BOU AVENUE
Swany's Ridge And Quirk Ridge (Myosotis Peak)
Not in the mood for a long drive to the mountains on 5 October 2024, Zosia Zgolak and I opted to do a bike and hike to a couple of unofficially-named front range bumps--Swany's Ridge and Quirk Ridge (Myosotis Peak in some resources)--in Alberta's McLean Creek Off-Highway Vehicle Public Land Use Zone.  In May 2020, Matthew Clay and Matthew Hobbs did a bike and hike to tag nearby Iyarhe Ipan via Swany's Ridge.  Vern Dewit subsequently followed suit and included Quirk Ridge on his outing, and then Bob Spirko did a similar trip to Dewit's but without Iyarhe Ipan since he had already ascended it in 2006.  Having also ascended Iyarhe Ipan in 2016, Zosia and I would follow Spirko's route, or at least we would try.  It is worth noting that, in my haste to plan our trip, I admittedly did not scrutinize any of the others' trip reports carefully.  I merely downloaded Spirko's GPS track and presumed that we would have no trouble with route-finding given Spirko's sterling reputation for providing reliable route information.

Starting from McLean Creek ATV Staging Area (50.88018, -114.68782; vault toilet available), Zosia and I cycled the main access road heading westward.  After an initial straight section, this gravel road makes a brief bend and then veers southward to climb up a low ridge before dropping slightly to cross a bridge over Silvester Creek.  A brief climb up the other side of the creek brought us to a 4-way intersection where we turned right.  About 380 metres north of the 4-way intersection, the road makes a brief jog to the west, and at this point, we turned onto a faint double-track which soon petered out near the edge of a vast cut block.

Ditching our bicycles, Zosia and I continued on foot into the cut block toward a conspicuous giant cairn.  Unclear about the purpose of the cairn, we walked past it toward a rising slope ahead of us, but almost immediately, I noticed that the footing in the slash was quite awful.  Checking Spirko's GPS track, it appeared that he went right through the slash and straight up the slope, and I could not understand why he chose such an arduous route.  As far as I could recall, this was also the same route taken by Clay & Hobbs and Dewit which only deepened the mystery.  Fortunately, I noticed on my phone's GPS map that there was a marked trail a mere 150 metres or so north of our location, and we quickly headed that way which involved some light bushwhacking and an easy hop across a shallow creek.  Much to our relief, we found a very distinct trail there, and I would later learn that this is a designated dirt bike track called "Swany's Ridge SE Trail".  Heading westward, we easily ascended this trail all the way to a T-junction with another dirt bike track known as "Swany's Ridge Trail".  Turning left, we followed this second trail along the crest of Swany's Ridge all the way to the high point without any issues.
Glad we're not walking this! Zosia cycles past a gate at McLean Creek ATV Staging Area.
Moo! Zosia stops to greet a cow on the side of the road.
We ditched our bicycles sooner than expected... Zosia rides the last stretch of road before she has to abandon her bicycle.
At the time, I didn't know about the road and couldn't understand why Bob Spirko chose to ascend the tedious slash!

