Days 1-3 of Lupe’s 2019 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska!
8-5-19, 8:10 AM, Black Hills, SD – Late, late, late! Days late, but the Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood was finally underway! Hitting I90, the G6 rapidly gathered speed. Thousands of miles to go. Time to make tracks! Lupe would have opportunities for adventures along the way, but she couldn’t dilly-dally too much. Summer ends early in the Arctic!
Bright-eyed and alert, the Carolina Dog was ready for action! Barking at cows, horses, suspicious haystacks and outbuildings would be about it, though, for a while. Stops were infrequent and brief as the G6 cruised N & W along a familiar route.
5:30 PM, Kings Hill Pass, Little Belt Mountains, Montana – Skies had been crisp and clear all day, but the air was smokey at Kings Hill Pass. No matter! This was the day’s only real chance to get out and explore. Lupe wasn’t about to miss out! She had her choice of a relatively easy ascent of either Kings Hill (8,008 ft.) or Porphyry Peak (8,192 ft.).
Kings Hill Pass is a favorite stop on the way to Canada, so Loopster had already been to both multiple times. It had been a couple of years since she’d been to Porphyry Peak. Why not? The road trek to the lookout tower at the summit was under 2 miles. Squirrels along the way were the highlight. Smoke from distant fires marred the views from the top.
8:28 PM, Hwy 89, Al Buck Memorial Park – Last stop of the day. Trees and picnic tables, plus a spring that gushed out of the base of a hillside. Lupe helped herself to a drink. After sniffing around a bit and a bite to eat, time to call it a night.
8-6-19 – The next day was even less exciting. Mile after mile rolled by. Plenty of big fields, but hardly any cows or horses.
At 10:55 AM, Lupe went through Canadian customs, a snoozer of an event if ever there was one. A stop at a picnic ground N of Carmangay overlooking the sluggish Little Bow River was pleasant enough, but didn’t last long. Calgary was the usual traffic-clogged madhouse. Even the Canadian Rockies were a bit of a disappointment. Heavily overcast, drippy and cool, it felt like summer was already long gone.
By evening Lupe had made it to lovely Bow Lake in Banff National Park, departure point for several fabulous past adventures. However, the mood was subdued and forlorn.
8-7-19 – No change. Breakfast at Bow Lake was a foggy affair. After 2 long days on the road, a real adventure was in order, but it didn’t look like Loop was in luck. Might as well keep driving N.
Going over Bow Summit on Icefields Parkway Hwy No. 93 a short while later, the situation appeared much more promising. Fog lingered down in the Mistaya River valley, but pale blue skies were overhead!
The weather continued to improve. Going to be a gorgeous day after all! SPHP stopped at the Coleman Creek picnic ground to get the pack ready, then accompanied Lupe to the North Saskatchewan River for a quick look around.
The beautiful river enhanced by the sun’s warmth was inspiring!
Oh, it’s a day made for adventure, SPHP! We’re here in the fabulous Canadian Rockies. Isn’t there something we can do?
Absolutely, Loopster! Remember the Canadians we followed up Mount Jimmy Simpson last year? One of the places they recommended was Tangle Ridge. It’s not much farther, and supposed to be a great day hike. Want to check it out?
Sounds terrific! Let’s do it! Anything to get out of the G6 for a while.
Going up and over Sunwapta Pass, Lupe went by the starting points of many great adventures she’d had in years past. Trailheads for Panther Falls, Nigel Pass, Parker Ridge, Wilcox Pass, and the Athabasca Glacier were all right along Icefields Parkway Hwy No. 93 or close to it.
Once past the Athabasca Glacier, SPHP started looking for Tangle Falls. The cascade came into sight on the R (NE) side of the highway about 7 km later. A pullout was on the opposite side of the road. SPHP parked the G6, and Lupe headed over to check out the falls. (10:32 AM, 52ºF)
Tangle Falls consisted of a series of waterfalls rather than one great big one, but the overall effect was still quite impressive. Being right next to the highway, Tangle Falls was a busy place. However, while there was a sign for the falls right along the road, there didn’t seem to be one for any trail to Tangle Ridge (9,843 ft.).
After admiring the falls for a few minutes, Lupe set out in search of a trail. SE of Tangle Falls (uphill) on the same side of the highway she soon discovered an abandoned jeep or ATV route on top of an embankment. A small sign here said 7.5 km to Wilcox Pass. This had to be it! Access to Tangle Ridge was somewhere off this trail.
