Hiking highs in the Rocky Mountains

Read about fun family travel ideas in B.C. and Alberta.

We start on the Larch Valley trail with a series of 12 switchbacks, which quickly get our heart rates up. But fellow hiker Gail assures me, "the grind is worth it," and she's right. Like magic, the trail, which begins in a forest, opens up to reveal the meadows of the Larch Valley; surrounded by the soaring Wenkchemna peaks, this valley is one of the most strikingly scenic places in Banff -- especially in autumn, when the larches blaze gold before losing their needles. On this day the needles, snow-dusted, glitter brilliantly in the sun.

Hiking with a group, you go only as fast as the slowest walker. The pace on my first hike was slow for me. On day two, I worry that my lack of surefootedness on steep rocky trails will slow me -- and everyone else -- down. But the Chateau provides hiking poles; using one gives me confidence and I don't hold anyone back. Though I've always thought poles were very uncool, Mathias, our guide, who is originally from Germany and is one of the top mountain guides in Canada, tells me that Europeans use them all the time.

We overtake many hikers (Larch Valley is one of Banff's most popular trails) and in less than an hour we turn off onto the Sentinel Pass trail. For the first half hour the path winds through an open meadow and past a tiny turquoise alpine lake. It then switchbacks for more than half a mile up a steep scree slope (let's hear it for poles!) and ends at the wind-whipped summit, sandwiched between Mount Temple and Pinnacle Mountain. Our plan is to continue into Paradise Valley, but we stop to drink and eat a snack while Mathias scrutinizes conditions on the other side. Checking out the valley we've left behind, I realize the little dots below are people we've passed.

Mathias reappears to tell us the previous day's snow has made the trail impassible and we have to turn back; I'm ashamed to discover I feel a slight sense of relief mixed in with my disappointment. The others, all type-A hikers, have no such ambiguity, but they understand this is what can happen in the mountains.

Going down is easier on my lungs, but not my confidence. I'm cautious heading down the steep slippery scree and once again realize the benefits of a hiking pole. We meet the others on their way up -- those tiny dots I'd seen from above. One woman is balancing on wedge-soled shoes, one man is wearing sandals, neither has a pole -- but amazingly they've made it this far. That night's discussion reveals once again how unpredictable the mountains are. Bruce's half-day group had also visited Larch Valley, taking it slow and steady, and had great sightings of grizzlies. Another group, the "intermediate" full-day hikers, had an intense off-trail adventure, climbing knee-deep through snow to the peak of Mount St. Piran.

Visit our online forums to chat with other Canadian Living readers!

Page 2 of 3