the way they came. But after we enjoyed the scenery to our south and had a snack, we headed up higher into the mountains.

Another thirty minutes of climbing even steeper trails took us to a ridge on the other side of the mountain for the views to the north. You can barely see Mark standing on the ledge as we can see for many kilometers all around us.

This is where we met a lone hiker coming down, so we could ask him if we were on the right trail to the Fire Lookout. He assured us that we were close, and he knew this trail well. His girl friend has been the fire lookout person for the last four summers, and he figures he has made this hike 24 times. This time he brought her fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, and fresh strawberry-rhubarb compote. What a guy!

While Denisa was visiting, Mark was literally hanging out on the edge of the mountain.

What a view of the healthy forest covering the base of the mountain! We are over 2,000 feet up now. At the height, when you look down at the Trans-Canadian Highway 1 far below, it literally looks like a map spread before us.

It wasn't far before we came to the Fire Lookout. We were expecting a tall metal tower like other lookouts we have hiked to. But instead we got a helicopter landing pad with a cottage nearby.

We were soon joined by the lookout lady (we forgot to ask her name) and her dog. They live on top of this mountain 5-7 months each summer, watching for smoke in the valley far below. She talked to us for thirty minutes about her very interesting job.

With all the moisture, she is on low alert. That means that she does her scan of the valley with binoculars far fewer times per day than when she is on high alert. So she has more time to greet visitors like us who make the demanding climb. She averages 20 visitors per day, but she is far below that average this year with the wetter weather. Likewise she is far below average on the number of fires she has spotted this summer in this valley that she is hired to protect. She told us about her living quarters--a 18x18 cottage with no running water. On a pleasant day like today it is a delightful place to be.

But two years ago when the wild fires were all over these mountains, she couldn't even see the outhouse from her cottage windows. She also told us about the no-see-ums that some times invade this mountain. They are so tiny they can come through the screens, so she tried to keep them out with wet cloths. She certainly lives a rugged life on this mountain, made easier by the supplies that are helicoptered to her every three weeks.

She's also in charge of reporting weather information from her perch on the mountain, made possible by solar panels and electronic equipment in the other building on top of the Yates Mountain. We were glad that we took the extra effort to get to the Barrier Lake Fire Lookout. She invited us to look around the top of the mountain, and get a look of the view from the other side. We are so blessed that the view is clear of smoke that Canada has been choked by during the three previous summers.

But now it was time to scramble our way back down to the lesser summit.We could have then returned back the way we came. But Denisa loves a loop hike, and it wouldn't be that much further to return through Jewel Pass, would it? The answer is yes, it would be a LOT further. The boyfriend delivering strawberry-rhubarb compote had only gone this way ONE time and the next 23 he knew to go the shorter route home. But we did it anyway for some reason.

We were hoping to see wildlife on this lesser-used trail. But the only thing we saw was this mother ptarmigan and her chicks. She let us take her picture, but the tiny chicks were jumping in and out of the brush too quickly to get focused.

Denisa had to amuse herself with more flowers along the path. These white flowers almost look fuzzy.

But if we look very closely, they are made up of hundreds of tiny flowers.

After many miles of hiking in the trees, we were glad when we finally saw Barrier Lake again.

The loop hike had turned this into a 10.4 mile hike, with a tremendous elevation gain, and our legs and feet were tired! One more flower picture as we stumbled our way back to the car.

We have really been blessed with terrific weather this summer. But a trip to the fire lookout reminds us that we have been also been blessed with a smoke-free summer so far. We like seeing these signs posted around the national parks. With all the rain this year, the fire danger continues to be low.

The last several summers have been smoky in the Canadian Rockies, with peaks covered in smoke and unhealthy conditions for hiking. So we are doubly blessed on this day as we get to wander God's wonders in their smoke-free beauty!