Pilots Hill

Pilots Hill (attempt)
Waiparous, Alberta
May 13, 2023

I ventured north of Waiparous to hike what I thought would be a simple, easy hill. I was wrong. Satellite imagery suggested the summit ridge was free of trees, but it wasn't the case. It was the worst scenario a hiker could face.

I parked at a gate fronting a road that leads to a gas well site. After walking 1.4 km up the site road, I started up a lightly forested slope. But when I reached the ridgetop, I was shocked to find extensive deadfall. There seemed no way to avoid it since the ridgetop followed a cliff band with a drop on the right and deadfall extending far left. I painstakingly covered 250 m before giving up 500 m short of the summit. I had cut my legs on branches and decided not to risk further or worse injury. After starting back, I found a break in the cliff band. This bypassed much of the deadfall, and I quickly descended the slope.

Returning to my car parked at the gate, I was less than 100 m from where a plane crashed in 2017, killing two pilots. One of them was Dinah's son, Jeff Bird (see Mockingbird Lookout). So I called the hike Pilots Hill. Unless I find a way to avoid the deadfall and if the summit itself is clear of fallen trees, I doubt if I'll return.

KML and GPX Tracks

I parked near the gate. A sign warns of the gate being closed (mouse over).