{"id":592,"date":"2015-05-01T07:58:24","date_gmt":"2015-05-01T13:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=592"},"modified":"2019-03-16T11:43:56","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T17:43:56","slug":"maude-lawson-lakes-trail-peter-lougheed-provincial-park-alberta-canada-7-18-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=592","title":{"rendered":"Maude-Lawson Lakes Trail, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada (7-18-14)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lupe and SPHP spent several days in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park<\/a><\/strong><\/span> in Alberta on the Canadian Rockies portion of Lupe’s 2014 Dingo Vacation.\u00a0 Our base of operations was centered around Upper Kananaskis Lake, a beautiful and fairly large mountain lake where there were a number of great hiking trails to explore.\u00a0 The most outstanding of these hikes was along the Maude-Lawson Lakes Trail, which leads to\u00a0North Kananaskis Pass and on into Height of the Rockies Provincial Park<\/a><\/strong><\/span> in British Columbia.<\/em><\/p>\n

This hike\u00a0started at\u00a0the North Interlakes Day Use trailhead located between the Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes\u00a0in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada.\u00a0\u00a0The trailhead is close to the NE corner of Upper Kananaskis Lake.\u00a0 Near the junction of\u00a0Hwy 40\u00a0and the S end of\u00a0Route 742 (Smith-Dorrien\/Spray Trail)\u00a0is a paved road to the\u00a0Peter Lougheed Provincial Park Visitor Center.\u00a0 The North Interlakes Day Use trailhead is at the end of this paved road well beyond\u00a0the visitor center.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lupe arrived\u00a0at the North Interlakes Day Use trailhead between Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes around 9 AM on this smoky, but otherwise very fine morning.\u00a0\u00a0She found the trailhead parking lot already crowded\u00a0with two groups of 8 – 10 teenage boys each\u00a0busy preparing\u00a0to hit the trail too.\u00a0 One group was ready and set out shortly before Lupe and SPHP.\u00a0 The second group was still organizing at the trailhead parking lot when Lupe and SPHP got underway.<\/p>\n

Lupe started out\u00a0on\u00a0a portion of the Upper Kananaskis Lake trail, which ultimately goes all the way around the lake.\u00a0\u00a0This\u00a0first stretch of\u00a0trail\u00a0was pretty easy with only moderate elevation gain. \u00a0Lupe trotted W on the trail while keeping watch for any squirrels that might be about.\u00a0 The trail rose gradually until it was well above the lakeshore.\u00a0 Although Lupe was in the\u00a0forest most of\u00a0the time,\u00a0there were a few open stretches along the trail with very nice views of Upper Kananaskis Lake.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>
This photo of a portion of Upper Kananaskis Lake was taken on 7-17-14, the evening before Lupe’s adventures on the Maude-Lawson Trail.\u00a0 The Forks Campground is about 5 km beyond the far side of the lake seen in this photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unfortunately, the air was\u00a0quite hazy due to smoke from distant forest fires.\u00a0 The air had been smoky on and off\u00a0for days,\u00a0starting back when Lupe\u00a0had reached the area E of Glacier National Park while still in the USA.<\/p>\n

SPHP had heard various rumors of where the\u00a0fires were ever since Lupe had\u00a0stopped by at Waterton Lakes<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Just this morning, while still at Upper Kananaskis Lake before arriving at the trailhead, Lupe and SPHP had met a couple from Yellowknife in the Yukon\u00a0who had told SPHP there\u00a0were over 200 wildfires now burning in northern British Columbia.<\/p>\n

After\u00a02.2 km, Lupe came to\u00a0an intersection with the Three Isle Lake trail.\u00a0 The Three Isle Lake trail led Lupe away from\u00a0Upper Kananaskis\u00a0Lake and deeper\u00a0into the forest.\u00a0 Now there were no views, but the forest itself was beautiful.\u00a0 The Three Isle Lake trail was in good condition and a very easy stroll as it was quite level.\u00a0 It headed NW for a little way and then turned W again.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The bridge over the Upper Kananaskis River on the Three Isle Lake\u00a0trail, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Canada<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe\u00a0crossed two streams while on the Three Isle Lake trail.\u00a0 The first one was a small stream coming down from Invincible Lake. \u00a0Lupe\u00a0enjoyed a good drink out of this stream.\u00a0 The second\u00a0stream was actually a small river, the Upper Kananaskis River.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Upper Kananaskis River\u00a0was flowing fast\u00a0and deep in a narrow gap where Lupe had to cross it, but fortunately\u00a0there was a very good bridge.\u00a0 After crossing the bridge, the trail remained fairly level as it followed the river upstream.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe soon\u00a0came to a couple of guys making a new trail around old portions of trail damaged in the June, 2013 floods.\u00a0 Not too far beyond them,\u00a0Lupe\u00a0reached the Forks Campground.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on the bridge over the Upper Kananaskis River.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Appropriately enough, at\u00a0Forks there was a choice to make.\u00a0 Lupe was now 7.2 km from where\u00a0she had started the day.\u00a0 If\u00a0Lupe\u00a0continued W another 3.5 km on the Three Isle Lake trail<\/a><\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0above a steep headwall she would reach another campground at Three Isle Lake. \u00a0Quite a few of the hikers SPHP had chatted with along the trail were either coming from or going to Three Isle Lake.\u00a0\u00a0After reaching Three\u00a0Isle Lake, the\u00a0trail continued on\u00a0another 2.8 km to South Kananaskis Pass, but no one had told SPHP they’d been that far.<\/p>\n

