Prairie Mountain September 17, 2024

The last time I hiked up Prairie Mountain was back in May of 2021 well before the area was closed for an extended period of time for a route redesign.  Today was my first time hiking the new trail since it reopened back in September of 2023.  The sketchy sections are gone and there is no second guessing on which way to go.  There are now a few switchbacks but don't be mistaken, this hike will still kick you in the behind that is unless you are one of the many who use this trail as training grounds!  

The start of the trail is now defined. 

Built in rock steps are much more user friendly than what use to be along this sketchy section.

When I arrived at the parking location, one other vehicle was already there so I knew at least one person was ahead of me.  It was here where I met her, she was already on her way down (she was a runner training) and she confirmed no one else was up there.  Signs are now in place at various locations along the route. The trail is still very steep in sections but those steep sections are well built.  

There are more wide open views now and these locations are intended to be rest stops with large flat boulders scattered to the side.  I only used the rest stops to delayer and to stop to take photos.  

view to the west just before reaching the summit

view at the summit of Prairie Mountain

I was happy to see the flag!  They don't last long due to being whipped by wild winds at times.  I was also happy that I got to own the summit outright and there was no one in sight on the long last wide open stretch up here.  

360 degree view

happy to be here

my summit shot

There are a few flat boulders off to the side of the summit cairn. I picked this one to settle down on and enjoy some snacks and the scenery. Before doing so, I needed to layer up with a down jacket.  I arrived at the summit feeling quite warm but that warm feeling turned to feeling cool pretty quick.

taking it all in

While packing up to get ready to leave, I noticed people coming up the last long slope.  There were quite a few people so I was happy I got here early to savour the silence.  As I descended, more and more were ascending and most of them looked to be in rough shape.  I stopped to chat with one of them, she was from Houston and had never hiked before.  Before anything, I congratulated her on her accomplishment as she had maybe another twenty minutes to reach the summit.  She told me they were a group of employees from an engineering firm from different offices in various countries and were in Calgary for a convention.  Hiking Prairie Mountain was their team building event!   The majority of them were huffing and puffing, sweating buckets, carrying nothing not even water.  But, they were accomplishing what they set out to do!  

I stayed focused on the way down and did not stop to take photos.  I knew I would be happy with all the shots I took while ascending.  I did stop as I was nearing the end to take this photo of where my vehicle was parked.  It's that tiny dot to the left of the orange star.  There were just a couple steep slopes to get back down to road level.
  

thankful for the new stone steps along here

All that was left was following this trail along side the road 

then crossing to my vehicle on the far left.

I enjoyed hiking the new trail!  It is a safer route, more user friendly and a much more enjoyable experience.  It's nice to know the money I pay for my annual Kananaskis Pass is going to good use.