General Discussion

I just thought I would put this out here for other new hikers. I recently hiked Moose Mountain for the first time and had a little trouble locating the trail head.
It is located directly across from the parallel parking area or just above the angle parking area in the direction that you would park your cars.
I ventured down a very wide road that brought our group to what looked like a power plant of some type...you are walking in the wrong direction if you see this.
Hope this helps all the first timers out there.

Does anyone know how to get to the trailhead for Rainy Ridge Lake near the Castle ski area? I cannot find any info and dont' think it is in any of the Alberta hiking guides.

Thank you!

Anyone around the area know what the Ha Ling scramble conditions are right now?

Thanks in advance.

Hi anyone,

My fiance and I moved to Edmonton a year ago and are now hoping to have a wedding back in southern Alberta. We are having the reception in Bragg Creek and wanted to have the ceremony somewhere within a half hours drive. Does anyone know of a place where we could bring a hundred chairs and still have close proximity to a road for parking (and a shorter walk for the older relatives)?

Obviously we (she) is looking for someplace pretty for pictures but I am sure anywhere in the Elbow Valley area will satisfy that requirement. I'm concerned with finding a place close to a road where setting up 100 chairs isn't going to leave a permanent mark on the ecosystem.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Since we live in Edmonton now, we can't quickly come down and scout out potential areas.

Thank you,

Bryce

Interesting story from the Globe. I guess the chances of running into a grizzly may not be as high as I thought. According to the article a new report estimates the number of grizzly bears living west and south of Calgary and south of Banff National Park, inside an approximately 7,600-square-kilometre stretch of land, at fewer than 100. The conclusion of researchers is that the southwestern population of grizzlies could potentially be gone in as soon as 50 to 100 years.

Tech-Recipes has come up with a quick way to find latitude and longitude values for any location using Google Maps and some of the comments attached to the post at lifehacker have improved on this system.

According to Google Earth Blog, the huge imagery update which came out for Google Earth on June 2nd is now available in Google Maps. There are Digital Globe satellite photos for random places all over the world, most of England is now at high resolution (50 cm/pixel), and many other places as well. In Canada the locations include Whistler, BC; Waterloo & Toronto, Ontario; Nanaimo, BC; and Fort Saskatchewan, AB.

Read Most Popular Ways to Die in the Wilderness. Pay attention to flash floods which sure applies at this time of year with all of the rain.

Mike Reid, a long-time Banff resident, watched the tourists approach to within 10 metres of the elk as it munched on vegetation on the north side of the river by Buffalo Street around 4 p.m.

He said the elk was spooked, jumped into the fast-flowing river and swam across the rapid current to the other side. However, the elk lost footing on the slippery bank as it tried to get out, fell back into the river and was swept over the treacherous falls.

Reid said he eventually met up with the tourists responsible for frightening the elk, letting them know how their actions had led to this completely unnecessary tragedy.

"They got lots of pictures. Now they can go home and say they killed an elk," said Reid.

Story at Rocky Mountain Outlook.

Check out the article from thefinalspring.com about Fast Packing. Interesting article. I am going to try Fast Packing this summer. If you have not heard of it, thefinalsprint.com describes it as follows:

Fastpacking is about taking as little gear as possible so you can travel greater distances in the wilderness unhampered. And what gear you do take with you should be necessary camping gear: (sleeping bag and tarp), food, cooking utensils, water, and everything should be durable and light. The total weight of your pack should be around twenty pounds or what you can comfortably run with for a long period of time.