The other\u00a0available choice was to take the Maude-Lawson Lakes trail.\u00a0 This trail\u00a0went N 7.7 km\u00a0to the Turbine Campground beyond Lawson Lake, and then another 2.1 km W\u00a0on up to Maude Lake\u00a0just E of\u00a0North Kananaskis Pass.\u00a0 Lupe expressed no great preference for either the South or North Pass.\u00a0 SPHP hoped to reach the more distant North Pass and set off\u00a0along\u00a0the Maude-Lawson Lakes trail.\u00a0 Lupe seemed happy enough to follow along.<\/p>\n

After bypassing the Forks Campground, which was deserted at the time, the trail\u00a0headed N along\u00a0the Upper Kananaskis River upstream for a little way, but then began to climb.\u00a0 Once the climb began, it was relentless and pretty steep.\u00a0 This was where most of the elevation gain for the day occurred as the\u00a0climb turned into a long series of switchbacks up the head-wall on the W side of the Upper Kananaskis River valley.<\/p>\n

While climbing, the trail continued to work its way to the N.\u00a0 The E side of the canyon\u00a0was visible as a massive continuous rock wall rising a couple thousand feet above the valley floor. \u00a0Mt. Indefatigable<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (8,760 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>, Mt. Invincible<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (8,793 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>, Mt. Warspite<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(9,318 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, and Mt. Black Prince<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (9,642 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0were all\u00a0along the E side of the valley, but partially obscured by the smoky haze in the air.<\/p>\n

SPHP had to stop to rest frequently on the climb up the headwall.\u00a0 It was getting warm out.\u00a0 Fortunately Lupe came to a few very small streams along the\u00a0climb where\u00a0she could get a drink.\u00a0 On one of SPHP’s first stops, the second group of teenage boys caught up to and passed SPHP.\u00a0 From then on\u00a0Lupe and SPHP\u00a0took turns with\u00a0the second group of\u00a0boys passing each other at various rest stops on the headwall.<\/p>\n

SPHP started talking to the boys\u00a0and learned that this second group\u00a0was from a camp near Bemidji in northern Minnesota called\u00a0Camp Thunderbird<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 They were on a\u00a06 week “Junior Leader” journey that had already taken them to the Badlands and Black Hills in South Dakota, the Wind River Range in Wyoming, and a trail-making service job in the mountains in Idaho.\u00a0 The Thunderbirds were now backpacking up to Turbine Campground.<\/p>\n

The Thunderbirds\u00a0intended to stay the night at Turbine Campground\u00a0before hiking back out the next day. \u00a0After that they were headed up to Jasper and Mt. Robson.\u00a0 All of the boys were about\u00a015 years old.\u00a0 They were accompanied by a couple of leaders in their early twenties.\u00a0 Many knew each other from previous summers spent together at\u00a0Camp\u00a0Thunderbird.\u00a0 The trip they were on was one of several offered through Camp Thunderbird, which also has programs and trips\u00a0for girls.\u00a0 Camp Thunderbird\u00a0really sounded like an awesome place.<\/p>\n

One of the boys fell behind near the end of the climb up the headwall.\u00a0 He’d had concussions from playing hockey and had developed a headache.\u00a0 One of the leaders was with him.\u00a0 SPHP gave him a Cliff bar in case his blood sugar was low. The Thunderbirds decided to take a longer break and have lunch so everyone could rest up.\u00a0 Lupe and\u00a0SPHP passed the Thunderbirds\u00a0for the final time at that point.\u00a0 Very shortly after that, Lupe and\u00a0SPHP reached the top of the headwall and the trail finally leveled out a great deal.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A stream above the headwall on the Maude-Lawson trail, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Canada 7-18-14<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Within 10 minutes, at a larger stream\u00a0Lupe and SPHP\u00a0caught up with the group of teenage boys who had left the trailhead back at Upper Kananaskis Lake first.\u00a0 They wanted to know how close the Thunderbirds were.<\/p>\n

