Little Whaleback at Bob Creek Wildland June 17, 2021

Just like yesterday's hike up to Wind Ridge, hiking in Bob Creek Wildland Provincial Park was a place I had never been, yet always wanted to go. When the opportunity to visit here was put out there, I hopped on board.  I was excited to explore this area and what a total opposite landscape it would be from yesterday.  

Today's plan was to hike the Little Whaleback route which is a gentler experience than Whaleback Ridge. The ground we covered did not go as planned and we reached neither of the Whalebacks.  None of us had hiked in this Wildland Provincial Park before and AllTrails lived up to its other name which is AllFails.  All that being said...

...this is my story and I am sticking to it, but I would like to rewrite it one day!  

We arrived at the parking lot and even from here the landscape appealed to me and those fluffy puffy white clouds that I love so much were an added bonus.  No layering up was needed as it was already warm.  We chatted for a bit about our plan then hit the trail. 

We believe that is our trail winding uphill in the middle.

At this location, we assumed we continued uphill so carried on with the ascent.  Once at the top and being able to see forever, we could also see this was not where we wanted to be.  We performed an about face and descended back down the hill we just climbed.

The scenery was beautiful!  

Once back at the bottom of the hill, we found a faint junction.  We veered off along it which meant ascending a gentle grassy slope following alongside a fence.  The higher we went the prettier it became.

The hills were alive!

Because we were beginning to realize we might not get to where we wanted to be, I thought I better secure a location shot.  Views like this with the sky, the clouds, the mountains & hills, the pasture like land and including even the fence, I find to be so beautiful. 

From the above location by the fence, we followed a steep trail down to Bob Creek which included a bit of route finding and some simple bushwhacking.  At the bottom of the steep hill, we crossed the creek believing that was where we needed to be to get to Little Whaleback.  We meandered around here a bit and found spots to settle for lunch.

I meandered a bit more after I ate and while waiting for the others.  It's up on those rolling green hills where we believed we should have been. It is further away than it looks and we knew we would not have time to get over there.

spot my friends

We needed to save our day so when we popped out into the open and saw a trail, we followed it for awhile.  We knew now that it was a case of hiking along this trail with a turn around time put in place.

I so wanted to be up on that ridge, strolling along, seeing the lay of the land from a higher vantage location.  Alas, the elusive Little Whaleback will have to wait for another day.  

After reaching our turn around point, we then turned around and began the hike back to the parking lot.  We came upon another section of Bob Creek which we needed to cross.  Lucky for us, the creek was low and there were lots of stable dry stones not too for apart which afforded an easy crossing.  

view back after crossing Bob Creek

We reached the parking lot and I took a look back. While I felt somewhat disappointed we were not successful in hiking the Little Whaleback, I did come away with a sense of fulfillment.  I finally made it to Bob Creek Wildland Provincial Park!  Just like yesterday, today's views offered a great first impression.  

I do know I want to rewrite today's story!  

The story would be about Whaleback Ridge and not Little Whaleback.

I don't know what that will look like when-wise or with who-wise. 

Some day!