Lower Rowe Lake Hike

The weather has been pretty nice so far this October but it looks like it is about to change.  We decided to take to the mountains on Friday before the white stuff arrives.

Ron started off the day by going to the pool to swim.  I started my day by not doing that.  

The days are much shorter so the hike has to be too.  It was a perfect fall day with clear skies and good temperatures. The hike begins from the Akamina Parkway.  

Right from the parkway, the trail is a gradual incline through the burnt out forest.  Regrowth lines the path which adds new life to the walk.  

After a slow process (for me), we entered into an area which had avoided the fire of 2017.  Looking bad, the view was worth the heavy breathing.

When we reached the point of heading to the Upper Lake, we decided to be satisfied with the Lower Lake.

We had lunch there…salmon (from Kitimat) sandwich. It was a beautiful spot on a really nice day.  I did have to slip on my jacket while we sat there but as soon as we headed back down the trail, it went back in my backpack.

The views going down the mountain were pretty spectacular but unfortunately this is when my knee starts to slow me down almost as much as my lack of oxygen does going up.

Earlier in the year, we would have been going through some streams but at this point of the year, it was pretty dry. There were a couple of waterfalls along the way.

By the time we got back to the car I had about 14,000 steps.  I hobbled into the house to soak in a warm bath and then lay on the couch.  RON WENT GOLFING!  🏌️‍♂️vs 🛌

Yesterday, we worked around the house, putting the gardens to bed, cleaning up the deck and making sure the snow blower is on the ready.

I guess it might be time to get the snowshoes out! ❄️

From the Trailer to Sudbury

We started our long trip back to our unsold house.  We left the trailer around 8:30.  It was another beautiful morning at the lake but all good things must come to an end.  It was a wonderful September at the trailer. Dan and Barb were the best hosts.  

We had told everyone that we would start our trip back to Alberta when the leaves were at their peak for colour.  We did it!

Our destination was to go through Algonquin.  

As we started our drive through the park, we were thrilled to see the perfect display of fall colours.  We had already enjoyed watching the leaves change around the trailer.  We had also watched many leaves fall from the trees so we weren’t sure about our drive but we were not disappointed.  

We stopped at a trail and hiked with many others to the Lookout.  It was a beautiful view and we congratulated each other on picking the perfect timing to travel through northern Ontario.

We continued through the park , enjoying the views.  We stopped at Canoe Lake and snapped a few more pictures.

Once we were on the west side of the park, we put some miles on.  We arrived in Sudbury around 6:30 and settled in for the night.

Only about 29 hours to go….

There’s Still Mountains to Climb

We are in that little bit of unsettled stage in our retirement transition.  We have our house for sale and we try to keep it in show ready but we still have to live in it.  We don’t know exactly where we will find our forever house but we still need to live in the present. So, before we sell and move, we continue to explore our area.

We have had a hike on our “to do” list for a couple of years.  It was one that gave me a little pause.  It was long and listed as hard, difficult or challenging depending on the source. It was also something that I really wanted to do before we moved. We set the date for last Friday.

We left just after 8:00 a.m.  Ron drove the truck and I followed in the car.  Ron parked the truck near Cameron Falls in Waterton and got in with me.  We drove drown the Akimina Parkway to Cameron Lake.  We parked and got our backpacks ready, put on an extra jacket and headed to the trail head.  It was only 5

degrees Celsius.

The first four kilometres are considered the easier incline.  This still had me breathing hard and shedding extra layers of clothing.

We walked in and out of the views of Cameron Lake below us.  We have walked along the shore and canoed the lake but now we were enjoying aerial views.

Ron is always very patient with my slow hiking speed and gives me time to catch my breath before the next switchback.  Eventually, the path opened up and we were able to enjoy some easy walking.  

I knew that this was only a tease of what was to come but I enjoyed every easy step.  We arrived at the Summit Lake.  Ron finally took his jacket off and I sat to rest and enjoy the scenery.

I took a deep breath in, ready (kind of) to start the next four kilometres to the summit of Mount Carthew.  The trail continued with more elevation, some switch backs and walking on shale or rocks along the side of the mountain.  It was a bit unnerving taking a step and hearing or seeing rocks slide down the slope.  I concentrated on each step using my poles to steady me.  I chose not to look down too much.

The final incline to the top took everything I had to get there.  Each step had to be planted secure before moving forward.  It was steep and shaley.  To be fair, I think we may have taken a “short cut?”  

When we arrived at the top Ron was ready to take pictures and I needed a minute.

I’ve never felt quite like this before.  My ribs were even hurting.

Thankfully after a few minutes, my breathing adjusted and I took in the spectacular views.  This is why I go through the pain.  The feeling of being on top of a mountain is incredible.  We were so blessed to have such a perfect day.  I have heard of horror stories of the wind blowing hard on the ridge.

After a few minutes of enjoying this experience it was time to continue on our way.  It was about 13 km into the townsite.  I was thinking of our daughter-in-law as I was carefully side stepping down the steep slope.  The uncomfortable thought of sliding down a mountain is something that we have in common.  

From our perspective we could see the Carthew Lakes.

Going down hill should be the reward for climbing a mountain but unfortunately this always when my knees start to complain.  I wear knee socks and use the walking poles to help with some of the impact. We came to Upper Carthew Lake and walked around the pristine blue water.  There was a slight breeze that felt refreshing.   Lower Carthew Lake was close by and we stopped by a little waterfall for lunch.  We definitely picked a seat with a view.

As we descended to Alderson Lake, my right knee was very angry with me.  

Each step screamed pain and we were still about 7 km away from the townsite.  Ron had brought his knee support too and I put it on to help me along the rest of the way.

After we passed the lake the trail led us into more tree cover.  The day had gotten warmer and it was a nice treat to finish the final stretch in mostly shade.  We crossed a number of mountain streams along the way.

The last few kilometres were super slow even though it was mostly down hill since I had to be super careful with each step.  Finally the townsite came into view which gave me hope that I would make it.  It was still a couple of kilometres but the end was reachable.

We walked down beside the Cameron Falls and across the road to the truck.  I shed the knee braces, changed to sandals and had a drink.  Ron drove us back to Cameron Lake and we drove our separate vehicles back to Pincher Creek.

It is now two days past the hike and I’m still in pain…knees, thighs, hips and even ribs but I am still glad that we were able to do the hike. The pain will go away and the pictures and memories are ours to look back at.