SPHP told them the Thunderbirds were very close, only 10 minutes behind them, but that they had just stopped for lunch.\u00a0 Although this first group of boys was not from Camp Thunderbird, they were also headed for Turbine Campground for the night.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe along the Maude-Lawson trail after passing the first group of boys on her way to Turbine Campground.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and\u00a0SPHP passed the first group of boys and were now ahead of both groups.\u00a0 It was still\u00a02 or 3 km\u00a0to Turbine Campground.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0went through a couple more climbs, but nothing comparable to the headwall.\u00a0 Beyond the first rise was a beautiful open meadow with a small alpine lake.\u00a0 Glorious mountains were all around.\u00a0 It was rather a pity that the air was still smoky enough to detract from the fabulous views.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The alpine pond in the meadow beyond the headwall on the way to Lawson Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond this meadow was another small climb through the trees and then\u00a0the trail\u00a0started downhill emerging from the forest near Lawson Lake, which wasn’t too far from Turbine Campground.\u00a0 Another km or so brought\u00a0Lupe to a bridge over Maude Brooke.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe reaches Lawson Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the other side of\u00a0Maude Brooke\u00a0was Turbine Campground.\u00a0 No one was around when Lupe first arrived. \u00a0Lupe and\u00a0SPHP laid\u00a0down on an open grassy bank on\u00a0the campground side of Maude Brooke\u00a0to take a rest.\u00a0 While SPHP contemplated the grand mountains all around,\u00a0Lupe tried to doze a bit in the sun.\u00a0 She snapped\u00a0at flies bothering her, while laying right next to SPHP.<\/p>\n

After resting about 15 minutes, Lupe suddenly woke up and stood stiffly a couple of feet in front of SPHP while sniffing the air\u00a0and staring intently upstream.\u00a0 She didn’t move or make any noise, but just stood there sniffing excitedly for several minutes.\u00a0 The first group of boys now started arriving at Turbine Campground.\u00a0 Some of them waved at Lupe and SPHP\u00a0as they crossed the bridge.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe catches the scent of grizzlies near Maude Brooke and Turbine Campground.\u00a0 The grizzlies, still unseen at this point, are\u00a0in the bushes just\u00a0in front of the trees on the other side of Maude Brooke where Lupe is looking.\u00a0 Mt. Beatty<\/strong><\/a><\/span> (9,711 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> is the highest peak in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About\u00a010 minutes later the Thunderbirds started coming.\u00a0 About 2\/3 of the Thunderbirds had crossed the bridge when suddenly SPHP saw movement about 100′ to 125′ away in the bushes on the other side of Maude Brooke where Lupe was still staring.\u00a0 A moment later, SPHP had a clear view of what was there.\u00a0 A large grizzly bear raised its head above the bushes to look directly at Lupe and SPHP!<\/p>\n

Some of the last few Thunderbird stragglers were just now coming into view along the trail on the same side of Maude Brooke as the grizzly was.\u00a0 SPHP started waving at the Thunderbirds and pointing at the bear.\u00a0 Lupe started growling, but did not bark.<\/p>\n

The Thunderbird stragglers saw the grizzly and quickly made it across the bridge over Maude Brooke to Turbine Campground.\u00a0 The big grizzly ambled over to the trail they had just been on.\u00a0\u00a0As the big bear left the bushes and crossed the trail, it\u00a0turned out there were three grizzly bears traveling together!\u00a0 The other two were already good-sized bears, not little cubs, but they were not as large as the first bear.\u00a0 Lupe growled more loudly and the hair on her back stood up like she’d seen, well, 3 grizzly bears – but still she did not move or bark.<\/p>\n

The sight of three bears crossing the trail where they\u00a0had just been only a minute before caused\u00a0quite a commotion among the Thunderbird stragglers.\u00a0 Other boys started coming from the trees at Turbine Campground to see what the fuss was about.\u00a0 None of them arrived in time to see the grizzlies before all three disappeared into the forest in the direction of Lawson Lake.\u00a0 It all happened so fast, no one got a picture of the grizzlies.<\/p>\n

