Grave Flats Lookout And Redcap Mountain

BOU AVENUE
Grave Flats Lookout And Redcap Mountain

On 23 May 2021, Ali Shariat, Zosia Zgolak and I traversed the long ridge between Grave Flats Lookout and Redcap Mountain located in Alberta's Coal Branch Public Land Use Zone. Matthew Clay visited the lookout in 2016, but due to high winds, he decided not to attempt the traverse. He would return and ascend Redcap Mountain in 2019 via a shorter but bushier approach from the Mile 12 Interim Staging Area. Our original plan was to do the traverse one-way with a car shuttle (Ali came in a separate car) in order to save ourselves some extra walking, but as it turned out, we would end up doing it as an out-and-back hike from the lookout.

From the town of Nordegg, head west along Highway 11 for 2.3 kilometres to a 4-way junction with the Forestry Trunk Road (SR734). Turn north onto SR734 and drive 62 kilometres to the junction with Cardinal River Road. Turn left (ignore the warning sign about the road being washed out) and drive 30 kilometres to a Y-junction passing Smallboy Camp en route (more about this below). Keep left and drive 5.5 kilometres to reach the junction with the Grave Flats Lookout access road. It is possible to drive up the access road (high-clearance vehicle recommended) for about 5.7 kilometres to a locked gate just below the lookout site. Otherwise, stay on Cardinal River Road to reach Mile 12 Interim Staging Area in another 6.9 kilometres. The outhouse at the staging area is in poor shape but functional while the one at the lookout site is in excellent condition.

On the long drive into the area the evening before our hike, Ali, Zosia and I encountered a large makeshift sign erected across Cardinal River Road at the junction with SR734. Unbeknownst to us, there is a small Mountain Cree community known as Smallboy Camp situated along Cardinal River Road, and the sign was a warning for outsiders to keep out of the area due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. Undeterred by the sign, we kept driving along the road until we came to a manned road block on a bridge. The person manning the road block asked about our intentions, and when I told him we were simply passing through without stopping, he allowed us past the barricade after taking our names and license plate numbers. Heeding the homemade speed limit signs upon our arrival at Smallboy Camp, we drove slowly past a modern-looking school complex and numerous houses in various states of disrepair. Most striking was the amount of refuse strewn on the ground everywhere, and the whole place felt like a ghetto. Clay mentioned in one of his trip reports that the road was plowed as far as Smallboy Camp during winter, but I am still in disbelief that this community could even exist in such a remote location. In any case, we passed through the community uneventfully and eventually camped for the night at Mile 12 Interim Staging Area.

Well, Zosia IS a school teacher, so I guess we're okay to proceed!

At the east end of Cardinal River Road is this makeshift sign dissuading people from entering the area around Smallboy Camp due to pandemic concerns.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

The outhouse here is functional but in very poor shape.

Part of the connecting ridge between Redcap Mountain and Grave Flats Lookout is visible behind Mile 12 Interim Staging Area. This was Matthew Clay's starting point for ascending Redcap Mountain.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

The next morning, Ali, Zosia and I drove partway up the Grave Flats Lookout access road with intentions of setting up a car shuttle before returning to the staging area to start our hike, but at the last second, we decided to simply do the trip as an out-and-back hike. Lingering snow on the road prevented us from driving all the way to the locked gate near the lookout site, and we simply parked our cars on the side of the road at the point where we could not drive any further and started hiking from there. Knowing that the access road makes a long switchback near the top, we chose to leave it early and ascend more directly to the lookout site. This seemed like a good idea initially until we ran into some snow patches which required some unwelcome post-holing. Fortunately, we did not have far to go before breaking out of the forest and strolling up easy slopes to the lookout building which was unmanned on this day.

	Zosia and Ali hike up the snow-choked road leading to Grave Flats Lookout.
	Leaving the road to take a more direct route to the lookout site, Zosia and Ali encounter some lingering patches of deep snow.
	Ali and Zosia arrive at Grave Flats Lookout (2074 metres) which is unmanned on this day.
	Sonny, Zosia and Ali appear pumped for the long ridge walk to Redcap Mountain (far left).

From Grave Flats Lookout, Ali, Zosia and I headed northwest to drop into a forested dip before the connecting ridge to Redcap Mountain. There was still a lot of snow in the dip, and although more post-holing was unavoidable, there were enough dry patches of ground in the trees to keep us from getting too bogged down. Once we cleared the dip and gained the open crest of the connecting ridge, we settled into a long but technically easy walk all the way to the summit of Redcap Mountain. Most of the ridge crest was dry, and while the numerous elevation losses and gains along the ridge were psychologically wearisome, they never felt overly strenuous. Also, the weather on this day was perfect for walking along the open ridge. We had relatively light winds, and although clouds rolled in after we left the lookout site, we still had enough sunny periods to warm and cheer us up.

At the summit of Redcap Mountain, Ali, Zosia and I took a break for about an hour before faithfully retracing our steps over every bump along the ridge. On the way back, we surprisingly ran into two separate parties that were still heading for the summit. One couple had come up via Clay's route from the staging area while another couple with two dogs had traversed the ridge from the same starting point as us. When we eventually returned to the forested dip, we re-crossed it without too much grief and soon regained the lookout access road. We were not home free just yet though. The upper parts of the road that we had skipped at the start of the trip were mostly snowbound, and we still had to tiptoe around some deep snow before reaching drier ground and ultimately our parked cars. We subsequently drove back down to Cardinal River Road and through Smallboy Camp to the Forestry Trunk Road without any problems. Zosia and I parted ways with Ali here as he headed back to Calgary while we stopped elsewhere to camp for the night.

	Zosia heads toward a forested dip separating Grave Flats Lookout from the connecting ridge to Redcap Mountain.
	After some light bushwhacking and post-holing across the forested dip, Zosia climbs over a final snow patch before gaining the crest of the connecting ridge to Redcap Mountain.
	Ali and Zosia hike along the ridge crest. The summit of Redcap Mountain is not visible here.

One might get seasick with all the ups and downs!

The ridge undulates a fair bit resulting in significant elevation gains and losses.

	Despite a lot of snow still clinging to the ridge, travel along the crest is generally easy on this day.
	The summit of Redcap Mountain is clearly visible from this point along the ridge.

Looks surprisingly impressive for a front range peak!

Here is a closer look at the final rise to the summit of Redcap Mountain.

	Zosia and Ali ascend the remainder of the ridge before the summit.
	The rocks at the summit do not present any technical difficulties.
	Ali, Zosia and Sonny reach the summit of Redcap Mountain (2391 metres).

And now we get to walk all the way back!

This is looking southeast from the summit at the ridge used for the approach.

Lots of unfamiliar peaks which are worth exploring in the future...

Here is the view to the southwest from the summit.

Maybe we can come back and ski it in winter...

The unnamed ridge (right) to the northwest is possibly just as high if not higher than Redcap Mountain.

	Zosia commences the long hike back along the ridge.
	This is one of the bigger uphill sections to climb on the way back.
	This survey marker (2210 metres) is located on the ridge about halfway between Redcap Mountain and Grave Flats Lookout.
	Zosia waits as Ali checks his phone for their position while backtracking across the forested dip.
	Ali and Zosia have to deal with more snow while descending the lookout access road.
	This garbage dump near the Smallboy Camp attracts a lot of crows and even the odd bear (far left). Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Total Distance: 20.4 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 10 hours 4 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 1005 metres GPX Data