Black Mountain

Black Mountain
Bob Creek Wildland, Alberta
November 28, 2009
Distance: 10.4 km
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 345 m

While driving down Hwy. 22, Dinah and I had a bad feeling about this trip. Everywhere trucks were parked alongside the road, signaling the last weekend of the hunting season. Even the trailhead was crowded with trucks. Although we never saw anyone throughout the trip, we could never shake the feeling we were not alone; we never felt the solitude that we appreciate and enjoy.

Nonetheless, we struck out for Black Mountain, an uninspiring treed mountain east of Whaleback Ridge. We hiked up the road that is typically used to reach the Whaleback. However, instead of dropping over the pass at the south end of Black Mountain, we hiked up its south ridge.

The summit was treed but further on, the ridge was open and grassy. After reaching the summit, we decided to drop down the east slope: gunshots behind us dissuaded us from returning the way we came. We found a trail which led to a road. But the road was a mixed blessing for not only did it take us back to the trailhead, it also passed through a herd of cattle. Perhaps we crossed private land, but it was more attractive than the aspect of running into hunters!

Although I didn't have high expectations for Black Mountain, I had hoped we would see some wildlife. But we saw none, likely because hunters had already explored the area, leaving their footprints everywhere in the snow.

KML and GPX Tracks

Black Mountain