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Carbondale Hill
Castle Provincial Park, Alberta
December 24, 2005

Distance: 9.0 km
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 445 m

I looked forward to hiking up Carbondale Hill for the views of the mountains west. Unfortunately Dinah and I saw nothing of these mountains because of low cloud cover. The hike itself was humdrum and the weather miserable. Although not very cold, rain whipped by high winds made for an unpleasant journey.

The road to the trailhead was gated, so we had to walk a kilometre to the trailhead. The trail is actually a 4X4 road leading to the lookout on the summit. But we soon tired of the road and left it to follow the ridge to the lookout on the summit. Because of the rain, I could only take a panorama looking east

Had been a nicer day, I'm sure I would have presented a more favourable trip report. Nonetheless I think Carbondale Hill is a worthwhile off-season hike.

KML and GPX Tracks


Molten sunrise as we drive to the trailhead


Minutes later, sunrise turns from yellow to red


Carbondale Hill from the road


Faint rainbow arches over a leaning tree


Rainbow and mushroom-shaped cloud


Minutes away from the top


Mount Backus to the east


Looking south at Table Mountain


Carbondale Lookout


Standing on the helicopter pad. Hillcrest Mountain on the right.


Looking northwest along the ridge


Looking back at the lookout on the descent


Another view of Table Mountain


82 G/8 Beaver Mines

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