Three grizzlies in the area gave SPHP some pause.\u00a0 The plan had been for Lupe to continue on to Maude Lake and North Kananaskis Pass, which was only a few km farther on.\u00a0 However, it was already 3:30 PM.\u00a0 Lupe and\u00a0SPHP were not equipped to spend the night at Turbine Campground, and did not have the required reservations.\u00a0 Before the day was over, Lupe\u00a0and\u00a0SPHP had to return\u00a0all the way to Upper Kananaskis Lake where the G6 was parked, already\u00a0some\u00a015 km away now.<\/p>\n

Reluctantly SPHP decided Lupe would have to forego the rest of the\u00a0journey to Maude Lake and North Kananaskis Pass.\u00a0 It just wouldn’t be\u00a0smart to stay out so late\u00a0knowing\u00a0there would be a long hike back in the dark<\/em> while there were three grizzlies wandering around nearby.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP\u00a0waited 20 minutes before leaving Turbine Campground to give the grizzlies time to get farther away.\u00a0 Before leaving, SPHP\u00a0cautioned several of the boys staying at Turbine Campground\u00a0to make certain everyone stored their food safely away after dinner so the bears wouldn’t come back in the night.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A look back at Lawson Lake on the return journey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shortly before 4 PM, Lupe and\u00a0SPHP cautiously set out on the way back to Upper Kananaskis Lake.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0never did see the three grizzlies again.\u00a0 Lupe didn’t see anyone else either until she\u00a0reached the Forks Campground.\u00a0 Although the Forks Campground had been abandoned earlier in the day, now it was packed with people.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S through the meadow towards the little alpine\u00a0pond on Lupe’s return trip on the Maude-Lawson Trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on the Maude-Lawson Trail after just passing the little alpine pond.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S from the headwall on the Maude-Lawson trail.\u00a0 The Forks Campground is down at the base of the mountain ahead.\u00a0 Although this photo was taken in early evening\u00a0on Lupe’s way back to Upper Kananaskis Lake, it is still pretty hazy out from the smoke of distant forest fires.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It turned out the entire Forks Campground had been reserved\u00a0for the weekend by a company from Scandia, a small town\u00a0along Hwy 36\u00a0in southern Alberta.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0became\u00a0temporary minor celebrities at the Forks Campground due to having news about the grizzlies.<\/p>\n

SPHP chatted with the owners of the company from Scandia.\u00a0 The owners said they were beekeepers and employed all these people at Forks Campground making honey.\u00a0 They cooked\u00a0SPHP a burrito and even provided a glass of wine.\u00a0 They had a big black German Shepherd with them, and\u00a0made up a batch of a special dog food for Lupe.\u00a0 Lupe politely ate some of the dog food, but preferred devouring half of SPHP’s\u00a0burrito.<\/p>\n

After concluding the tale about the three grizzlies and thanking the beekeepers for dinner, Lupe and SPHP\u00a0hit the trail again.\u00a0 The\u00a0rest of the way back to\u00a0Upper Kananaskis Lake, Lupe and SPHP told the few people still on the trail to be\u00a0on alert for bears.\u00a0\u00a0A couple of\u00a0people were still on their way to Turbine Campground and clearly wouldn’t reach it before dark.\u00a0 They listened with considerable interest, before continuing onward.<\/p>\n

By the time Lupe got back to the\u00a0North Interlakes Day Use trailhead and the G6, it was\u00a0about 8:30 PM.\u00a0 With the new, strong,\u00a0strange scent of grizzly bear still fresh on her mind, it\u00a0had been both a long and memorable day for Lupe.\u00a0\u00a0She\u00a0was soon ready for a good snooze in the G6.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe lay\u00a0twitching as she dreamed.\u00a0 SPHP wondered if the twitching dingo was\u00a0fighting and bringing down\u00a0grizzly bears in her dreams?<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a><\/p>\n

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Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2014 Canadian Rockies & Beartooths Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lupe and SPHP spent several days in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park in Alberta on the Canadian Rockies portion of Lupe’s 2014 Dingo Vacation.\u00a0 Our base of operations was centered around Upper Kananaskis Lake, a beautiful and fairly large mountain lake where there were a number of great hiking trails to explore.\u00a0 The most outstanding of … Continue reading Maude-Lawson Lakes Trail, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada (7-18-14)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[51],"tags":[105,30,31,106,26,110,104,111,103,107,108],"class_list":["post-592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2014-canadian-rockiesbeartooths","tag-american-dingo","tag-canada","tag-canadian-rockies","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-lawson-lake","tag-lupe","tag-mt-beatty","tag-peter-lougheed-provincial-park","tag-upper-kananaskis-lake","tag-upper-kananaskis-river"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/SDC11670.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=592"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20809,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592\/revisions\/20809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}