BOU AVENUE
GR658880 (Stony Creek Ridge)
On 1 December 2012, Dinah Kruze and Bob Spirko invited me to join them for a short hike up GR658880, an unnamed ridge in the Highwood region of Alberta's Kananaskis Country.  Referred to by Bob as "Stony Ridge", the hike is more hinted at than described in Gillean Daffern's Kananaskis Country Trail Guide, but it generally follows the Ford Highwood Collieries Road to a pass just east of Junction Hill before climbing up a partially forested ridge.  We briefly lost the road at one point near a scenic grassy knoll, but otherwise, we encountered few difficulties throughout the trip.  The highpoint of the ridge was disappointingly covered with trees, so we only stayed long enough to snap a few photos before returning the way we came.  Although Bob may disagree, the real highlight of the day, at least for Dinah and me, was eating burgers, onion rings and french fries with pulled pork at South St. Burger Co. back in Calgary.

Be sure to check out Bob's trip report here.
It was a lot warmer here than in Calgary! Dinah gears up beside the highway. GR658880 is barely visible behind the tree just left of centre.
Getting onto the ridge will entail some necessary elevation loss. Bob surveys the ridge from a grassy knoll.
This grassy knoll was actually the scenic highlight of the day. From the grassy knoll, Mount Burke is visible at distant right.
Not according to Dinah! Dinah tramps up the road. The snowy ramp at right is probably the best route to access the ridge.
Check out the nice ski run coming off the ridge of Junction Hill! Dinah climbs up a grassy slope to access the ridge.
A good diversion if you're bored of hiking! Bob hikes past some impressive slabs of rock.
Probably not the easiest route up Junction Hill... This is the east face of Junction Hill.
Actually, it wasn't really that challenging, but the snow did make the footing slippery. Bob and Dinah make their way through the most challenging part of the ridge.
It's certainly higher than many so-called mountains elsewhere. Junction Hill actually looks like a full-fledged mountain from the north.
Are we there yet?? Dinah continues up the ridge with no end in sight.
And it cheers Dinah up too! Any sunshine is much appreciated at this time of year when the days are short.
It's odd that one side of the ridge is so barren. The highpoint of GR658880 is somewhere in the trees up ahead.
Yay!!! Dinah and Bob rejoice at reaching the 2224-metre highpoint of GR658880.
I actually felt warmer without my damp shirt on! Sonny also rejoices at reaching the highpoint...maybe a little too much!
We couldn't see much to the west because of clouds. This is looking south from the bare side of the ridge.  Junction Hill is at right.
Somewhat makes up for the lack of views to the west. Here is a glimpse of Holy Cross Mountain from the ridge.
Probably not a trip I care to repeat, but it was nice to be out in the mountains again. Total Distance:  13.6 kilometres
Round-Trip Time:  5 hours 20 minutes
Net Elevation Gain:  612 metres