Wolf Creek Hill And Channel Ridge

BOU AVENUE
Wolf Creek Hill And Channel Ridge

Anticipating a lousy weather forecast on 24 April 2021, Zosia Zgolak and I hiked up Wolf Creek Hill (unofficial name) and Channel Ridge (official name) near the Kananaskis Country boundary west of Turner Valley, Alberta. Both Matthew Clay and Vern Dewit have excellent route descriptions, and we would more or less follow in their footsteps.

Starting from the parking lot at the end of the access road near Sandy McNabb Campground, Zosia and I walked past a locked gate and partway down the paved road leading to the day use area before dropping to the signed fording spot for Sheep River. Zosia brought sandals for the river crossing while I brought hip waders, but we did not need them because there was still a solid snow/ice bridge over Sheep River. As such, we left our fording gear hanging in a tree on the far side of the river and continued hiking Wolf Creek trail following a large group of seniors who were heading for Mount Dyson. On this day, there was an abundance of fresh snow everywhere, and the landscape looked like it was mid-winter rather than late April. Coupled with frosty temperatures, the fresh snow coverage made the usually mucky Wolf Creek trail a lot more pleasant to hike. About two kilometres from the river, we emerged from the forest and entered an open meadow near a marshy area. We left the trail here and headed east up gentle grassy slopes to reach the top of Wolf Creek Hill.

	Zosia hikes down the paved road to access Sheep River. In the background is Mount McNab.
	Despite some gaping holes, the ice on Sheep River is still solid enough for Sonny to walk across. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia hikes through a winter-like wonderland along Wolf Creek Trail.
	After breaking out of the forest, Zosia leaves the trail to head up Wolf Creek Hill at left.
	Sonny and Zosia stand on the high point of Wolf Creek Hill (1534 metres).

Sounds like a good plan!

To reach Channel Ridge behind her, Zosia will drop down to cross Wolf Creek and then climb up the cut block at centre before gaining the ridge crest at left.

Zosia and I paused on top of Wolf Creek Hill only long enough for a requisite photo before descending its south side. Near the bottom, we intersected a trail and followed it briefly westward before abandoning it to drop down an embankment. We soon reached frozen Wolf Creek, and although we were able to walk across, the ice here felt a bit unreliable. Climbing through the trees on the far side, we then entered a large cut block and worked our way uphill to gain a broad ridge connected to the north end of Channel Ridge. Besides the tedium of walking through debris in the cut block, we also encountered a few patches of unsupportive deep snow here, but fortunately, the post-holing was short-lived. Once we gained the north end, we simply followed the crest of Channel Ridge southward for a little over three kilometres to tag the forested high point. There are some minor undulations along the ridge, but generally, the hiking is pretty straightforward here. Some sections of the ridge have apparently been logged recently, and although this opens up more far-reaching views, the remaining slash is a bit ugly to walk through. When we reached the cairn marking the high point, we hiked past it for a couple hundred metres before backtracking to stop for a photo and a snack break.

For our return trip, Zosia and I retraced our steps along Channel Ridge and back down to Wolf Creek without any problems. Although we could have detoured around the south end of Wolf Creek Hill using the trail we stumbled on earlier, we elected to climb over the hill's southwest ridge before regaining Wolf Creek trail on the other side. The subsequent hike back to Sheep River was uneventful, and after collecting our fording gear, we easily crossed the snow/ice bridge before a final annoying uphill walk to the parking lot.

	Sonny cautiously crosses frozen Wolf Creek. The ice here is a bit unreliable. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia heads up a vast cut block.
	Here is a look back at Wolf Creek Hill from the cut block.
	Zosia aims for the north end of Channel Ridge which is directly ahead.
	Some black shale (possibly coal deposits) can be seen on a couple of steep embankments to the north.
	Zosia gains the north end of Channel Ridge. Visible at left is Wolf Creek Hill.
	Despite a lot of trees on Channel Ridge, the hiking here is generally easy.
	Large sections of the ridge crest appear to have been recently logged.
	Something snapped this tree like a toothpick. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia finds a milk crate oddly fixed to a tree trunk.
	Zosia and Sonny stand beside a snow-covered cairn on the presumed high point of Channel Ridge (1714 metres).

Yet another forested summit...sigh.

A clearing near the north end of Channel Ridge grants this unobstructed view of Mount Dyson.

This would be a nice place to visit in the fall!

Zosia descends through a forest of aspen trees.

We're waiting to do that one with Serge Massad!

After being obscured by low clouds for much of the day, the top of Blue Ridge finally appears.

	Zosia crosses Sheep River for a second time.
	Total Distance: 16.9 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 7 hours 6 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 745 metres GPX Data