Hiking on a Monday

One of the activities Jan and I have looked forward to when both of us retired is hiking on a weekday. The hiking season is short enough as it is, and to be able to get up in the morning, look out the window, check the weather forecast for the rest of the day, and decide to take off, just like that, seemed to us to be the epitome of being retired.

Last Monday was such a day. Mid-morning we headed off towards Elbow Valley, excited about the day before us. But as we were driving west, this strange feeling suddenly came over me: this is so wrong! It felt very weird to be heading for the hills on a Monday instead of a Saturday or Sunday. Traffic wasn't bumper to bumper, and there was no one in the parking lot when we arrived. The most lovely birdsong filled the quiet as we got out of the car.

With the description of the 7.3 km loop in the Mustang Hills from Gillian Daffern's Kananaskis Country Trail Guide, 4th edition, in my mind--and the book in Jan's backpack--we set off, boots on our feet, poles in our hands, lunch in our backpacks, and sunhat on our heads. My camera was harnessed on my chest as usual, and the wildflower geek that I am, I was on the lookout for what is in bloom now, on this trail. I found many of the common wildflowers I see on many trails, but also some intricate ones like the silky scorpionweed.

Early June is when the calypso orchid usually flowers in these parts, but the ground was fairly dry and they like their feet a bit damp, so I was not sure if there would be any on this trail. But one can always hope. On the first of the three hills--west, centre, and east--the ground cover of the forest changed dramatically to being more mossy, and a feast for the eye soon appeared : a pink carpet of calypso orchids in bloom by the hundreds. Never in my life have I seen so many calypsos in one place, and I marveled at this delicate little spring flower's proliferation. In the heat of summer all living traces of the plant disappear. In the fall, a single leaf is produced, persisting under winter snows until spring blooming [Royal Botanical Gardens, www.osrbg.ca]. Such a short time this beautiful wild orchid graces the forest floor, and I consider myself very lucky to have laid eyes so many in bloom in one spot.

The Mustang Hills Trail is an unofficial trail and as such is not maintained by the province. We fared well on the first half and enjoyed the view of the Elbow River Valley from each of the three hills. Coming down from the east hill is where the trail became a little obscure, less and less defined, deadfall to step across, but we finally made it down to the river, not quite where the book said we'd exit the forest! While we were never in any danger, it might be better to stick to official trails from now on...