Olson Ridge

BOU AVENUE
Olson Ridge

With a rainy forecast for the mountains on 14 September 2024, Zosia Zgolak and I opted for a simple foothills hike up Olson Ridge near the eastern boundary of Alberta's Ghost Public Land Use Zone. Our inspiration for this hike came from Brandon Boulier's entry in Peakbagger.com. Olson Ridge is comprised of four tree-covered humps stretched south to north between SR 579 (Harold Creek Road) and Fallen Timber Creek. The highest point is supposedly situated on the second hump from the south and can be approached fairly easily via a convenient ATV track. The ATV track begins from a pullout on the north side of SR 579 (51.47610, -114.87340).

From the pullout, Zosia and I followed the ATV track which runs northward in a pretty straight line along the west side of Olson Ridge. There are a few undulations along the way with the most notable coming about 2.5 kilometres north of the pullout. Here, we made a brief detour to the west and dropped down the north end of the first hump to cross a boggy gap before climbing up the south end of the second hump. We then hiked another kilometre or so before abandoning the ATV track and bushwhacking up to the crest of the ridge. Upon gaining the crest, we turned north again and reached the presumed high point in short order.

With little to see from the high point, Zosia and I did not linger for long before retreating southward along the ridge crest. We took a slightly different route down the second hump but ultimately regained the same ATV track we used for our approach. At the boggy gap, we made an attempt to find what appears on OpenTopoMap to be an alternate return route in the valley west of Olson Ridge, but the intervening meadows were too swampy for us to cross. Consequently, we returned the same way we came by following the ATV track over the first hump back to our starting point. Nuff said about this rather forgettable outing!

	Zosia begins hiking at the south end of Olson Ridge.
	Much of the hike is along a straight ATV track.
	Mud holes add some challenge to the hike on this day.
	Zosia carefully walks across some partially submerged logs to get across this bog.
	After abandoning the ATV track, Sonny squeezes between trees to gain the crest of Olson Ridge. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia follows the forested crest of Olson Ridge toward the high point.
	Sonny and Zosia stand on the approximate high point of Olson Ridge (1514 metres).
	A woodpecker taps on a tree not far from the high point. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The forest near the high point is thin enough to grant some limited views. Visible at distant left is Devils Head.
	According to OpenTopoMap, there is supposedly a road or trail somewhere at the far end of this meadow that potentially could lead back to the highway. Unfortunately, the meadow is too swampy to cross on this day. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Total Distance: 9.8 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 4 hours 15 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 224 metres GPX Data