On 23 July 2022, Zosia Zgolak and I invited
Ania Wojcik and her husband, Karol, to join us for a hike up
unofficially-named Grassi Knob located in Bow Valley Wildland Provincial
Park near Canmore, Alberta. Also accompanying us for the hike were
local residents, Witek Strzelecki and his friend Stan. A steep but
straightforward ascent route up the north ridge of Grassi Knob is
described in Gillean Daffern's Kananaskis Country Trail Guide, but
since the publication of her last edition, a good trail has also
developed along the southeast ridge which allows for an easy traverse and
loop. A plethora of online trip reports attest to the popularity of
Grassi Knob, and it has become even more busy this year with the
temporary closures of other local favourite "grinds" such as Ha Ling Peak
and Mount Lady MacDonald. Probably the most popular starting point
for this hike is at the east end of Wilson Way in the community of Peaks
of Grassi, but we would begin our trip from Witek's home near Three
Sisters Boulevard.
Ania, Karol, Zosia and I rendezvoused with Witek and Stan at Witek's
place, and from there, we walked westward through the unfinished Three
Sisters Golf Course which has been part of a controversial land
development proposal that is still
unsettled. The land developer recently erected lots of "No
Trespassing" signage in the area in response to a recent
rejection of their development proposal by the Canmore town council,
but this appears to be more of a public affairs statement than an
enforceable policy given the multitude of people that continue to access
Three Sisters Creek and the Highline Trail seemingly without any
officially-sanctioned easements in place. Taking a bit of a
meandering route along paved golf cart pathways, game trails, and the odd
forgotten road, we ultimately intersected the connector trail between
Wilson Way and the Highline Trail. We turned southward and followed
the connector trail uphill until we joined the signed Highline Trail.
We stayed on the Highline Trail only briefly before leaving it at the far
end of a bridge which crosses an obvious rocky drainage. A narrower
but still distinct trail climbs up the mossy embankment to climber's left
of the drainage, and this is the start of the route up the north ridge of
Grassi Knob. Besides being very steep initially, this trail is
pretty straightforward to follow, and we had few difficulties ascending
all the way to the top. The high point was busy on this day, but we
still found enough space to stretch out and relax. Although he
stayed for a little while, Stan had to hurry back to town and bid the
rest of us farewell before disappearing down the southeast ridge.
When Witek, Ania, Karol, Zosia and I finished taking our extended break
on the high point of Grassi Knob, we also descended via the southeast
ridge. The trail here is well-defined and just as easy to follow as
the one on the north ridge, but the slope is also less steep which makes
for a much gentler descent. We eventually intersected the unsigned
trail to Three Sisters Pass, and turning left, we followed this until we
hit the junction with the Highline Trail. Turning right, we easily
hiked the Highline Trail all the way out to its eastern terminus at Three
Sisters Boulevard. We wrapped up the day with a fun round of disc
golf at the course in front of Witek's home followed by some refreshing
beers and sodas. Thank you, Witek!
 |
Karol, Witek, Ania, Zosia and Stan begin hiking from the driveway in
front of Witek's home. Grassi Knob is the forested ridge straight
ahead. |
En route to the Highline Trail, there is a great view
of the Mount Rundle massif.
Stan, Witek, Zosia, Ania, Karol and Sonny stand on the
high point of Grassi Knob (2167 metres).
 |
To the south are the iconic forms of The Three Sisters. |
 |
The view to the west is dominated by Ship's Prow, an unofficially-named
buttress which is part of the Mount Lawrence Grassi massif. |
This is looking north into Banff National Park with the
town of Canmore at lower far right.
 |
Across the valley is
Mount Lady
Macdonald. The normal access trail for the mountain is
currently closed due to construction work in Cougar Creek (lower right). |
Grotto Mountain rounds out the view to the northeast.
 |
Witek leaves the top of Grassi Knob and begins descending the southeast
ridge. |
 |
Back on the Highline Trail, Sonny has
to watch out for occasional mountain bikers.
Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak |
 |
Sonny cools off beside Three Sisters
Creek after a muggy descent.
Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak |
Ania flings a disc down the fairway of Hole #5.
Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
 |
Total
Distance: 12.3 kilometres
Round-Trip Time: 6 hours 5 minutes
Net Elevation Gain: 873 metres
GPX Data |