Paralleling Icefield Parkway Hwy 93, the Wilcox Pass trail went uphill heading SE. The trail began above the highway, and climbed fast enough to steadily increase the gap as both Tangle Falls and Tangle Creek were left behind. Although Lupe had been to Wilcox Pass before, she’d always started from the other end of the Wilcox Pass trail which begins near the Wilcox campground. She’d never been here before.
The trail soon curved E (L) away from the highway and narrowed to a typical single track. For a short distance the trail was fairly level, but once it turned NE (L again), Lupe found herself on an increasingly steep ascent in a dense forest.
After a good climb, the trail emerged from the trees nearly leveling out as it traversed a steep open slope filled with wildflowers. This meadow wasn’t large, but already provided views hinting at what might be in store higher up.
Beyond the steep meadow, the trail re-entered the forest. Almost right away, Lupe caught a glimpse of Tangle Creek far down in a valley with Tangle Ridge looming high above it.
The Wilcox Pass trail continued higher in spurts winding generally E or NE with level or even short downhill sections in between. Tangle Creek was out of sight in a valley to the N, but could sometimes be heard. 15 minutes after catching that first glimpse of Tangle Ridge, Lupe reached Tangle Creek.
The topo map showed a massive arm of Tangle Ridge coming S down to Tangle Creek from the summit. Somewhere along in here Lupe needed to leave the Wilcox Pass trail and cross over to the N side of the creek, but exactly where to do that wasn’t clear. Was there a spur trail, or maybe even a bridge?
The trail continued E along the S side of Tangle Creek, so Lupe followed it a little farther. N of the stream a huge forested slope was in sight, but that was about it. However, Lupe did come to several small cairns next to the trail. Exactly what they signified wasn’t clear. No side trails were evident, nor any bridges across Tangle Creek.
Lupe went far enough E to see a tributary entering Tangle Creek from the N. The map showed she shouldn’t go any further. Needing to stay W of that tributary, the Carolina Dog turned around and went back. This time, upon getting close to where the trail first reached Tangle Creek, SPHP noticed a large cairn sitting on an embankment N of the stream.
Hmm. Maybe Lupe ought to cross Tangle Creek right here to go check out that big cairn? The stream was easily fordable, and might even be rock-hopped. SPHP was still pondering when suddenly a hiker appeared near the big cairn. He proceeded down to Tangle Creek, crossed it, then stopped to chat with SPHP.
The hiker was a young man from Edmonton. He’d already been up to Tangle Ridge – a long, steep climb, but well worth it. The views up top were stunning! He provided some excellent advise:
Cross Tangle Creek here. From the big cairn, follow a faint trail going NE marked by several smaller cairns. Should wind up close to the W edge of a big ravine that a tributary of Tangle Creek comes down from the N. The trail will improve as it climbs steadily along or close to the edge of the ravine, before eventually fading away again above tree line. By then the route is obvious – just keep going up!
With that, after thanks from SPHP, the hiker disappeared down the Wilcox Pass trail.
So we cross Tangle Creek here, SPHP?
Yup. Think we were about to figure it all out on our own, Loop, but that was some great beta. No doubt about it now. Sounds pretty simple!
Onward, then! SPHP, ho!
Lupe easily forded the stream, while SPHP managed to rock-hop it. Up at the big cairn, the faint trail didn’t amount to much at all, but the American Dingo sniffed it out, and SPHP did notice a few little cairns along the way. The route was nearly level as it paralleled Tangle Creek, but soon it turned NE starting to gain elevation.
Before long, Lupe was at the W edge of the ravine overlooking Tangle Creek’s tributary from the N. At first she wasn’t all that high above the tributary, maybe 20 or 30 feet, but as the trail turned N following the ravine, it began a steep ascent. Soon the ravine was a deep valley, with the creek far below the precipitous sharp edge the trail ran along.
Mount Wilcox (9,462 ft.) came into view back to the SE as Lupe gained elevation.
The hiker from Edmonton was right! The trail was now quite distinct and easy to follow. Once in a while it veered NW off into the forest, but it seldom strayed far from the edge of the huge ravine.