Seeming to sit randomly in the middle of a cut block, this giant cairn actually marks the start of what used to be a logging road going straight up the slope ahead.  The road has since been completely reclaimed.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
We could've taken our mountain bikes up here...doh! Eschewing confusing GPS tracks, Zosia takes to an obvious track labeled on OpenTopoMap as "Swany's Ridge SE Trail".
Just as good as seeing golden larches, no? Quirk Ridge is visible at upper left as Zosia ascends past some colourful fall foliage.
Not the summit but a great viewpoint nonetheless! Zosia breaks out of the forest on the crest of Swany's Ridge.
Free whiskey here! Zosia and Sonny stand on the high point of Swany's Ridge (1920 metres).  Visible behind them are Prairie Mountain and Moose Mountain.
From the high point of Swany's Ridge, Zosia and I headed southward along the continuation of the dirt bike track aiming for Quirk Ridge which is about three kilometres away.  We first had to climb over an intervening bump known unofficially as "Quirk Ridge North" where we encountered a trio of dirt bikers.  They appeared to be debating where to go next while we continued our southward plod.  The dirt bikers eventually roared past us as we climbed out of a dip in the ridge, and we would not see them again.  The remaining climb to the top of Quirk Ridge felt a little long-winded but was otherwise straightforward.  In a clearing at the top, we met a father and son who had driven up in a single quad ATV from the south.  Out of curiosity, we crossed to the south end of the clearing and were surprised to find a large rock outcrop hidden in the trees.  Though views are limited, the rock outcrop is the actual high point of Quirk Ridge as already documented by Cornelius Rott.  We dutifully tagged the high point before retreating to the clearing for a short break.
Maybe the best view of the day. The top of an intervening bump between Swany's Ridge and Quirk Ridge--known as "Quirk Ridge North"--grants a superlative view of Elbow River and many familiar peaks and ridges in the vicinity.
Great for dirt bikers; not so great for hikers! From the top of Quirk Ridge North, Zosia eyes the undulating connecting ridge to Quirk Ridge.
This was a rather steep drop! Zosia follows a dirt bike trail en route to Quirk Ridge.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
Vrooom!!! Zosia watches as a dirt biker zooms past her along the ridge.
Glad we don't have to go tag Iyarhe Ipan on this same trip! From partway up Quirk Ridge, this is looking toward Quirk Ridge North (centre with yellow vegetation) and Swany's Ridge (forested bump right of centre).  The sharp bump at left is Iyarhe Ipan.
Especially when there are no dirt bikes on it! The dirt bike trail is easy to follow to the top of Quirk Ridge.
Easy to miss if you don't wander past the clearing at the top of Quirk Ridge! The true high point of Quirk Ridge is atop this hidden rock outcrop.
It's a secret high point! Zosia stands on the true high point of Quirk Ridge (1994 metres).

Not bad for a low and generally scrubby ridge!

Here is a panoramic view to the west from a clearing just north of Quirk Ridge's true high point.

 

For our return trip, Zosia and I retraced our steps along the dirt bike track as far as the aforementioned dip in the ridge.  At this point, we resumed following Spirko's GPS track and abandoned the dirt bike track to drop down the east side of the ridge.  Bushwhacking was light here, and we even found convenient game trails to follow.  We eventually emerged from the forest and entered a vast cut block--the very same one that we avoided at the beginning of our hike.  Although hiking through the slash was not technically difficult, the poor footing made travel tedious and unpleasant.  Spirko's zigzagging GPS track through the cut block suggested that he had followed some sort of meandering trail or road, but as we covered what was presumably his route, we found not even a hint of a beaten path.  Ultimately, we gave up trying to follow Spirko's GPS track and simply made a beeline down the slope.  After much stumbling and swearing, we arrived at the giant cairn near the start of our hike and were relieved to put the miserable cut block behind us.  We subsequently retrieved our bicycles and enjoyed a pleasantly fast ride back to McLean Creek ATV Staging Area.

Back home, I re-visited everyone's trip reports and was shocked to discover that they had all ridden their bicycles much farther than us on an obvious logging road that nearly reached the crest of the ridge.  This logging road has now been completely reclaimed and no longer exists even though it still shows up on current Google Maps satellite imagery.  Regardless of the road's disappearance, there are likely other feasible ways of descending from Quirk Ridge without having to backtrack over Swany's Ridge, but I leave that problem to the next adventurous soul who might follow our tracks.
In retrospect, it might be easier to backtrack all the way to Swany's Ridge SE Trail. Zosia descends to a dip between Quirk Ridge and Quirk Ridge North.  This dip will be her exit off the ridge to the east.
This part turned out to be fairly easy, but... Zosia descends a game trail to the east of Quirk Ridge North.
Ugh, this part sucked! Emerging from the forest, Zosia faces a long and tedious stumble through a vast cut block because the road that was previously here has been reclaimed.
Neigh! Some wild horses are startled to see interlopers in their cut block.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
I'm still astonished that there is virtually no trace left of the road that was used by Matt Clay, Matt Hobbs, Vern Dewit, and Bob Spirko in 2020! Zosia makes it back to the giant cairn near where she had ditched her bicycle.
I always love the ride out on bike' n' hikes! Zosia enjoys a fast and easy ride back to McLean Creek ATV Staging Area.
A surprisingly enjoyable front-range outing. Total Distance:  24.3 kilometres
Round-Trip Time:  7 hours 39 minutes
Cumulative Elevation Gain:  701 metres

GPX Data