Sunday 7/10/2018 Ptarmigan Cirque
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
Kananaskis Country, Alberta, CANADA
Participants: Beth Davies, Sue Davies (Report and Photos)
Ptarmigan Cirque trail leads to a high mountain bowl between Mount Arethusa and Mount Rae close to the Highwood Pass in Peter Lougheed Park near Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada. The Ptarmigan Cirque hiking trail is a short loop in the cirque. Possible wildlife sighting may include deer, bears and mountain sheep. There are wonderful panoramic views for relatively little effort.
Max elevation: 2453 m
Total climbing: 26 m
Total descent: -287 m
Average speed: 3.62 km/h
Total time: 00:43:32
The trailhead for this short 4.3km walk starts close to Highwood pass (the highest paved pass 2,206m in Canada) near Kananaskis Country.
We started this walk following record October snowfalls so the trail was snow covered but hard packed in most places. The first kilometre was steep and a bit slippery but once we passed the tree line it levelled out.
As we had a perfect clear autumn day the views were stunning. Lots of photos and selfies were the order of the day.
Larch trees changing colour
The trail splits and skirts around the base of the bowl before reconnecting for the descent through the trees.This is a short but stunning walk.
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