Hard Work and Dedication : Bragg Creek to Moose Creek

 

We woke up at 6:30 am to the sounds of traffic and construction work across the river.  However, when we opened the tent we were greeted by a beautiful pink and golden sunrise above the turquoise waters of the Elbow River.  The tall grass around the tent was covered in dew, which hung like jewels in the early morning sun.  Unfortunately, the tent was also soaked with dew, which seemed decidedly less romantic.

 

 

We packed up and walked back into town for breakfast, fortuitously finding my missing hiking pole tip along the way. We also passed a mule deer grazing by the side of the road who was completely unphased by our presence, only grudgingly moving a few feet off the shoulder of the road towards the river as we passed.

 

We sat outside on the patio of the Bragg Creek Café and Baking Co. enjoying some of the best coffee we've tasted outside of Europe, and ravenously consuming absolutely delicious Egger breakfast sandwiches.  Our meal was so good that Sean went back inside for seconds, returning with strawberry galettes and chocolate oatmeal squares for snacks on the trail later on.  Both turned out to be absolutely delicious!

As we sat on the patio two gentlemen from Whitehorse asked about our adventure, and chatted about the north a little.  It turned out one of them had carried the bottle of water through Whitehorse on the Trans Canada Trail coast-to-coast-to-coast relay.  How cool is that?  They both wished us well on our hike before heading off for their own 30 km walk.

As we enjoyed our second breakfast a man rode up on his motorcycle which had a side car for his small dog.  He talked to everyone on the patio about his motorbike and much else, and it turned out he had ridden all over Canada and the USA on his bike with his dog.  He was very enthusiastic about our adventure, and had a brother currently walking the Camino Frances in Spain.  He suggested that if we ever needed help we should walk into a biker bar because motorcycle riders would respect our decision to do our own thing, and would lend a hand.  If we have learned one thing on this trail, it is to expect the unexpected and to accept the advice of trail angels when we receive it.

 

 

Eventually we left the interesting company and headed out of town on a beautiful paved cycling trail. We climbed gently, walking beside a road lined with wood cabins, fancy chalets, and individually designed and built homes.  There were quite a few people out jogging, walking their dogs, and getting some exercise on the gorgeous, sunny morning. 

 

We followed the newly paved cycling trail over a small creek, among forested hills, and past fields of hay.  A steady stream of cars and trucks with bicycles strapped to their roofs and backs passed us, heading towards Bragg Creek Provincial Park.

 

The provincial park we were heading towards is in the foothills of Alberta's Rocky Mountains, at the eastern edge of Kananaskis County.  The Bragg Creek Trails Association administers  and maintains over 166 km of trails in this area, some of which form a network within the Bragg Creek Provincial Park that can be used for hiking, cycling, and horseback riding in summer and cross-country skiing in winter.

As we approached Bragg Creek Provincial Park we could see the Rocky Mountains rising up ahead of us, their forested bases giving way to bald, rocky tops.  In the clear morning sunshine the scenery was stunning. 

 

As we followed the road towards Bragg Creek Provincial Park a pickup truck stopped and an Indigenous man got out.  He selected a beautiful walking stick from the back of his truck and came over to us, offering it to Sean. It was tall, straight, light weight, and beautifully peeled.  What a wonderful gift!  We are constantly humbled by the immediate and huge generosity of the First Nations Peoples we've met along the way. While Sean does not typically walk with a hiking pole he accepted the gift with grace knowing that there was a reason for receiving it.

 

 

When we reached the entrance to the park we arrived in a parking lot that looked like it would easily have fit over 200 cars. It was about a third full, indicating this I'd a very popular spot for outdoor recreation.  We took a break at a bench near the equestrian rendezvous point and took the opportunity to dry out the tent and some of our other gear in the hot morning sunshine, being careful to avoid the plentiful road apples. 

 

 

Many trails seemed to lead away from the parking lot, but we managed to find the correct one. Sadly, the trail centre was closed, but there were plenty of maps located around the parking lot and at the trail junctions throughout the park.  As we set off we also passed a sign indicating that part of the trail was closed because there was a bear on a carcass.  It didn't specify what kind of carcass, leaving us to hope it wasn't that of an unfortunate hiker or cyclist!