Onward and upward! The ascent was relentlessly steep, a problem now compounded by the appearance of hordes of mosquitoes. Lupe wanted to stop and take refuge under small trees or bushes, but the bloodthirsty insects found her wherever she tried to hide. SPHP urged Loop onward, since movement helped to stay ahead of the swarm, but frequently had to stop to gasp for breath, causing the American Dingo to seek shelter again during each pause.
Tangle Ridge was 1,000 meters, roughly 3,300 feet, higher than where Lupe crossed Tangle Creek. The forest seemed to go on forever, but at last tree line was reached. The trail now angled NW away from the ravine out onto open terrain where there were a few rock outcroppings. The mosquitoes remained bad, but the views to the S were already tremendous!
The trail faded away, and thankfully the mosquitoes disappeared, too, as Lupe got above the last of the vegetation. The Carolina Dog had already gained the vast majority of the elevation required to reach the top of Tangle Ridge (9,843 ft.), but there was still a considerable trudge higher yet to go on a barren scree slope. Lupe perked up and roamed as she pleased. Any route higher would do.
Near the top of Tangle Ridge, Loopster started coming to snowbanks. She found a big one draped over the summit next to an assortment of communications equipment.
What a tremendous vantage point Tangle Ridge (9,843 ft.) was! In all directions Lupe enjoyed visions of glory – a sea of mighty mountains, many snow or glacier-clad, stretching away as far as the eye could see!
Sunwapta Peak (10,892 ft.) was almost due N. Far beyond it toward the L was another prominent peak – Mount Henry MacLeod (10,876 ft.)? SPHP wasn’t sure, but was more confident that a distant high ridge to the R was Poboktan Mountain (10,892 ft.).
A dramatic lower ridge extended NW from the Tangle Ridge summit. Straight out from this ridge were some wild-looking peaks, but SPHP didn’t know any of them. Looking slightly to the R (NNW), Lupe had a commanding view of a long stretch of the Sunwapta River valley.
To the E the mountains were a bit lower and less dramatic. A small lake was visible down in a deep canyon, but SPHP didn’t recognize any of the surrounding mysterious peaks.
More familiar territory was to the SE where Wilcox Lake nestled below Nigel Peak (10,535 ft.). Wilcox Pass, a favorite spot Lupe had been to several times before for a fabulous view of the Athabasca Glacier, was also in sight along with Mount Wilcox (9,462 ft.).
Only the toe of the Athabasca Glacier was visible from Tangle Ridge, but many surrounding peaks were familiar. Mount Athabasca (11,453 ft.), Mount Andromeda (11,286 ft.), Snow Dome (11,352 ft.) and Mount Kitchener (11,499 ft.) were all Lupe favorites.
Some of the most spectacular views from Tangle Ridge were of a series of tremendous peaks off to the W. SPHP couldn’t identify any of them. For a long time Lupe and SPHP sat together facing this awesome panorama. Studying maps later on yielded at least some answers.
Most impressive of all, Mount Alberta (11,870 ft.) stood farthest W. Somewhat closer toward the R (N) were Mount Woolley (11,286 ft.) and Diadem Peak (11,155 ft.). Mushroom Peak (10,499 ft.) situated in front of Diadem blended into the scene.
Little Alberta (9,711 ft.) and Mount Cromwell (10,958 ft.) stood L (S) of Mount Alberta. Next to the S came the massive snowy plateau of Stutfield Peak (11,319 ft.). Beyond and S of Stutfield were North Twin (12,247 ft.), highest of all, but only the top of which could be seen, and the dramatic steep ramp of South Twin (11,749 ft.).
Conditions weren’t bad at all. Temperatures in the low 50’s ºF, with a light SW wind. Lupe and SPHP made many rounds of the summit area, gazing repeatedly upon the fabulous views in all directions.
Late afternoon. A wonderful hour and 45 minutes on Tangle Ridge had slipped away all too soon. Facing famous Wilcox Pass far below, and all the glorious surrounding peaks, Lupe started S back down the long scree slope. What an unforgettable day in the Canadian Rockies this had turned out to be! (End 7:57 PM, 67ºF)
Links:
Wilcox Pass Trail, Jasper National Park, Canada (7-31-13)
Wilcox Pass Trail, Jasper National Park, Canada (7-29-14)
The Athabasca Glacier & Wilcox Pass, Jasper National Park, Canada (8-3-16)
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