Little Arethusa (500 m elev. gain)

Little Arethusa

Kona on Little Arethusa at 8:30 am in August to beat the heat. Mt. Rae at left and Mt. Arethusa at right behind.

Little Arethusa

View to north at Ptarmigan Cirque trail.

Little Arethusa

View to west of HIghwood Ridge, Grizzly Ridge and Mt. Tyrwhitt.

Little Arethusa

View to south of Storm Mountain and Highway 40.

Little Arethusa

View to SE of “Three Finches”. Kona’s “grandad” traversed these peaks on a circuitous way to Mt. Arethusa in October 1988. Glenn Naylor, Kananaskis Park warden, had left 3 registers on these peaks Aug 7, 1988 and named them for the hundreds of grey-crowned rosy finches he saw in the cirque on the way up.

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Tower SW Ridge (1,000 m elev. gain)

Tower SW Ridge

View back down to Rummel Lake from a high point on The Tower SW ridge in mid-August.

Tower SW Ridge

Smoky view to west of Mt. Shark and Spray Lakes Reservoir.

Tower SW Ridge

Summit of The Tower deceptively just an easy scramble away, except for a hidden 10 m overhang. Kona’s “grandad” tried this route on Oct 8, 1988 and had to make a 600m+ elevation loss / regain, so obviously not the recommended route unless equipped for a short rappel. Left a register with an airline bottle of Kaluha for the next visitor as it appeared rarely visited. Before month’s end Rick Collier called to say thanks!

Tower NW Ridge

Mt. Smuts and The Fist across the valley. Tent Ridge high point at right.

Tower NW Ridge

Butterfly on Moss Campion.

Tower SW Ridge

Fireweed alongside the descent scree slope, Commonwealth Ridge, Commonwealth Peak, Pig’s Tail and Mt. Birdwood behind.

Tower SW Ridge

Lots of pollinators out today.

Tower SW Ridge

Roseroot (maybe) on scree slopes.

Tower SW Ridge

Silky Scorpionweed on scree slopes.

Tower SW Ridge

Silky Scorpionweed (purple), Umbrella Plant / Wild Buckwheat (white / pink), and Alpine Forget-Me-Not (blue) on scree slopes.

Tower SW Ridge

Some type of Saxifrage (Spotted maybe) on scree slopes.

Tower SW Ridge

Common Stonecrop on scree slopes.

Tower SW Ridge

Mountain Meadow Cinquefoil (maybe) on scree slopes.

Tower SW Ridge

Alpine Forget-Me-Not and Long-stalked Starwort on scree slopes.

Tower SW Ridge

Long-stalked Starwort (maybe) on scree slopes

Tower SW Ridge

Fringed Grass of Parnassus on trail to Rummel Lake.

Tower SW Ridge

Pearly Everlasting on trail to Rummel Lake.

Tower SW Ridge

Common Yarrow on trail to Rummel Lake.

Tower SW Ridge

Nodding Campion / Apetalous Catchfly in seed on scree slopes.

Tower SW Ridge

Woolly Fleabane (maybe) on scree slopes.

Three Lakes Valley (600 m elev. gain)

Three Lakes Valley

View across the valley at Mt. Sir Douglas, Robertson and others from Three Lakes Valley between Gusty Peak and Mt. Galatea in early August.

Three Lakes Valley

Still some snow at 2,450 m elevation.

Three Lakes Valley

Western Roseroot / Ledge Stonecrop along the trail.

Three Lakes Valley

White Thistle / Hooker’s Thistle above lower lake.

Three Lakes Valley

Wild Strawberry along the trail.

Raspberry Ridge (645 m elev. gain)

Raspberry Ridge

Raspberry Ridge Fire Lookout August 1st, 9:45 am, early start to avoid the hottest part of a hot day.

Raspberry Ridge

View to NE, the Calgary skyline is apparently visible from here on a clear day.

Raspberry Ridge

Mount Head and Holy Cross Mountain to the north.

Raspberry Ridge

Fording River Pass to the NW with Baril Peak and Mount Bolton at right.

Raspberry Ridge

White Camas / Mountain Death Camas on ridge.

Raspberry Ridge

Rough-leaved Alumroot on ridge.

Raspberry Ridge

White / Richardson’s Geranium in a boggy area along the trail.

Raspberry Ridge

False Dandelion along the trail.

Raspberry Ridge

Brown-eyed Susan / Wild Gaillardia along the trail.

Raspberry Ridge

Purple Fleabane along the trail.

Raspberry Ridge

Rocky Mountain Goldenrod along the trail.

Raspberry Ridge

Woolly Packera along the ridge.

Raspberry Ridge

Common (or other type of) Stonecrop near the ridge top.

Raspberry Ridge

Type of Saxifrage along the ridge.

Raspberry Ridge

Umbrella Plant / Wild Buckwheat near the ridge.

Raspberry Ridge

Cow Parsnip along the trail.