 

 

We followed the wide, crushed stone dust trail over a small hill and past a small pond.  As we stopped to admire the reflections in its still water a German cyclist stopped and asked if we walking the Trans Canada Trail.  She seemed very excited by our journey, and the short chat gave us renewed energy. 

 

As we continued on, crossing a bridge over a small creek, we were joined by a cow and her calf.  Very politely, they walked on their own footpath beside the trail, keeping pace with us until we reached a small paddock.  With a mighty moo they stopped and let us continue on ahead.  What lovely trail companions! 

 

 

As we made our way through the park we enjoyed stunning scenery.  The trail undulated among hills covered in trembling aspens and confers, passed small ponds, and rose above river valleys and marshes.  The backdrop was one of spectacular foothills and small mountains. 

 

 

Although the trails were well marked, with signs and maps located at all the junctions, it was a somewhat confusing network and we managed to miss a turn.  We walked nearly 1 km, mostly going uphill, before realizing our mistake.  We decided to backtrack to the point where we went wrong rather than navigating a different route through the network.  Although there was a silver lining to this mistake, it proved costly later on. 

 

One of the benefits to our detour was the birding highlights. These included spotting a group of Buffleheads paddling in a small pond down below us, and watching a female Ruffed Grouse creep across the path a few feet in front of us.  At first she stayed in stealth mode, moving very slowly and trying to remain camouflaged, and then she decided to run full steam into the bushes.  Bragg Creek offers a variety of habitats, making it a wonderful place to go birding, and over 120 species have been reported within the park on eBird.

 

 

 

We climbed up to a picnic area with a lovely view of a lush green valley with mountains behind it. As we took a break and enjoyed some of our treats from the bakery this morning we noticed a large black cloud rolling in. Soon we could hear the ominous rumblings of thunder in the distance and a restless wind sprung up.

 

 

Feeling somewhat uneasy we set off again, making our way along a forested trail through a stand of tall, tangy smelling pines.  A few minutes later we ran into a crew from the Bragg Creek Trails Association, who were out doing maintenance on the trail.   They stopped us for a chat, and ended up taking our photo to post on their website.  In the course of chatting about the trail one of the crew members mentioned that the forestry demonstration area we were headed towards might be 19 km away instead of 10 km, as we thought.  He didn't seem too sure of the distance, but we later discovered to our dismay that he was right. 

 

 

In an interesting bit of trivia, the crew members also mentioned that earlier in the day we had passed a house that was painted blue, apparently because it belonged to a former Conservative Prime Minister of Canada.  It seems the Right Honourable Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen Harper live in this area.  Laureen is a huge supporter of trails, and served on the Trans Canada Trail Foundation beginning in 2017.  It is partially because of her hard work, dedication and influence that the TCT and trails in the Bragg Creek area are so well developed, and she was instrumental in getting work done on the TCT across the country for Canada's 150th anniversary.  We thanked the Bragg Creek Trail crew for all their hard work, and sent up a silent thank you to Laureen Harper for the wonderful trail we found ourselves enjoying. As we have seen from coast to coast some of the best work on the TCT is the result of  dedication and a ton of hard work on the part of local volunteers and communities.

 

Luckily the storm cloud passed, and we remained dry as we followed the forested trails through the park.  For much of the afternoon we undulated up and down, tracing the edges of a valley on the Moose Connector and then the Tom Snow Trail.  We passed through stands of tall lodgepole pine, pockets of moss draped spruce, and areas of open fields and marshes which gave way to gorgeous mountain views. 

 

 
When we reached the edge of the park the well defined and maintained trail suddenly became more overgrown.  We were a little worried that it might disappear, but to our relief it reappeared again soon afterwards, and throughout its length it was marked with hand-written red signs for the Tom Snow Trail and the TCT.  

 

In the next section we climbed up and then wove along the side of a deep river valley.  The forested slope dropped steeply down to our left and it rose up high above us on the other side.  Occasionally we could hear the river far below us, or catch glimpses of its shallow, rocky bed through the trees.  It felt like we were in a very remote and wild landscape, far from civilization. 

