Ha Ling Peak (aka Chinaman's Peak)

Drew, Maureen, Kali, and I decided to hike Ha Ling Peak this morning (the curved double peak on the right). The story goes that in the early 1800s there was a Chinese cook named Ha Ling working at a mining camp in the area. He was bet that he couldn't climb this peak and return in 10 hours - he made it in about 5 hours! Pretty impressive considering there wasn't the nice trail there is now. The peak rises 2408 metres high, which we covered in a distance of 7 km (then of course 7 km back). We took a few periodic water breaks on the way up, and lunch at the top, so did the hike in 3 hours (it was recommended at 2-4 hours). Here's a few shots from the view on the way up.

Drew & Maureen paused to check out some limestone on the way up... Kali was probably wondering what the hold up was.

Drew and Maureen on the curved part of the mountain between the two peaks: Canmore stretching out below Ha Ling Peak:

Oops... a bit more hiking to do. Amazing views, but the wind was pretty cold and strong at this point.

Kali, the amazing hiking puppy. She got tons of comments on her schnazzy back-pack and about how cute she was. She decided to snuggle some guys on the top of the peak (by rubbing their legs as she tried to sneak through them... a bit sketchily knocking them around on top of the peak).

We followed the hike up with a quick side-trip to see some old coal mines (for which I forgot my camera in the car), then headed back to my place for a cold one & BBQ in the backyard. What a sweet day!

Jumping Pound Ridge

I was looking to get for a ride this weekend so posted on the Spin Sisters forum and found someone to go with (Kali too of course). On my buddy Mike's suggestion we hit up Jumping Pound Ridge. The ride up was grueling, 3 km of steep, rubbly switch-backs that we mostly couldn't ride (legs aren't strong enough yet). The rest of the ride made it worth it though... we rode along the top of Jumping Pound Ridge above the tree line - the views were spectacular! The descent was sweet too... we went out the Jumping Pound Summit trail, reasonably steep, rooty switchbacks on well-packed dirt. I'd definitely do it again, but from the south entrance where the ascent is supposed to be shorter and then you coast along the ridge instead of riding up it... maybe next time Tom's home!

Exploring the Mountatins with Tom & Kali

Tom, Kali, and I went out to explore the mountains last weekend. We rode Jumping Pound Loop, and then drove down Powder Face Trail (the road) to see what trail heads we could find. We stopped at this spot for a snack and to take in the view. Wow, what an amazing place this is!