King Creek Ridge

Dist: 6.8km   Elev: 730m   Summit: 7940'   Time: 3h   Difficulty: 4/5

Melinda had evening plans, so I decided to take advantage of the long summer daylight hours by heading to Kanansakis for a solo mountain adventure after a day in the books. I wanted a relatively short hike that also offered views of nearby features, as the smoke from local wildfires was especially thick that day. King Creek Ridge satisfied these requirements perfectly, and I saw only one other group throughout the evening.

Trail Description:
Park in the King Creek day use parking lot on Hwy 40, 50 km south of Trans-Canada Hwy. The trail begins on the opposite (north) side of King Creek, so I walked along the highway until I saw the obvious trail leading into the trees on my right-hand side, just after the creek. From here, the initial ascent was brutally steep, and there were very few switchbacks on this unofficial trail. I took frequent breaks to "enjoy the views" (catch my breath!). Once at the ridge, however, my energy was instantly renewed as views exploded in every direction and offered spectacular vistas of the Kananaskis Valley to the west and Opal Range to the east. I then followed this ridge to its high point, before returning the same way I came up.

Crossing King Creek on Hwy 40

Grassy ascent. Ridge can be seen in the background.

Grass turns to steep and loose dirt

Smoky views due to wildfires in Banff and B.C

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Nearing the ridge. Mount Wintour in background.

Views improve further while approaching the ridge crest

Looking back at the trail and Opal Range in the background 

Opal Range

Summit seen up ahead

Looking back during final climb to ridge summit

Smoky summit (north)

Highway 40 below

Summit view (south). Kananaskis lakes (barely) visible below.

Summit panorama. From left to right:  Mount Evan Thomas, Mount Packenham, Mount Hood, Mount Brock, Mount Blane, Mount Burney, Mount Jerram, Elpoca Mountain, Mount Wintour.

Summit selfie :)

One perk of all this smoke: glowing red sunsets