Hike: Burstall Pass, Galatea Lakes, and Barrier Mt + Fire Lookout (10/8/2010)

Friday: We leave Edmonton Friday evening and spend the night at The Hostel Bear.

Saturday: Leaving early in the morning and hiking up to the Galatea Lakes. Afterwards we will go back to the hostel for a great potluck dinner.

Sunday: Driving to Barrier Lake Dam and hiking to the fire lookout in the morning. Returning to Canmore for dinner.

Monday: Going for an amazing hike to the Burstall Pass in the morning. After the hike we will head back to Edmonton in the afternoon.

• It is too early to say, but it is quite possible to have snow in the mountains by early October. In the event of heavy snow, we might need to changed the scheduled plans and either go to another destination or do the hikes with snowshoes/crampons. The final plans will be discussed in the mandatory pre-trip meeting.
• Our hiking pace will be MODERATE (no slowpokes, no speed demons)
• Galatea Lake trail ( Distance: 17kms, elevation gain: 670m )
• Barrier Lake fire lookout ( Distance: 12kms, elevation gain: 700m )
• Burstall Pass ( Distance: 15kms, elevation gain: 475m )
• Group hiking in effect in the area due to bear activity. If you are unable to respect this guideline, refrain from signing up.
• The plan is to enjoy a great potluck, the beautiful scenery, the great company, and the photo opportunities while having FUN so bring your cheerful personalities along.
• Your coordinators have not been on these hikes before, but they have the GPS tracks. Please be patient.
• This is a first-paid, first-get-on event. Payment is due immediately upon registration, or you will be moved to the waiting list. If you didn't pay and someone else on the waitlist did, they will get on before you! Any overbooking will be fully refunded.
• Refunds after the cut off are not possible, but you can find a replacement and work out the payment amongst yourselves.
• The maximum number of people for this trip is 10. There will be a mandatory pre-trip meeting to decide carpooling, hiking conditions, and other details. Date and time TBC.

Friday - We will leave Edmonton in the afternoon Friday, October 8th, 2010, and head to Canmore. We will be staying at The Hostel Bear for three nights. Since our hikes are not too difficult, we don't have to go to bed too early and there will be some time to party.

We will be staying in a co-ed dorm rooms. Bedding will be provided and sleeping bags are NOT permitted. There is a well equipped kitchen with appliances, pots and pans, dishes to cook your own food for the weekend. There is running water, hot showers and electricity in this hostel.

Saturday - We will leave the hostel early in the morning and head to Galatea Creek. The trail begins at the Galatea parking lot. From there, it descends quickly to the Kananaskis River, where a high-quality suspension bridge provides easy access to the opposite side. A junction near the far side of the bridge links Terrace Trail with Galatea Creek. The trail zigzags back and forth over the creek as it climbs the valley. As you go further, you begin to get some views to the left towards Fortress Ridge and an outlier of The Fortress.

After crossing the creek for the third time (ove bridges), the trail begins to traverse a high cutbank rising to the right. Soon, the trail makes a number of short switchbacks to climb above the creek, and then it quickly rejoins. After crossing back over to the left of the river at bridge 5, the creek drops over a pretty waterfall. At around the 2km mark, the trail crosses several runoff channels coming off the cliffs of Mount Kidd to the right of the trail. This brings the trail into a darker, moister section of forest. After several more crossings, the trail begins a very steep section just after crossing bridge 9 at km 4.5. This steep section levels out just before joining the junction with Guinn's Pass Trail at the 5km mark. Keep climbing more gradually past that junction and you will meet the shores of Lillian Lake half a kilometre further.

We will face a rocky trail above Lillian Lakes and depending on the conditions we might need to head back from Lillian Lakes. However, the views back towards the valley are amazing as are the Galatea Lakes.

After our hike, we will head back to Canmore, relax, and have a potluck supper. These are always a great mixer to kick off the festivities on Saturday night. Please bring along something to share with everyone.

Sunday - Sunday morning we will the hostel early and head to Barrier Lake Dam. From the Barrier Lake Dam, we will take the old fire lookout access road up to Prairie View Trail. We will then climb the Prairie View Trail to the fire lookout at the summit. The lookout offers an excellent views of the Rockies to the west, the prairies to the east (including the Calgary Skyline), Barrier Lake, Chiniki Lake, and Ghost Lake.

After the hike, we will go back to Canmore for dinner. We can either go out for dinner, or have another potluck. The decision will be made at the pre-trip meeting.

Monday - Monday morning we will check out and leave the hostel early to hike up to Burstall Pass. This adventurous hike takes us through forest and meadows to 2380m Burstall Pass. The view from above treeline stretches from tiny alpine wildflowers at our feet south to the glaciated north face of Mt. Sir Douglas.

At the outset the trail crosses open meadows below Mud Lake. We pass a left branching trail as we start to climb on old logging roads through the forest. Immediately, we veer right following trail markers and continue along the wide, rolling road that leads into the valley. The surface is hard-packed with few rocks. After Burstall Lakes, the road reverts to a narrow hiking trail.

Soon we escape the forest at the edge of an alluvial plain. To our left sits impressive Robertson Glacier whose meltwater has washed down the gravel that covers the valley floor. This is where we may need that spare pair of shoes to wade across the icy river in times of higher flow or later in the day. From here a steep and rooty path leads quickly to treeline and meadows bristling with western anemonies.

After this brief respite, we begin the final ascent to the pass. There from our windswept vantage point far above treeline, will see the magnificent views that sweep from Mt. Birdwood in the north to Mt. Sir Douglas in the south. We will continue a short way west of the pass for views of Leman Lake and the Spray Valley to the west.

After the hike, we will leave the Kananaskis Country and head back to Edmonton. On the way back to Edmonton, some of us might go for dinner in a Persian restaurant in Calgary, for those who are inetersted.