Wind Ridge June 16, 2021

We were long overdue in sharing a mountain day but with the way our world has been, the time has finally arrived for when it was right to do so. He planted a seed, seeing would I been keen to take on Wind Ridge  and I emphatically watered that seed and it grew to fruition.  I had never hiked Wind Ridge yet I always wanted to.  I remember back in the summer of 2019, we talked about hiking this route.  

While I waited at the parking lot for my friend to arrive, I watched the clouds lift, the sky turn blue and then I witnessed a rainbow form.  I took this as a sign, a good sign!  

Once he arrived, we hit the trail in no time.  I was thankful it was flat for a good distance as we had so much to share about our life happenings. It had rained the day prior which contributed to this area looking so vibrantly green.  It felt lush, the air was fresh, clean & clear...aaah mountain air!   

When we popped out into the open, we could see some low cloud covering the peaks.  It appeared it could be raining in the distance and every now and then we felt a sprinkle while we stood under blue sky.  It was blustery off and on and between that plus a cool temperature, they made for very comfortable hiking conditions. 

view along the way

We could now see where we were headed.  It was in the direction of that green bump in the middle.

Then it became very clear where we were going. I spied the rockband we would need to scramble up which is in the middle right of the photo. There was still a distance to go to get there and some of the sections would be quite steep.

view to the highway below us and the Bow Valley Corridor heading west

We reached the ridge and oh what a beautiful ridge it was!  We strolled along admiring the scenery in all directions.  We could see the Three Sisters, the Little Sister is in the clouds, then you have the long flat Middle Sister and after that in the centre is Big Sister.  Notice the rainbow that stretches below Big Sister.

We took care of our summit shots before doing anything else.  

We formed a "W" for Wind Ridge.

me in front of Middle Sister

My friend doing his pose in front of Middle sister.

The wind on Wind Ridge was now on the wild side so we picked a spot with some shelter to settle down and dine.  This was our lunch time view.  

savouring snacks and scenery

We enjoyed a lengthy lunch break. Then is was time to layer down, pack up, hit the trail and begin the trek back.  Along this stretch we had a good view of Pigeon Mountain in the middle. 

checking out Pigeon Mountain and the valley below

That's Dean Man's Flats down there on the side of the Highway.

We arrived back to the forest and now with no more wide open views the focus became on the songs we were being serenaded with. We could hear many birds but could see one that stayed in place long enough. to photograph. My friend said this is a Tennessee Warbler.  

Today being my first time hiking Wind Ridge, I was very thankful to be afforded all the things that make for a good first impression.  It made me happy to share this day with you and to that I say Thank You!