When I arrived here last night, there was a wicked snow storm blowing in so decided to take the opportunity to try to find some new local trails online. While I enjoyed a beer at the local Boston Pizza, I scoured the Trail Forks app and found a potential trail to check out.
After work today, I quickly changed into my running gear.. When I left home on Monday, it was cold but not snowing so I packed lots of warm running gear but failed to pack my winter running shoes, my trusty Saucony Razor Ice.
Last night and throughout the day, only about 3 inches of snow had fallen here in town so I wasn't to worried about wearing my Sense Rides in the snow. I knew my feet would get wet, but I wasn't too concerned. In cases like this, I always tell myself “I can do anything for an hour” (...or as long as I need to get the run finished).
I checked through my pack one last time before leaving the hotel room. I seemed to have everything. My first aid kit, a lighter, some food, my Spot GPS tracker, bear spray and bear bangers, an extra long sleeve shirt, and even two headlamps. I was set for an evening of exploring!!
As the highway headed west from Rocky, the elevation steadily increased and the temperature continued to drop. The farther I drove into the Rocky Mnt foothills, the snow got deeper. Finally the paved road ended and so did the snow plow. This was the first time I realized how much snow had accumulated in the mountains. I switched into four wheel drive and kept going. The gravel road was now just two tire tracks packed down. In the final 10 Kilometres I only met one vehicle. When we pulled to the side to pass, the snow was so deep that it piled up in front of my truck and started blowing over the hood.
Wow!! I wasn't even on the trail yet, and I was already having an adventure!!
As the valley narrowed even more, a small road turned to the left. My GPS indicated that this was very close to where the trail started so pulled off the main road and parked. There were no fresh tracks in the nearly knee deep snow so I didn't know if the road was drivable or not. I decided to just park there and start my run from the main road.
There was no cell service so I took extra precautions. “If you are going to do stupid things, you have to be smart about it!!” I drove my truck forwards and backwards several times to pack down an area in the snow to hopefully prevent anything from freezing up under my truck while I was gone. My truck thermometer read -7 and was still dropping. After getting on my running gear, I moved my truck once more to make sure no transmission linkages and the brakes weren't frozen because of the snow I had been driving through.
Convinced that everything was ok, I confirmed the keys were in my pack, locked the doors and started up the road.
I didn't have to run far to realize that this was going to be a slow “run”. Underneath the knee deep snow, there were frequent puddles of frigid water. I could feel the slush compact under my feet with every step, and my shoes frequently filled with water.
The road went up a slight hill for about 500 meters then ended in an opening at the bottom of the mountain. There was a picnic table nearly buried in snow so I assumed this was the end of the road. There were no fresh tracks in the snow and no signs on the trees to indicate where the trail might start.
of the ridge. The trail I was looking for, when up the left side
of the ridge so I turned around and went back to the picnic
table clearing and looked for another trail.
I could see what looked like an old quad track going up the
steep part of the hill. This seemed like the second best option so I started to climb. It went a couple hundred feet up, then
seemed to end in the scattered spruce trees.
I really needed a trail to follow and didnt think this was what I was looking for so I went back down the hill to thw picnic table for a second time and looked for another opening in the
trees that might lead to a trail. On the far right side of the clearing I saw what might possibly be a trail going up yet another hill. Unless I was in completely the wrong area, this was my last option for a trail leaving this clearing.
I started up yet another hill. This one, the steepest of the three “trails” I had been on. I was glad I had my poles. The deep snow made it difficult to climb and it felt like the moss under the snow was also very deep and made very poor traction.
After climbing 100 meters or so, I came to a definite quad trail. I turned to the right and followed it up hill. It quickly levelled off, then the swamp started. One leg broke through the first puddle and I sank nearly up to my waist in the cold muddy water.
I looked for other options to get around the puddle, but the brush was too thick on either side and I couldn't see the puddle continued around the corner.
I decided I had had enough exploring for one night. I turned around and followed my track back to the clearing and down the road to the truck. My foot prints in the snow were now full of water and with each step, ice cold water squished between my toes. I was glad I hadn't gone far.
When I got back to the truck, a layer of snow was caked onto my leggings and big ice balls had formed on my shoelaces. I cleaned off as much snow as I could then got back into the truck to start to warm up. I was relieved to discover that my extra diligence had prevented anything from freezing up on my truck. I backed onto the main road and headed back to Rocky Mountain House.
