All Downhill From Here

Last Sunday the inlaws, kiddos and I took off to the mountains for a hike over the snow. We had to go quite a ways into the mountains to find enough snow! We usually go to Sawmill Creek in the Kananaskis, but as we could still see the tops of wild grass there, we drove 20 minutes further in, to the Chester Lake parking lot.

As usual, we geared up the youngest first and let her traipse around while the rest of us got ready. It was a nice day, hovering around freezing and cloudy, but not windy. Little Runner can never understand why it takes us so long to get going.

We hiked out and slightly up for about an hour, careful to stay beside and not on the ski tracks. We found a fallen log to sit upon, and lunched on koubasa, french bread and cheddar. Our lunch spot had great entertainment value, as it was on a slope, and occasionally we’d see cross-country skiers zooming down. No wipeouts, but let’s just say that some skiers were not as competent or confident as others.

We made it back to the van by around 3 pm and headed back home. While driving out of the park we met up with some big horned sheep along the road. There was an adorable family of 3 – male, female and baby whom I missed with my camera, as they were on the wrong side of the vehicle. Dad slowed down for me to get a shot of this one through the window shortly after that. I could have opened the door for a better picture, but he looked a little confrontational, and close.

I’m looking forward to getting out for another snowshoe day or two later this month. Hopefully there will be more snow.