 

 

As the afternoon progressed the skies again clouded over, and soon bands of very dark storm clouds were racing across the sky, pushed by a strong wind.  When it began to smell like rain and a few sprinkles began to fall we decided to take a break and step back into the dense spruce trees beside the trail to take some shelter.  As a precaution we strung up the tarp, expecting to get drenched at any moment.  Of course, because we prepared for the worst, nothing much happened. 

 

 

After a short break we continued on, weaving our way along the exposed feeling valley wall.  The flexible spruce trees around us whipped and bent in the strong wind, making the whole landscape feel active and alive.  About half an hour later the skies opened up and it poured, the huge drops being driven sideways by the wind.  We once again took shelter under the tarp, hiding under the trees for nearly an hour until the worst of the rain had passed. As we huddled under the tarp we were delighted to watch an American Three-toed Woodpecker making its way up a nearby tree.  A new species for our #hike4birds! 

 

 

Our original goal for tonight was Sibbald Lake Provincial Park, but as we discovered, it was about 5 km further than the TCT app suggested and more than 10 km farther away than we estimated.  This may seem like a rooky mistake, but the ability to measure trail distance on the mobile version of the Trans Canada Trail app doesn't work well or accurately, and we had no cell service to use any of our other apps.  To further complicate things, the trail signs we passed throughout the day either didn't include the section of trail outside the park, or referenced distances to places we didn't recognize.  In addition to having a greater distance to cover than we thought, we had taken a lot of breaks throughout the day, relishing the luxury of being able to stop whenever we needed to, and we spent about an hour sheltering from storms.  As a result, it was pretty clear by around 6:00 pm that we weren't going to make our distance goal for today.  

 

 

We adjusted our objective accordingly, deciding instead to stop somewhere near the Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest.  This forest reserve is named after a nearby buffalo jump, and was opened in 1988 to provide an opportunity for people to explore both young and mature forest areas, and to learn about the ecological, social, and economic benefits of forests.  There are a number of trail heads throughout the area, and several different trails of varying lengths and difficulties. 

 

 

When we arrived at the edge of the Demonstration Forest we found a trail map.  Perhaps we were just tired, but there was no 'You Are Here' label, and the hand-painted signs we could see at the trail junction we were standing on didn't seem to appear anywhere on the map.  Somewhat frustrated, we decided to pick a more a likely direction to see if we could find a trailhead, or a route to the campground symbol on the map. 

 

 

We wandered around a bit, following footpaths through open fields with cattle, open grassy meadows, stands of dense mature spruce, and patches of young deciduous trees along the river.  

 

Eventually we came to a wide open rocky beach on the side of the river, and decided to stop and filter some drinking water for the night and tomorrow morning.  There was a footbridge over the fast flowing clear mountain stream not too far away, and when Sean went to explore he discovered it led to the Pine Woods Loop Trailhead and parking lot. 

 

The trailhead was at the top of a bluff, and it featured a large parking lot, a washroom, a water pump, interpretive signs, and 4-5 gorgeous sites with picnic tables, fire pits, and panoramic views out over the surrounding mountains.  What better place to camp, right?  It turned out these fantastic places were for day use only, and a man claiming to be a park ranger – who was enjoying a campfire and drinking beer -  stated in no uncertain terms that we were to move on, promising to check that we had done so when the park officially closed at 11 pm.

 

 

Somewhat disappointed, and with only about one hour of daylight left, we followed the earth footpath back to the creek and the Trans Canada Trail.  Google suggested we were just outside the boundary of the Demonstration Forest, so we found a flat spot under the towering conifers on the side of the creek to pitch our tent. By the time everything was set up and we'd made dinner it was dark. 

 

We are going to sleep in a beautiful spot in the mountains, beside a babbling stream, under a blanket of brilliantly bright stars.  Everything is quiet, except for the voice of the river and the squeeking of a red squirrel somewhere nearby. Who could ask for more?

 

See you on the trail!

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